"It was a terrible price to pay for their cruelty, and I shudder now as I recall that awful day; but nearly all civilization is bought with blood, and it certainly ran in torrents then. The Indians, unsuspecting, fell headlong, thousands of them, into the trenches, and the few that were unhurt by the fall or by being crushed in the trenches were made prisoners and distributed among the victorious regiments as servants or soldiers. The women and children were captured and sent to the cities to work.
"Ah! But those ditches! The birds, foxes, and armadillos must have grown fat on the thousands of bodies we left on that plain."
Francisco begged for more, his eyes were ablaze and his cheeks flushed, but the Colonel said:
"No more of fighting, anyhow; but come here by the stream, now that we have finished our meal, and I will tell you of some of the animals I saw in Patagonia."
"Did you ever chase ostriches?" eagerly inquired the boy.
"Yes, yes, several times and it is great sport; and once, for three days, I had only ostrich eggs to eat. You see, we were digging those same trenches and could not spare many of the men for hunting. I was ill and could not eat the army rations, so José brought me ostrich eggs and cooked them as the Indians do—in the red-hot coals."
"And was José with you on that expedition?" exclaimed Francisco.
"Yes, through all my campaigns he has been my body servant. It was José who told us how the Indians catch ostriches; he had heard it when a boy among his tribe of Araucanians."
Francisco clapped his hands in anticipation.
"A circle of fire around a great area was built and the huntsmen remained within this circle. The ostriches and guanacos that were thus imprisoned in the circle of fire were easy prey for they fear fire and ran almost into our arms. Why, what's the matter, Niño?"