"It must be a large plaza," said Rafael, disbelievingly.
"Very large. Much larger than the Plaza de los Hombres Ilustres at Tlatonac."
"Dios! What clever people those Toltecs must have been."
As they proceeded, the cañon wound to right and left, shutting itself in at every curve with its own walls, so that they never saw more than a short distance before them. Jack feared lest the path should suddenly come to an end behind one of the curves; but as Pepe, who knew the way, marched boldly on, this did not seem possible. The grey sky began to flash crimson, and the stars to the eastward died out in the rosy hues of dawn. They could see the torrent far below like a white thread, and hear its voice, hoarse and incessant, rising upward. The serrated summits of the cañon rocks loomed black against the changing sky.
On, on, and on. The road never seemed to come to an end, but stretched ever before them narrow and perilous-looking, a hanging-way between heaven and earth.
"I hope to the Lord none of the men will grow dizzy, and fall over," said Jack, anxiously; "the path is so narrow, the depth so terrible."
"No fear of that, mi amigo," replied Rafael, cheerfully; "they are all too determined to get gold and silver in Totatzine to lose the chance of not arriving there. Believe me, Juan, they are as anxious as we are to get to the end of this infernal path. By the way, Martez and Señor Felipe must be on it by now, with their men."
Jack glanced at his watch.
"Yes; we have been over two hours now, marching. I expect Martez will press onward as quickly as possible, so as to join us without delay. Hullo!"
"What is the matter?"