“And so,” said Samaro, “I am henceforth to be your guide.”
“You are to be my chief guide, my steward, my counsellor, and my head man in every way.”
Samaro smiled in a pleased way.
“We will begin to get ready at once—to-morrow morning at sunrise,” he said, “if it so please you, señor.”
“That will do, Samaro. I long to be on the road. But one other question I wish to ask you before you retire. Have you any guess as to where Bernard Herbert is or what is his condition?”
“Absolutely none as to his condition, but he was taken away by the Jivaros.”
“Just what the dying Roderigo told me.”
“There was a lady, too,” continued Samaro, “a delicate young girl, sold at the same time. She came from the far east in your uncle’s ship, and had been nurse to Mr. Herbert’s child.”
“Yes, yes; that was the ayah. Did they ill-treat her?”
“No; they were afraid of her. They looked upon her as a being from another world.”