Daring this short conversation the storm had entirely ceased, and the wind only blew in gusts.
"Before all," the majordomo said, "let us light a fire; now that the tempest has ceased, the wild beasts, whose instinct is infallible, will seek the shelter of this hill, swarm round us, and, if we do not take care, carry our position by assault."
"Excellently argued; I see that you are a hunter."
"I was one for some time," Paredes replied, with a sigh of regret, "but now it is all over; my adventures in the desert are ended."
"I pity you sincerely," the stranger said, with an accent of sincerity; "for no existence is comparable with it."
"The finest years of my life were those I spent in the desert."
While conversing thus, the two men had dug a hole with their machetes at the foot of an enormous larch tree, to act as a hearth. In this hole they piled up all the resinous wood they were able to procure, lit it with some gunpowder rolled up in leaves, and in a few minutes a long jet of flame sprung up and joyously ascended to the sky, while the wood crackled and emitted millions of sparks. Fire has an immense influence upon the human mind; among other benefits, it has the faculty of restoring joy and hope; and while warming a man with its reviving heat, it often makes him forget perils incurred and fatigues endured. The two men, who were as wet as if they had been in a river, dried themselves for a considerable time, enjoying the pleasant sensations which the heat made them experience, in proportion as it penetrated into the pores, causing the blood to circulate with greater vivacity, and restoring elasticity to their benumbed limbs. It was the majordomo who was the first to resume the conversation.
"¡Viva Dios!" he said, shaking himself joyously; "I am now quite a different man. What a fine thing a fire is when you are cold. Suppose we make use of it, comrade?"
"Do so, pray," the stranger replied, with a laugh; "but in what way?"
"Oh, that is very easy; you shall see. Are you not hungry?"