"Worse than a folly, brother," he said; "a sad mistake. Take care of that man: one day or other he will revenge himself on you."
"Possibly," the count said carelessly; "but when did you begin to fear the Indians so greatly, brother?"
"From the day I first learned to know them," the hunter said coldly. "You have offered that man an insult which demands blood; be assured that he will make you repent of it."
"I care little."
After these few words the hunters resumed their interrupted sleep, and the rest of the night passed without any fresh incident.
At sunrise the adventurers continued their journey; and by night, after a day of incredible fatigue through the burning sands of the savannah, they at length reached the pueblo or lugar of San José, where the inhabitants received them with shouts of joy, persuaded as they were that the strangers would not leave without supplying them with a few of those objects of primary necessity which they have themselves no means of procuring.
San José is the last caravan halt before reaching San Francisco. The travellers had made a journey of more than one hundred and eighty leagues in less than three weeks, through difficulties and dangers without end—a speed hitherto unexampled.