"Be it so; you no doubt found a plausible pretext to account for this strange proceeding."
"That is just it," said he, with a chuckle.
"Very well; but now tell me, Tyro; what have you done with this baggage? I should by no means like to lose it—it contains the best part of my fortune. I cannot camp out in the open air, more especially as that would avail me nothing, and that those who have an interest in seeking me would soon discover me; on the other hand, I can scarcely see in what house I can lodge, without running the risk of being soon arrested."
The Indian laughed.
"Eh! Eh!" gaily said the young man. "As you laugh, it is, perhaps, because my affairs go on well, and that you are nearly certain of having found a safe shelter."
"You are wrong, master. I am immediately going to seek some spot where you will be safe and completely hidden from pursuit."
"The devil! That is not so easy to find in the town."
"But it is not in the town that I look for it."
"Oh, oh! Where then? I scarcely see that there is any place in the country where it is possible for me to hide."
"That is because you do not, like we Indians, understand the desert. At about two miles from here, in a rancho of the Guaraní Indians, I have found an asylum where I defy them to come and look for you, or, in case of a visit, to find you."