Or the reply came:
“How far? On foot or on horseback, señor?” Or, more often, “By sea or by land?” Some, tossing their heads toward the sun, replied:
“At evening prayers you are there,” or shook their heads with: “No alcanzan—you will not arrive, señores.”
“Todavía ’stá lejos—It is still far.”
“How far, more or less; an hour, or three days?”
“Between the two, señores.”
“Three leagues, then?”
“Ma-a-a-a-a-ás, señores,—Much more.”
“Sigue no más—Just keep on going; Al otro ladito—On the other little side; A la vueltita no más—Around the little corner no more; Arribita—A little above; No más bajita queda—Just down below it remains”—and so on through all the gamut of misinformation; never a simple “So-many miles.” Above all, it was fatal to ask a leading question. The misinformant was sure to agree with us at all costs, evidently out of mere politeness. One might fancy the ancient rulers of the Andes demanded an affirmative answer from their subjects on penalty of death; and the supposition would account for many of the stories of miraculous appearances, of place names and the like, gathered by the Conquistadores. At best, we were assured:
“No hay donde perderse—There is no place to lose yourselves”—and were almost sure to strike, within ten minutes, a misleading fork in the trail.