“Oh, dear no,” was the reply. “They are so trained that they will not molest you so long as you keep within the boundaries of the estate; but they will watch and follow you until you return to your cabin. And, of course, as there is only a dozen of the dogs in all, you may perchance get away without encountering one of them. But if you do, your prospects of escape are still small, for you would be missed in the morning, the dogs would at once be put upon your track, and a regular slave-hunt would then begin. A slave-hunt is rare sport, I promise you—for everybody but the slave.”
“Then it seems,” remarked George, “that, even in the event of your getting clear of the estate, you have very little hope of escape, after all?”
“None,” was the reply, “none whatever—unless you happen to possess a certain secret, the secret of hiding the scent, so that the dogs cannot follow your trail. Then, indeed, you may hope to escape, but not otherwise. I am fortunate enough to possess this secret, and as we have been good friends—you and I—I do not mind letting you into it—provided that if you make one in the hunt to-morrow—they take slaves to help sometimes—you will aid my escape in any way you can.”
“Agreed!” exclaimed George joyously. “In any case I would do that. Still, the secret is a valuable one, and I should like to be made acquainted with it.”
“You shall, amigo,” said Pedro. And, placing his hand inside the bosom of his shirt, he produced a handful of leaves.
“Do you see these?” he asked.
George intimated that he did.
“Take particular notice of them, so that you may recognise them again with certainty whenever you see them,” urged Pedro. “Note their shape, their exact colour; note their peculiar odour; and, above all, note their taste; for there are other plants, quite worthless for the purpose, closely resembling this one; but the taste will at once tell you when you have found the right one.”
George eagerly took a quantity of the leaves in his hand, and carefully examined them, noting that, though they varied in size, they were all of exactly the same shape and hue; then he held them to his nostrils and inhaled their odour until he thought he had become fully acquainted with it. And finally he put one in his mouth, and masticated it. The juice had a very peculiar flavour indeed, so peculiar that he felt sure he should never forget it.
“And how do you use these leaves?” asked George.