“H’m!” said Jim, “yes; that is of course the most satisfactory way of proving the matter. My messenger cannot possibly return for eight or ten days yet, so I should have plenty of time to make the journey. I can leave the fort in charge of Lieutenant Muñoz, as there is really nothing in the way of duty to keep me here. Yes, I think that will be best. Very well, José,” continued the Englishman, “we will start early to-morrow morning; and you shall show me the way to this wonderful treasure-house of which you speak. You had better not talk too much, however, about the matter whereon we shall be engaged; for there is no need to excite an undue amount of curiosity about our movements. Make all the necessary preparations to-day,—you will of course know what we ought to take with us for the expedition,—and I will let it be understood that I am setting out for a hunt of two or three days’ duration. We can make an early start, travel during the day, encamp on the spot for the night, and start work on the second day, returning here on the third. That ought to give us enough time to do what we have to do, ought it not?”
“Plenty of time, Excellency,” returned the Indian. “And the señor need not be afraid that I shall disclose the secret of our journey. You had better take a rifle with you, señor, and let me take one, too; for it is just possible that we might be obliged to defend the treasure after we have secured it.”
José then went away to make his preparations, while Jim remained in his tent thinking over the very curious train of incidents which had led up to that of this morning. Later in the day he sent for Muñoz and handed the command over to the lieutenant during his absence, giving him instructions how to act in any eventuality which was in the least likely to arise; and the next morning, just before daybreak, he set off in company with the Indian for the spot where the Inca’s treasure was asserted to be concealed. Two mules had been loaded with provisions, a tent, cooking utensils, blankets, etcetera, and in the middle of the blankets had been concealed a couple of picks and the same number of shovels. Jim and the Indian each carried an ordinary army rifle slung over his shoulder, and had a bandolier of cartridges strapped round his waist, so that they were well prepared for whatever might befall.
The treasure was buried, said José, in a cave in the side of a ravine, at a spot about twenty miles north-eastward of Coroico, and the road thither was a difficult and dangerous one to travel, consisting as it did, for the most part, of a narrow path just wide enough for one man—or a mule—to pass, and skirting the edge of tremendous abysses whose bottoms could not be seen because of the mists which veiled them. Many a time they came to portions of the cliff-path which were so narrow that Jim thought it would be impossible to get any farther, but they managed it somehow; the mules stepping along as though they had been used to that kind of road all their lives, as, indeed, they very probably had. For some hours the two treasure-seekers continued to ascend, the scenery growing more and more gloomy, and the country more and more barren, until, at mid-day, they reached the summit of the pass and began to descend. Then the character of the scenery rapidly changed; they left the region of bare rock and entered upon that of the forests, leaving that in turn for the lower lands and the region of tropical foliage, with deep ravines crossed by frail bridges made of rattan and light branches.
It was just becoming dusk when José threw up his hand as a sign for the little cavalcade to halt. He then took a careful look round him, observing the formation and appearance of the surrounding country; then he made a long and close scrutiny of the document, which they had, of course, brought with them, and a frown of perplexity made its appearance between José’s eyes.
“What’s the matter, mi amigo?” demanded Jim, noticing the look.
“Well, señor,” replied José, “this paper says that from here one should be able to see, close at hand, a large pinnacle of rock in the shape of a pyramid. It is from that pinnacle that the bearings of the treasure-cave are to be taken and—and I can see no such rock anywhere about here.”
“That is awkward,” said Douglas. “Does the paper say whether it was a big or small column of rock?”
“It says that it is about the height of two men, Excellency,” replied the Indian.
“Oh, then, we may very easily find it hidden away somewhere among this thick brushwood,” replied Jim. And sure enough, they found the rock, after an hour’s search, during which it had become almost dark, completely covered with a thick growth of tropical foliage. They were able to do nothing further that night, the light having completely gone by the time that the rock was finally identified; so they camped out where they were, and began the search again the next morning.