“We had noticed in our previous visits, that the river flowed onwards due south, but that it narrowed considerably at this point, and seemed to pass through a thick, almost impenetrable jungle. It appeared to us, that if we could gain this jungle unperceived, we might lie concealed therein with a faint hope of escaping detection. The chance seemed of course forlorn, and yet we judged that it was worth while to risk it. It was terrible to see the months flying by, and to know that we had, in all probability, been given up as dead by all those whom we loved. And therefore we resolved to make the attempt, come what might.
“Our opportunity came sooner than we anticipated. I must explain that the Trauco village was frequently attacked by the black fiends who had offered us battle on the way up the river. A few days before the time I am alluding to, they had invaded the Traucos’ territory in large numbers, but had been repulsed with great slaughter, and had retired, taking away with them many wounded comrades. These frequent combats had used up not a few of the Traucos’ arrows, and more gold was required in consequence to weight and point the new ones, which had been hastily fashioned to replace the lost ones.
“Our hearts beat high with hope and excitement, therefore, when the queen beckoned to us one morning to accompany her on the raft, which had been deputed to go up stream in search of more gold. We hastened to her side with more than usual alacrity, which seemed to please her vastly, for she gave several happy laughs, and cooed gently for a considerable time afterwards. She had been very kind to us, in truth, had this Trauco queen, most solicitous for our comfort, and especially tender and gentle towards myself, whom she seemed to view with more than ordinary favour, and to make an especial pet of. Indeed, though my heart was far away, I could not help a pang of regret shooting through it, when I looked at this strange beautiful-eyed being, and thought to myself, that before long I should have passed out of her presence for ever. Aniwee, I know, will not grudge that thought, which was more an expression of gratitude than anything else; for though she held us captives, she had always shown us kindness and extreme gentleness. And it seemed to me on this journey that she was more than usually kind. Often, when we passed a fine fruit tree, she would have the raft taken in shore, herself land, and choose from the tree the best of the fruit, which she always brought and handed to me with a kind light shining in her dark eyes. The idea of watching us closely seemed to have left her, and she had entirely got over her suspicions as to our desire to escape. When we arrived at the gold cave, she would let us wander along the banks of the river without setting a Trauco to watch us, as she had formerly done.
“Everything appeared ripe, therefore, for our escape, and after we had been at the gold cave for two days we determined to make the attempt that night. We proposed to drop silently into the river, swim to the opposite bank, follow it as far as possible, and plunge into the jungle at the first sign of pursuit. It wanted a few hours to midnight when we rose silently from our bed of skins within the gold cave. The Traucos were all curled up fast asleep, and the queen lay close by, breathing gently, with her ebony lips slightly apart showing her white teeth. Her graceful head was pillowed on her arm, and her dark eyes were fast closed. Very quietly we entered the water and struck out quickly, emerging into the river some forty yards away from the cave. The stream flowed sluggishly, and we had no difficulty in gaining the opposite bank. How my heart beat as I thought of thee and liberty, Aniwee; how I prayed the good Gualichu to help us and shield us from recapture! We set off along the river’s bank as hard as we could, and travelled on in this wise till daylight, often looking back to see if we could perceive any signs of the Traucos; for we knew them to be speechless, and therefore thought that their pursuit would be conducted in pure silence. We slaked our thirst by the river, and appeased our hunger on piñones and apples gathered by the way, which were very refreshing. About midday we entered the forest, and lay down to snatch a short rest. In doing so we both fell fast asleep, overcome by the heat and the fatigue of our hasty journey. When we awoke the sun was still shining brightly, but it had evidently moved several hours on its course since we had lain down. We jumped up quickly, and, as if impelled by a sudden sense of fear, hastily continued our flight, almost without addressing a word to each other. My father was stiff and footsore. An Araucanian is not accustomed to much travelling on foot, and I could see that he suffered severely; but he was too brave to acknowledge it, and worked his utmost to keep up a uniform pace, for we knew that should the Traucos track us, they would move quicker than we.
“Sundown found us still moving on; but my father limped wearily, and my heart was torn on his behalf. I, too, young and vigorous as I was, began to feel the weight of fatigue, and to long for rest.
“We had begun to discuss the advisability of halting, when suddenly, faint and far away in the background, the sharp sound of a trumpet note came floating to our ears. Cuastral looked at me with a great fear in his eyes, for both he and I knew whence the sound came. It told us that we were being pursued. Now it was not the first time that we had heard that sound. It was the only sound which the Traucos made use of, and then only on the battle-field, or in the midst of danger, or as an expression of anger. Undoubtedly, therefore, they were on our track, and were in full pursuit. The knowledge that this was so, gave fresh zest to our tired frames. My father would not hear of halting, assuring me that he could go still many miles, and increasing his pace into a run. Pressing through the thick brushwood, which now almost swept the water’s edge, we came suddenly on a branch in the river, and beheld the main part of it leading straight for the mountains, hemmed in on either side by a dark deep gorge, the sides of which towered high above us. The other offshoot flowed towards the plains, but had no banks, and was completely canopied by the forest trees.
“We halted to discuss the situation. To follow the last branch would be impossible, and only two ways remained open to us. One was to scale the steep gorge to our left, which in our present weary condition seemed impracticable. The other was to follow the dark river that flowed towards the mountains. We felt that the latter alternative was the only one, and decided accordingly. Thus, as we pressed on, we came suddenly upon a tiny bay in the river, and in the bay was moored a raft, with a bunch of paddles lying upon it. You may judge of our surprise, half joy, half fear, for the raft might betoken the presence of man, or that of the tribe from which we were flying.
“We at once determined to take possession of the raft and paddle up the river, and accordingly boarded her without delay. She appeared, on examination, to have laid a long time unused, for moss and climbing lichens clung to her, and the thong that bound her to the land was rotting fast. It had all the appearance of an old lasso.
“Cutting it close to the knot we launched the raft into the stream, and each taking a paddle began to paddle vigorously up the sluggish river. As we advanced we congratulated ourselves on having elected to travel by water instead of land, for the banks frequently ran into the sheer cliff, which would have made progress on foot impossible.
“We paddled on until human nature could support the strain no longer, and we were forced to desist. But we had reached a comparatively safe position, for the rocks on either side had risen to a great height, and above us sheer precipices looked down, while there were no banks or shore along which our pursuers could pass. Climbing plants of great thickness grew down the sides, and to one of these we made fast the raft, and throwing ourselves face downwards thereon, fell at once into a profound slumber.