"Are we in a savage country?" asked Lucien.
"Possibly, and that is why we have to be so careful," I answered.
"Do you think any one will hurt us?"
"The mere sight of our weapons might inspire the Indians with a desire of obtaining them; in a spot where every one can do as he likes, there is nothing to prevent them stripping us and sending us away naked."
"They are not Christians, then?"
"Ah, Chanito, they ought to be," muttered the Indian.
And, taking off his load, we soon lost sight of him among the under-brush.
Under any other circumstances, Lucien's frightened look, when he saw us take so many precautions in approaching a human dwelling, would have amused; but, so far from doing so now, we listened anxiously for the least sound.
At last we heard l'Encuerado's loud and welcome "Hiou! hiou!" The hut was perfectly empty.
After an hour's rest, passed by the boy in rambling round it, I gave the word for starting again. The Indian took the lead, following the still visible traces of a footpath. The hut, hardly large enough to hold three persons, seemed more like a temporary shelter than a settled dwelling; l'Encuerado, who was a great authority in such matters, was of opinion that it was only an offshoot to a larger settlement. After a tolerably long walk, another footpath crossed the one we were following; on its surface we noticed prints of naked feet—even those of women and children. But although we carefully examined the horizon, nothing but the immense white uninterrupted plain bathed in sunshine greeted our vision.