Our emotion scarcely allowed us to answer; the Indian sprang from his horse, and, running towards the child, pressed him to his heart, and then, stretching out his arms, fell senseless to the ground. I rushed towards him and opened his gourd--it was full! With the help of Sumichrast I poured a few drops of brandy between his teeth. He gradually regained his senses, and looked at us in surprise. He was exhausted from hunger and fatigue. "If I had eaten or drunk," he said, simply, "I should have wanted to go to sleep, and then what would have become of you? But my hunger and thirst spurred me on, so that I have not lost a moment." "My good fellow!" I answered, "you ought to have taken something to restore your strength; for if it had failed, what would have become of us?" L'Encuerado did not hear me; he had just fallen into a deep sleep, and we soon followed his example. When we awoke, l'Encuerado mounted the steed he had brought, and, taking Lucien up in front, led us back to the baggage. "Why did you start without letting us know?" asked Sumichrast. [Illustration: "We had to cross some muddy marshes."] "Because you would have prevented me from following out my plan. I was convinced there were woods and flocks not far ahead of us, and as I feared not the sun for myself, I started as soon as you were all fast asleep, having fortified myself for the journey with a drop of the cognac. I often longed, as I proceeded, to lie down and rest, but then I thought of Chanito, and ran on faster than ever. Without knowing why, I stumbled, and I think I must have fallen asleep. When I opened my eyes the sun was set, and Gringalet was licking me with his tongue. I got up, stupefied as I was, and ran forward, without halting, to the verge of a wood. I dashed in among the trees, and in less than a quarter of an hour I came upon a great lake, and horses and buffaloes running wild. My strength, however, began to fail, and it took me more than four hours to catch this mustang," continued the Indian, looking down on his steed, "but I soon made him know his master was on his back." Having returned to our bivouac to recover our treasures, we resolved to start immediately, as the sky was obscured by clouds. Next day l'Encuerado set to work to provide us all with horses. Having prepared a lasso, the agile Indian darted off at full gallop towards a drove which were grazing some distance off; and by night had captured five of their number. Two days, however, were spent in breaking our mounts and rendering them docile; but as our stores were visibly diminishing, and we were considerably freshened up, it became highly necessary for us to start. Next morning our little cavalcade crossed the plains and woods almost at a gallop. The blue mountains in front looked higher and higher, and the outlines of the volcano grew more defined.