Part 37 (1/2)

As they ride down through the giant cacti two huge vultures rise with flapping wings and heavy bodies at no great distance It was into that very thicket that Moncrieff rode thisIt was there he fired his revolver The vultures had been disturbed at a feast--nothingat the safe return of Moncrieff and his party from the hills Our poor aunt had been troubled, indeed, but Aileen was frantic, and threw herself into her husband's arms when she saw hih there was but little if any danger of an attack to-night on the _estancias_, no one thought of retiring to bed There was much to be done by way of preparation, for ere determined not to lose a horse, nor even a sheep, if we could help it So we arranged a code of signals by means of rifle-shots, and spent the whole of the hours that intervened betwixt the ti round the far even distant _puestos_

My brothers and I and Moncrieff lay dohen day broke to snatch a few hours of much-needed rest

It ell on in the forenoon when I went over to Moncrieff's ers had arrived fros The poor -rooht dreadful news They had escaped fro their people es before their eyes They had seen others on the road who had suffered even worse, and did not knohat to do or where to fly Many had been hunted into the bush and killed there Forts had been attacked further south, and even the soldiers of the republic in some instances had been defeated and scattered over the country

The year, indeed, was one that will be long reentine Republic Happily things have now changed for the better, and the Indians have been driven back south of the Rio Negro, which will for ever form a boundary which they itives dropped in that day, and all had pitiful, heartrending stories to tell

Moncrieffour very best to soothe the grief and anguish they felt for those dear ones they would never see more on earth

And now hardly a day passed that did not bring news of sos of the Indians Success had rendered them bold, while it appeared to have cowed for a time the Government of this noble republic, or, at all events, had confused and paralyzed all its action Forts were overcome almost without resistance Indeed, so, theno proper supply of ammunition

_Estancia_ after _estancia_ on the frontier had been raided and burned, with the usual shocking barbarities that make one shudder even to think of

It was but little likely that our small but wealthy colony would escape, for the fact that ere now possessed of the long-buried treasure--many thousands of pounds in value-- Moncrieff and I started early, and rode to a distant _estancia_, which ere told had been attacked and utterly destroyed, not a creature being left alive about the place with the exception of the cattle and horses, which the Indians had captured We had known this fa parties, and the children had played in our garden and roith us in the gondola

Heaven forbid I should atteraphic picture of all !

Let it be sufficient to say that the rumours which had reached us were all too true, and that Moncrieff and I saw sights which will haunt us both until our dying day

The silence all round the _estancia_ e rode up was eloquent, terribly eloquent The buildings were blackened ruins, and it was painful to notice the half-scorched trailing flowers,around the wrecked and charred verandah But everywhere about, in the out-buildings, on the lawn, in the garden itself, were the remains of the poor creatures who had suffered

'Alas! for love of this were all, And none beyond, O earth!'

Moncrieff spoke but little all the way back While standing near the verandah I had seen him move his hand to his eyes and impatiently brush away a tear, but after that his face became firm and set, and for many a day after this I never saw hie family story I lay down my pen and lean wearily back inOh, no!

Evening after evening forweek I have repaired up here to my turret chamber--my beautiful study in our Castle of Coila--and with my faithful hound by my feet I have bent over my sheets and transcribed as faithfully as I could events as I remember them But it is the very multiplicity of these events as I near the end of my story that causesinto etically, as she did on that evening described in our first chapter

'No, auntie, you do not disturbfor your co down atassent to every sentence, and ever turning back the pages for reference--'yes, and now you come near the last events of this story of the M'Crimmans of Coila Co air, and I will talk'

We sit there nearly an hour Aunt's memory is better even thanly to the harp

She has gone at last, and I resuns of Indians during our long ride that day We had gone on this journey with our lives in our hands The very daringness and dash of it was probably our salvation The eneht be here, there, anywhere Every bush ht conceal a foe, but they certainly made no appearance