Part 29 (1/2)

He whinnies his warning now: only a low and undecided one He is evidently puzzled; but the herd down in the bottom of the canon hear it, and every head is elevated I have judged the distance; I have drawn my bead If my heart would only keep still, and there were not such a ain Have I missed? Yes--no, no; hurrah! hurrah! yonder he lies, stark and still, on the very rock on which he stood--uanaco!

The startled herd move up the canon Theyafter them, full of exultation, when a hand is laid on

'You sly old dog,' he says, 'to steal a march on your poor little brother thus!'

For a moment I am startled, mystified

'Dugald,' I say, 'did I really kill that guanaco?'

'No one else did'

'And you've only just colad to hear it It was after all a pure accidentthe beast I _did_ hold the rifle his way I _did_ draw the trigger----'

'Well, and the bullet did the rest, boy Funny, you always kill by the merest chance! Ah, Murdoch, you're a better shot than I a still onwards and still upwards next day, through lonely glens and deep ravines, through canons the sides of which were as perpendicular as walls, their flat green or brown botto shadows so dark in the sunlight that a man or horse disappeared in them as if the earth had opened and sed hi luxuriance that it looked to us, amid all the barrenness of this dreary wilderness, like an oasis dropped froht dwell

I looked at ht must have struck each of us, at the salen our _habitat_ for a time?

'Oh!' cried Archie, 'this is a paradise!'

'Beautiful! lovely!' said Dugald 'Suppose now--'

'Oh, I knohat you are going to say,' cried Donald

'And I second the motion,' said Sandie Donaldson

'Well,' I exclai, Sandie, that no motion has yet been ald, ju out of his saddle

It was anear its close, the Gauchos set about looking for a bit of caround at once As far as coht have been chosen almost anywhere, but anted to be near to water Now here was the ether, and nowherethe bottom it was tolerably level and extremely ooded with quite a variety of different trees, a which pines, elms, chestnuts, and stunted oak-trees werehills or braes covered with algorroba bushes and patches of charly-coloured cacti, with many sorts of prickly shrubs, the very names of which we could not tell Curious to say, there was very little undergrowth; and, although the trees were close enough in soreen beneath But at first we could find no water Leaving the others to rest by the edge of the ald and I and Archie set out to explore, and had not gone more than a hundred yards e came to a little lake We bent down and tasted the water; it was pure and sweet and cool

'What a glorious find!' said Dugald 'Why, this place altogether was surely made for us'

We hurried back to tell the news, and the horses and mules were led to the lake, which was little more than half an acre in extent But not satisfied with drinking, ed in; and horses and mules followed suit

'Coly second'

He commenced to undress as he spoke So did we all, and such splashi+ng and dashi+ng, and laughing and shouting, the birds and beasts in this roald was an excellent swi in the water as on the land He had left us and set out to cross the lake Suddenlyhim throw up his arms and shout for help, and we--Donald and I--at once co to his assistance He appeared, however, in no danger of sinking, and, to our surprise, although heading our way all the tiht near us next

When close enough a thrill of horror went throughvoice,