Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/155

Rh growing amazement:—"But why insist on their coming with us? We can find those other Indians just as well without their aid."

Natividad jumped. What kind of a man was this? Then his attention was suddenly drawn to the road again.

"There, over there! They camped there."

At this point, the mountain path widened to a kind of little plateau, on which were unmistakable traces of a recently-pitched camp. The ashes of the fire had not yet been swept away by the wind, and remains of food littered one corner. Natividad, convinced that he had found the first resting-place of the escort of the Virgin of the Sun, urged on his party.

"It is strange," he said, "that we should have seen nothing yet of the Marquis, little Christobal, or your nephew."

"Why worry? We'll find them all, sooner or later."

"What?"

"Sooner or later—some day…. Hello, what's the matter? This beast of mine won't move. Gee up."

Calm and collected, quite different from the frightened Mr. Montgomery of the flight from Cajamarca, he urged on his mount, but the mule refused to answer to his heel. Then Natividad, pressing forward to see what was the matter, saw