Somewhat to their surprise three trips were made without any molestation from the outlaw band, when the young couple were put to a test few would have the courage to meet.

A party of Peruvian soldiers had been sent out to protect, as far as possible, the road, but upon this run Jack learned at a small station before coming to the stream where the bridge had been repaired, that this squad had been completely routed by the outlaws of the forest, and the victorious raiders were lying in wait for the train.

In this dangerous prospect every passenger left the cars at this place, but the order came for the train to go on if a suitable escort could be raised.

In twenty minutes as many armed men were waiting a start, though, as Jack looked over the motley party, he realized that not one of them would be worth a fig in a fight with the bush-raiders. Worse than that, he felt confident that the majority, if not all, were in league with the outlaws, and when the proper time came would openly join with them in trying to capture the train.

But the station agent, blind to this fact, priding himself upon having done his duty, pompously ordered Jack to proceed on his way.

As if not to be outdone, the conductor who remained with one brakeman, reiterated the command.

"It looks so we were in for it," said Jack, as he took his post at the lever. "What do you say, Plum, have you the grit to try it?"

"I am with you, Jack, let come what may. See! I have got on a smashing head of steam."

Without another word Jack pulled the bell-cord, and, throwing the valves wide open, sent the train thundering out of the station along the gleaming track into dangers which the bravest would not have cared to anticipate.



Chapter XIII

Precious Moments



The little crowd at the station waved their hands and gave expression to prolonged cries, as the train thundered away on its perilous run.

Soon beyond the hearing of these outcries the two youths, standing so bravely at their posts, heard no sound save the deep rumbling of the engine and cars, as they sped swiftly on their way through the wilderness.

Jack was the first to speak.

"Fix the fire so you can leave it for a short time if necessary, Plum."

"Leave it any time, Jack. I wasn't so green firing as they thought me. Reckon my firing Joe Staples' old saw-mill didn't hurt me any for this business."

"Did you burn it down, Plum, or was it sav—"

"Scat! you know what I mean. But do yeou begin to see anything ahead?"

"I could hardly expect to so soon, for they will be pretty sure to keep out of sight until we are into their trap."

"Do yeou think they will have a rock on the track?"

"Perhaps some obstruction. I can't just imagine how they will take us this time."

"Say, Jack, what do yeou think of 'em fellers on the train?"

The words seemed so much like an echo of his own thoughts that the boy engineer started with surprise at the question.

"I'll bet yeou," continued Plum, "they'll make us more trouble than the fellers in the bushes."

"Plum Plucky, you just speak my mind. I was thinking how we could best get rid of them."

"Bully for yeou, Jack North! Tell me what to do and I'm with yeou tooth and nail."

"In one respect we are fortunate," said Jack, in a tone which showed that he had been pondering carefully over the matter. "The car they are in is to the extreme rear."

"You intend to take the freight through if possible?"

"At any cost."

"Well, then, what does their being in the rear car have to do with our getting the rest through? Looks so they air fixed to help the raiders best so."

"Why simply—look yonder!" said Jack, pointing suddenly a little to their right in the distance ahead.

Plum Plucky did as he was told.

"What is it, Jack, a big rock?"

"Rock? No! Look over those tree-tops; don't you see that thin column of smoke rising high into the air and as straight as a church spire?"

"Gosh! yes. What of it? There can't be much wind."

"It is a signal of the bush-raiders."

"S'pose it is?"

The train was now winding through the valley of the Rio Tasma, and the sullen roar of the mountain stream was beginning to be heard above the thunder of the cars, which were rushing along at a rapid rate.

"I am sure of it," replied Jack, as he continued to watch the ascending smoke, though without neglecting his survey ahead. "What else can it mean?"

"Sure enough."

"Do you think we have a brakeman we can count on in case of an attack?"

Plum hesitated a moment before replying.

"Not unless it is little Pedro."

"Just my mind. See! the smoke is dying out. Whatever message they had to make has been made."

"What do you think it could be?"

"I will tell you what I think. Just before that column appeared we must have been in sight of whoever was on that height, and they gave that as a signal that we were coming."

"Jack you are nobody's fool; but couldn't they hear the sound of the train?"

"Not above the roar of the river if they are on the other side."

"I didn't think of that. But what about little Pedro?"

"Only this: In case those chaps in the rear car show signs of being against us we must get rid of them as soon as possible. Do you think you can go back to Pedro?"

"Yes."

"Well, do so at once and return as soon as you can, for every moment is precious now. Tell Pedro the moment he hears the bell ring to uncouple the rear car. Mind you, only that. He must be there ready at all times until we have passed through the woods. Get back as soon as you can."

"You can count on that," and with these words Plum began to climb over the tender toward the line of cars behind.

The bridge of the Rio Tasma was now in plain sight, and Jack's whole attention was fixed upon the new structure that spanned the rapid stream.

Everything seemed all right there, so he allowed the train to rush on at unabated speed.

There was a wild fascination about this perilous trip that Jack could not shake off. Every moment he expected to run into some unknown danger, and he would not have been surprised to find the bridge suddenly collapsing beneath the train.

But nothing of the kind occurred, and the engine was speedily across the stream.

He was approaching the place where he had so narrowly escaped death from the falling bowlder, and he could not help glancing toward the top of the cliff, as he was carried around the curve.

At that moment the report of a gun rang out sharply on the air, the sound coming from the rear of the train.

Then an answering report came from the depths of the forest ahead!

"The men in the car are signaling to the raiders!" flashed through Jack's mind, and, simultaneously with the thought, he gave the bell cord a quick jerk.

"If Plum has only got there," he thought, as he turned his gaze upon the course ahead.

He knew that Plum nor Pedro could not uncouple the car as long as they were climbing the upgrade, but immediately beyond the bend a descent was made into the valley.

He was rapidly approaching the summit, when he made a discovery which sent a thrill of horror through his frame.

Not a hundred yards ahead lay on the right hand rail a huge bowlder!

That the bush-raiders had put it there to wreck the train he had no doubt.

Just then the train gave a sharp lurch, and the reports of firearms pealed above the din of the moving train.

Instantly the bell cord was pulled vigorously three or four times.

Plum Plucky was in trouble.



Chapter XVI

The Attack on the Train



The firing from the rear increased, but Jack had enough to attend to without giving it a second thought.

Out from the depths of the forest overhanging the track ahead had sprung a score or more of armed men.

Expecting the terrible collision they had planned, they had leaped upon the track in front of the oncoming train, flourishing their weapons and uttering wild yells of triumph.

It was a moment to Jack North which meant all to him. To stop the train was to throw it into the hands of his enemies; to keep on was like rushing into the very jaws of destruction. The commotion still raging at the rear of the train, the exulting fiends in the pathway ahead, and not less the silent but ominous bowlder on the gleaming track foretold the end, let him act as he might.

With that unerring precision of gaze which never failed him, Jack saw that the stone lay at such a place and in such a position that the engine would not strike it squarely, but sidewise, as it swept around the curve. To make it more favorable the obstruction, as has been said, lay on the right, or outside rail.

Had it been on the opposite one all would have been changed to a terrible certainty.

There was no cowcatcher in front, similar to those seen on the engines in this country, but there was a heavy iron fender in its stead, which presented a square defense. This bar would strike the rock below midweight, and in such an oblique manner that he believed the barrier would be hurled from the track without derailing the engine.

Jack understood that he was taking a fearful risk, but with all these favoring circumstances it could not be more disastrous than to stop and to fall easy victims to the bush-raiders and their allies.

These thoughts flashed through his mind and he resolved to keep on at all hazards. Thus he let on all the steam in reserve and stood grimly at his post.

The engine obeyed like a living creature. It gave a mighty plunge forward and dashed upon the ponderous barrier disputing its advance.

The suspense was of brief duration, but Jack's thoughts flew fast and far. He realized that if the engine failed to clear the track it would be all over with him in a moment.

He was thinking of Jenny when the shock came with a force which fairly lifted the heavy engine! A crash and another shock threw him face downward on the floor of the cab.

He felt that the crisis had been passed and the train was still rushing on. Furious yells—yells that made the wildwoods ring with their intonations—filed his ears, and a volley of bullets whistled around his head.

He looked up and saw the trees rushing past him at a terrific speed.

A backward glance showed him some of the outlaws beside the track, while others were scattered on both side of the rails, where the engine had flung them in heaps.

At the bottom of the valley lay the big bowlder, which had been dislodged and hurled into the depths.

The front of the engine showed the marks of its fearful blow, and he began to realize more fully the awful risk he had taken.

The firing from the rear car had ceased, and wondering what had become of Plum Plucky, he pulled the bell cord once.

A prompt response was given by two violent jerks on the rope, when he knew that Plum was alive and on the train.

He did not have long to wait before he heard some one crawling over the tender, and a moment later his fireman dropped beside him.

"Golly, Jack!" exclaimed Plum, "wasn't that a squeezer?"

"What have you done?" asked Jack.

"We've got 'em!" beginning to execute a dance on the footboard.

"What do you mean? Have you lost your senses?"

"I mean we've got the traitors as tight as a squirrel in a box-trap. Some of 'em jumped off and were killed, but we've got the most of 'em, and Pedro is holding 'em there fast."

The train had slowed so the two could talk as they continued on.

"I don't understand you, Plum," said Jack, ready to believe almost anything after what he had passed through.

"Well, yeou see I just played a Yankee trick on 'em. Just as I had got back to Pedro, and before I could tell him what to do, some of the men come out of the car, and I see they were going to uncouple it just as you had told me to! By that I knew some trick was up, and before they could tell what had struck 'em I pushed the sinners back into the car and shut the door. No sooner had I done that than I covered 'em with my gun and asked Pedro to help me. In the midst of it there came that awful chuck, when I thought for a minute we'd all gone together. But it was soon over, and Perdo is standing guard over our prisoners. As I said some of 'em jumped off, but I guess they won't jump ag'in. Do yeou s'pose the trouble is over?"

At first Jack could scarcely believe the other's story, but he saw that his excited companion was in earnest.

"It was a fearful moment, Plum, and we should be thankful that we came out alive. I think we have learned the raiders a lesson they won't forget. It will be best to try and get your prisoners to Resaca."

It would not do to stop the train or even check its speed, as the prisoners would be sure to take advantage of the situation. Thus Jack was obliged to keep a sharp lookout and crowd the old engine on as fast as he could with any degree of safety.

No further adventure befalling them, Jack and Plum at last had the satisfaction of reaching Resaca. Never was there greater surprise in town than when this train came into the station and the true situation became known.

Officers were called to take charge of the prisoners in the car, but as nothing could be proved against them, except what Jack and Plum stated, and as their evidence was immediately discredited, the whole party went free, vowing vengeance against their captors.

Jack saw that, on account of their being foreigners, they had really lost favor by the capture, and he was glad to get clear so easily. After this they ran a week without interference, not a solitary bush-raider having been seen. Evidently the survivors had learned a lesson not to be quickly forgotten.

Of course our hero and Plum received a few praises for their success in getting the train through as they had, but it was evident to both that they could not get full credit for whatever they might do. In fact it was difficult for them to get acknowledgment for doing an ordinary duty.

This was due to the fact that they were foreigners and looked upon with suspicion, no matter what they did.

Jack was not therefore much surprised when one day, as he was stepping upon his engine at St. Resa, to have a bright-buttoned official stop him and motion for another man to take charge of the locomotive.

This new arrival was a Peruvian, and the boy engineer was not long in learning that he was willing to work for twelve pistoles a month. Though smarting under this unfair treatment, Jack offered no objections as he stepped aside. The war with Chili was assuming more alarming proportions, and he foresaw that troublesome times were near at hand.

Plum Plucky, upon finding that he was going to have a new master, jumped down from the cab, exclaiming:

"You can't have my valuable services if you turn off Jack North!"

This was a turn in affairs the officials had not looked for, but the boys did not stop to listen to their protestations.

Later they learned that the train did not make a run that day.



Chapter XV

The Treasure Island



"Now," said Plum, as soon as he joined his friend, "I call that about the meanest trick I ever see played on a feller. Of course I wasn't going to stay to fire for that weazen-faced son of old Piz-arro."

"It seems too bad you should lose your job on my account, Plum. Particularly when I am more than half glad to lose mine, while you have made a real sacrifice."

"Oh, carrots! I ain't any worse off than I was before. But what are you going to do, Jack?"

"I am going to speculating."

"What!" in amazement.

"Speculating, Plum. I have been thinking several days of a scheme in which I believe there is more money than in running an engine for bush-raiders to run down."

"I'll bet you're going to speculate in that dirt I put round the don's plants."

"You got it right the first time, Plum. I—"

"Ginger! going to raise coffee? 'Cause of you air I can give you a pointer."

"No; you are on the wrong track now. But I have no objection to telling you. Ever since I saw the result of your experiment I have been thinking that the stuff would sell like hot cakes in our own country, in places where the land is worn out and needs some such a stimulant. At any rate I am going to send home a cargo and see what comes of it."

"Hooray! I see it all now. It may pay, but I doubt it. How air you going to get the stuff there?"

"In the first place I have got to get possession of the article itself, though I do not believe this will be a very expensive undertaking. I have a few dollars I have saved up from my wages, and I think I can borrow some somewhere. I am going to buy one of the nitrate tracts as soon as I can get suited."

"You can buy a big mine for a hundred dollars, 'cause they're looked on with disfavor. But after you've bought one, what then?"

"I am going to team a cargo to the nearest port and then charter a ship to take it home."

"You're smart enough to be a general, Jack North," and having paid him the highest compliment that he could, according to his estimate, Plum added:

"Say, Jack, I want to drive the team for you."

"You shall. But, as I am anxious to begin operations, I am going to look for my first purchase."

"Don de Estuaray is the man you want to see. There is a big bed on his estancia."

"It seems to me your experiment may have opened his eyes.

"He may catch onto my scheme quicker than some one who has seen nothing of what this nitrate will do."

"Of course you're right and I'm a blockhead, as usual. But go ahead and I'll tag at your heels like a dog."

Jack's first move was to get a couple of ponies for himself and Plum to ride. Then the pair, with provisions enough to last several days, set out on their quest.

Taking the direction of what he believed to be the heart of the nitrate region, Jack in a couple of days found several beds which he felt would prove rich fields of speculation.

His prime object was to find a bed which should not be too far removed from the railroad, or at least where its product could be the easiest teamed.

It was during his search one day that he got separated from his companion, in his desire to explore a wider stretch of country, when he quite unexpectedly found himself in the vicinity of his adventure with the jaguars.

The memory of that encounter brought back to his mind the lonely pimento he had seen in the valley on the opposite side of the hilly range, and the story of the hidden treasure filled his thoughts.

"If I could only find that now how it would help me to carry on my speculations."

Determined to look again on the spot, he climbed the ascent, until for a second time he stood on the height.

Before he had reached this elevated position he had heard a deep rumbling sound in the distance—a sound which seemed like the whirl and rush of angry waters, as if he was approaching a high cataract.

Ere he had gained the extreme top of the elevation, however, this noise suddenly died away, and the calmness of the primeval wilderness lay on the scene as he paused on the summit to gaze into the valley.

Naturally his gaze had turned in that direction, and an exclamation of astonishment left his lips, as he saw that the valley was gone!

The great basin was filled with water, the high hills and mountains forming a mighty rim with a piece of the huge bowl broken away where the gap existed in the elevated range on the north. But another feature of this inland lake had greater interest for him.

Near its centre was a small, barren island, entirely destitute of growth except for a solitary tree standing on its highest point.

The lonely monarch stood stark and stern in all its solitude, with one branch lifted like a skeleton arm pointing toward the north.

"The pimento—the treasure island!" exclaimed Jack with suppressed emotion.

The longer he looked upon the little island and its surroundings the more fully convinced he became that it was the spot described in the paper he had found so singularly on Robinson Crusoe's island.

When he had recovered somewhat from his glad surprise he urged the pony down the rough descent until the shore of the lake was reached.

"Oh, Don!" he said to the faithful pony, "you must take me to the island," never dreaming of the effort it would cost.

As he spoke a commotion began in the water at the north end, though that in front of him was still as unruffled as ever. But the pony had barely plunged into the tide before a deep, guttural sound came up from the depths and long lines of foam appeared on the surface.

Nothing daunted by this, Jack continued to urge the animal ahead in spite of its desire to turn back, until they were about midway between the bank which they had left and the island.

The strange noise had increased so that now it completely filled Jack's ears, while the water was in a fearful state of agitation. It had taken on a peculiar greenish hue, with big flecks of white foam, and here and there were fountains spouting up bright yellow liquid, which rose to the height of from ten to twenty feet.

The youth felt a strong undercurrent, and, finding that he could not reach the island, he tried to get back to the shore he had left.

By this time the pony was struggling helplessly in the mysterious power sucking it downward.

Then, before Jack could clear his feet from the stirrups, so as to look out for himself, he was drawn under the seething waters with his horse!



Chapter XVI

At the Boiling Lake



As Jack felt the swirling waters closing over him, he made greater effort to keep on the surface.

His gallant pony was struggling furiously for the same purpose, but the power pulling them down was irresistible.

A continual roaring filled his ears, and it seemed as if he was being drawn into some infernal region.

In spite of all he could do he was carried downward, until suddenly he felt a terrible shock, as if he had been hurled against some stony surface, and the next he knew he was floating on the water near the north end of the lake, which was then quite tranquil. He had no difficulty in swimming to the nearest point of land.

Scrambling up the precipitous bank he was glad to sink upon the ground for rest.

He was wondering if his pony had perished, when he was gladdened by the sight of the animal on the opposite side of the lake.

Before going to the horse Jack resolved to try to swim out to the island, and as the water had now assumed the calmness which had prevailed at the time he had first seen it, he did not think of further trouble. He had received some bruises from his recent experience, but beyond them he felt little the worse for his adventure.

Removing his outer garments, so as to give greater freedom to his movements, he stepped down to the edge of the dark flood, which was filled with the fine particles of earth it had swallowed.

As calm as the water was then, he had barely touched it with one foot before a shriek, which rang in his ears for a long time afterwards, rang high and far, cut short in its midst by a fearful rush of the aroused flood, and a column was suddenly thrown into the air to the height of a hundred feet!

It was such a terrific, appalling outburst that he hastily clambered back upon the bank, to watch the strange sight. For fully two minutes the waterspout quivered and vibrated in the air, when it collapsed as abruptly as it had appeared.

The water of the lake continued to boil for five minutes, when it began to subside, though bearing traces of agitation for five minutes longer, during which Jack watched it with intense interest.

Still undaunted by this marvelous display, Jack resolved to try a third time to reach the island, selecting a more favorable place for his descent into the water this time.

As no outbreak had immediately followed his entrance into the lake this time, he was beginning to think that the strange phenomenon was over. But he was soon to be undeceived.

All at once, without warning, a dozen columns of water sprang upward, threatening for a moment to drain the lake dry, and among these rushing, writhing pillars Jack was borne into the air.

When the powers subsided he fell back with such a force as to render him almost senseless. The lake was still churned and convulsed by the mighty agency controlling it, and he had a hard fight to reach the shore, where he lay completely exhausted.

Slowly recovering his strength he finally sat up and began to wring the water out of his clothes, deciding to leave the place as soon as he felt able. The water was calm then; though a short time before it had been tossed and whipped into fury by the mysterious element controlling it.

"Were the whole Incas treasure buried on that island it would be safe from the hand of the despoiler," he said, speaking aloud his thoughts. "But I do not understand it. I am willing to wager that this is the same valley I saw when I was this way before, though it was as dry as a palm leaf then. How calm it is now, but I suppose if I should dare to enter its sacred precinct it would begin again its fearful convulsions."

As he finished speaking, Jack picked up a small stone and tossed it into the lake. No sooner had it disappeared beneath its dark surface than another column of water shot upward with a sort of hissing that was terrific, and in a moment the whole body was once more undergoing a series of spasms frightful to behold.

Watching it until the outbreak was over, Jack lost no further time in seeking the pony. Then he began to climb the hillside leading from the place.

Upon the crest he paused for a last look, saying:

"It is calm enough now. Sometime I will come again, for I will know its secret if I die for it. There is and must be a natural explanation for all this."

Finding Plum Plucky waiting anxiously for him at the expected place of meeting, Jack led the way toward civilization, having come to the conclusion to close the trade on one of the nitrate beds he had seen and begin operations as soon as possible.

He said nothing to his companion of his experience in the valley of mystery, partly because the stirring scenes immediately following caused him to put it in the background of his memory for a while.

He was the more anxious to get his first cargo of nitrate off as the war cloud was deepening fast, and not only was Peru and Chili at a state of bitter antagonism, but Bolivia was threatening to mix in the trouble. A three-cornered war, with Southern Peru for its battleground, was anything but what he desired to see.

The next day he bought his first nitrate bed, paying for it forty pistoles, which was considerably more than he had expected, but it was large, and if his plans only worked he believed there was a small fortune in it.

He then hired oxen enough to make two six-ox teams, with suitable wagons to draw the nitrate on, and he engaged the services of half a dozen Peruvians to help in the work of getting out the first loads.

As the bed lay remote from the few beaten paths of the thinly populated country, it would involve considerable hard work and time to get passable roads cut through, so as to be able to draw loads of any size.

"By gosh!" drawled Plum Plucky, as they set out on their work, "I'm going to stand by yeou; but yeou may hang my hat on a scare-crow if I don't think yeou'll blow yerself dry."

"By that I suppose you mean that I shall lose all I am putting into my venture," said Jack, good-naturedly.

"That's just what I mean. I'll bet yeou have got about every dollar yeou have into it now."

"I have figured up that I shall have about twenty pounds left when I have paid off my help."

"Say, Jack! I'd like to be there when you get in with yer first load of dirt and see 'em laugh. Don't s'pose yeou have any dirt in the teown yeou come from."

"Not dirt that is pure nitrate of soda, and possessing the highest qualities for fertilization of any known compound. Hello! what is up now?"



Chapter XVII

In the Nitrate Fields



The last exclamation was called from Jack by the fact that the teams had suddenly stopped, and the native drivers were shouting excitedly over something which had happened.

They were at the time trying to make a roadway to the nitrate bed through a trackless wilderness, and had thus far progressed with greater ease than the young speculator had calculated.

But upon reaching the spot where the teamsters and workmen were holding an excited controversy, Jack found that the cause of the excitement was the fact that the way had been stopped by a sharp, rocky ridge, which extended for miles in both directions.

"We can't go any further, senor," declared the head driver. "No team can find its way through these rocks and up and down the hill."

Jack had seen this place when making his survey and had calculated upon the difficulty in passing it, having the route most feasible at this point.

"Let two men come forward with axes to clear away the stunted growth, and the rest get their levers. I will show you by to-morrow it can be passed."

Lively work followed, the men taking hold with a vim, so that by noon the next day a path had been cleared, so the teams could cross the rocky ridge.

The balance of the distance to the mine was very favorable and at last Jack had the satisfaction of finding himself at his destination, when the men were set to work loading the carts, the oxen getting a chance to rest while it was being done.

While superintending the work Jack had time to realize more fully than before the gigantic undertaking he had upon hand. It is true the worst seemed over, now that the path was cleared, but he knew with the rude implements he had to work with that this had been poorly done, and that the loaded teams would have difficult work to reach the open country. Even then he would be many miles from the nearest seaport, where he was likely to meet with another obstacle in finding a ship to transport his cargo to the United States. Then, after he had reached home, how would he be treated? A failure to sell his nitrate meant the loss of every penny of money he had worked so hard to earn. But these anxious thoughts did not rob him of his confidence in his ultimate success. Now he had put his shoulder to the wheel, he was not one to look back.

When the hour came for him to give the order to hitch up the cattle and prepare for the return journey, he gave his orders in a cheery tone.

"I tell you, Jack," said Plum, speaking with less drawl than common, "I'm mighty glad to do this. I don't see how you can be so chipper, for I'm dead sure we're going to have loads of trouble before we get out of this."

"No great thing was ever done without having more or less trouble at the outset," replied Jack. "As soon as we get started we shall find it easier. Hi, there, Pedro!" addressing one of the Peruvian drivers, "you have those oxen yoked wrong. You ought to know better by this time."

"Who knows best, senor, you or I?" demanded the Peruvian, showing anger at what he deemed an unwarranted interference.

Jack said nothing further, feeling that he had spoken too sharply perhaps, though he knew he was in the right. He had found the natives anything but pleasant men to deal with, and the quarrel of one was sure to be taken up by his companions.

Five minutes later the foremost team was leaving the nitrate bed, starting on its long journey at the slow pace of oxen, while the other soon followed.

Vague reports had reached Jack before he had left on his trip, of the uprising of the people, and of the guerrilla warfare being carried on by the straggling armies of the North and South. Still he did not think he would be molested, and he felt in good spirits, as they followed the rough pathway.

To be on his guard as much as possible, however, he had thought best to keep a short distance ahead of the teams, while Plum Plucky followed about the same distance behind, the two thus maintaining a continual watch over the train.

Nothing occurred to delay their progress, until Jack found himself climbing the steep upgrade, which the Peruvians had declared impassable before they had done so much work in clearing it. The course was uneven now, and considerable of the way it was little more than a scratch on the mountain side, with a sheer descent on one side of hundreds of feet.

He had got about half way toward the top when the loud cries of the teamsters caused him to look back.

A glance showed him that the foremost team was "hung up" at a particularly bad place.

The drivers were belaboring the patient oxen unmercifully, but not another inch could they make the animals pull the load.

Shouting to the men to stop their useless goading of the oxen, our hero ran back to the spot, finding that the second team had stopped a short distance below, where it was comfortably waiting for the other to move ahead so it could resume its tedious journey.

As there was no chance to get the oxen on the lower team past the upper one, so as to be hitched on to help, on account of the narrowness of the road, Jack quickly dismissed such an idea from his thoughts.

Not wishing to throw off a part of the load, which must be lost by so doing, he stepped alongside the cattle and began to stroke them and to speak gently to them.

"Both teams couldn't pull the load up this path, senor," said one of the drivers.

"I am sorry I did not think to double up at the foot of the ascent, but it is too late to complain now. Come, boys! all together."

Jack had taken the long, slender pole, with its ten feet of lash, with which the drivers urged on their patient teams, and swinging the unwieldly instrument over their heads as he uttered the words, he hoped to make them start.

The result was most unexpected.

Putting their shoulders to the work with renewed life, the obedient oxen fairly touched the ground with their bodies as they tugged ahead with their burden.

The cart creaked and the axles groaned, while the heavy wheels began to revolve.

"Hooray! it is mov—"

Plum Plucky gave expression to the exultant cry, but he did not have time to finish before a loud snap was heard, and the oxen were seen to suddenly plunge up the grade, leaving the cart!

"The pull pin has broken!" cried one of the Peruvians, terrified.

"The clevis has broke—look out!" yelled Plum, turning pale. "The other team will be smashed!"

The heavily loaded wagon, freed suddenly from the power which had pulled it to this precarious position, stood for a moment as if balanced on the pinacle.

Of course Jack had seen what was taking place with a quicker eye than any of his companions, and as he saw the wagon trembling in the balance for a moment before it started on its downward course to destruction, and realizing that a timely action could yet save it, he rushed forward to seize hold of one of the wheels, shouting to his assistants:

"Quick—put your shoulder to the wheel and we may save it!"

Plum did spring forward to help his friend, but even he was too late to be of any avail, while the Peruvians stood idle, without offering to move.

While the united strength of all might have stopped the wagon, Jack's resistance was futile, and in a moment the loaded vehicle started on its downward course, soon gaining a momentum that nothing could stop.

Faster and faster it moved, the wheels creaking and groaning unanimously, as it gained in speed.

The drivers of the other team in the pathway below uttered wild cries of terror, as they saw their danger, and began to scramble helter-skelter up the mountain side.

The runaway was going directly upon them, but they were likely to escape.

Not so with the oxen and wagon, which seemed surely doomed.

Jack saw at a glance his whole work going to naught in a moment's time.

Then his presence of mind returned to him and he thought he saw a way to avert a part of the loss.

Bounding down the pathway after the runaway, he soon managed to catch hold of the tongue, which was dodging swiftly from one side to the other of the path, according as it was swung to and fro by the motion of the forward wheels.

Grasping this forearm with all the strength he possessed, Jack swung it toward the near side, until locking the forward wheel on that side against the sill of the cart.

He had seen that the only chance to save the rear wagon was at the sacrifice of the other, and no sooner had he begun to hold the pole in that position that the wagon began to turn toward the gulf yawning on that side of the track.

It was a fearful alternative, but the best he could do, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he found the hind wheels going over the brink of the chasm.

For a moment the big load stood quivering on the edge of the precipice, and then, with a crash which sounded far up and down the rugged valley, the wagon went headlong to its doom.



Chapter XVIII

An Alarm of Fire



Breathless and exhausted by his almost superhuman effort, Jack sank down upon the hard rocks, where he had stood at the fateful moment.

Plum Plucky, further up the broken pathway, stood in silent awe, while the Peruvians looked on from their perches on the mountain side with bulging eyes and chattering teeth.

The only creatures which seemed unconcerned were the oxen which had been so narrowly threatened, as they quietly chewed their cuds, while they blinked their big, soft-lighted eyes. Plum was the first to speak.

"Jiminey whack, Jack! but you've done it."

"It was my only chance to save the oxen and the other load," said Jack, rising to feet. "Better save half a loaf than to lose it all, you know. Simply couldn't turn it into the rocks."

"But I don't see how you could think of it. I was scart, I ain't ashamed to own. I'll bet that other is smashed into kindling wood."

Jack was already looking over the precipice after the lost wagon, saying in a minute or so:

"It has come out better than I should have expected, though it will do us no further good. It has lodged among some trees and rocks, and I do not believe a wheel has been broken."

"That's so, Jack, though I reckon it don't make any difference to us. But if 'em rocks don't start to grow it's 'cause the nitrate ain't any good, for the stuff is sowed all over the Andes."

"It is pretty well scattered, that is a fact. But come, boys, we must hitch on the other oxen, and see if the double team can pull this load to the top."

Though the loss of one of his wagons and a portion of his nitrate, which had cost him so much to get so far, was felt keenly by Jack, he showed his indomitable will by immediately giving his attention toward carrying out the work of crossing the ridge.

The remaining load proved an easy burden for the united teams, and in a few minutes the heavy wagon was moving slowly up the path, the loud commands of the Peruvian drivers echoing up and down the valley with somewhat startling effect.

"As soon as we get to the summit," said Jack to Plum, "you and I will go back and see if there is not some way to save the other wagon, even at the sacrifice of its load."

"I s'pose we might throw off what nitrate there is left on it, and by hitching together all the chains and ropes we have—"

"I wonder what is wrong now," exclaimed Jack, for the team had again stopped, though the wagon was not more than its length from the summit. To the drivers he shouted:

"Drive up a little further, so the wagon will stand without—"

Loud, angry cries stopped him in the midst of his speech.

Anxious to know what had caused another interruption in the advance, he hurried forward, to meet a most unexpected sight.

Drawn up in front of the team in the narrow path was a squad of Chilian soldiers, or bushwhackers, more properly speaking, for he knew they did not belong to the regular army.

The Peruvians were cowering by the side of the wagon and cattle, muttering over something in their native tongue which our hero did not understand.

"Ho, there, soldiers!" he called out, in his best Spanish, "what does this mean?"

"It means if you don't get out of our path, Americanos, we will hew you down!"

"Don't be too fast, senor captain," Jack made bold to say, "this path is one of my own making, though if you will allow me to get my team to the—"

"Pitiful dog!" cried the Chilian, "Captain de Costa commands you to clear his way without any insulting words."

Jack saw that it would be worse than useless to have any words with this imperious Chilian, who in his petty command felt more arrogant than a king on this throne. Accordingly he began in a respectful tone:

"If Captain de Costa will kindly allow us to drive to the summit we shall be able—"

"Americano dog! will you surrender?"

By this time the Peruvians had taken to their heels, and Jack and Plum stood alone in front of the pompous captain and legion.

Jack's first thought was to boldly refuse the demand, knowing the other had no business to interfere with him, and to make such a resistance as he and his companion could. But single-handed, against such odds, he knew it would be folly.

"If you please, Captain de Costa, we two are but peaceful American boys, both of us engaged—"

"Will you surrender?" thundered the Chilian, advancing with uplifted sword, as if he would carry out his threat of hewing him down.

"We are offering no resistance to you, senor captain. If you will allow us to—"

At a motion from the Chilian leader his soldiers leaped forward, and Jack and Plum were quickly made prisoners.

The order was then given for the lads to be intrusted to a portion of troops under the command of a sergeant, and then the march down the pathway toward the nearest town was begun.

The last Jack saw of his team it was still standing just over the brow of the height, the patient oxen chewing their cuds as unconcerned as if the fortunes and the lives of their owners were not in the least endangered.

"What is going to be the end of this?" asked Plum, as they were marched along side by side.

"It is impossible to tell. I do not think it will be best for us to have much to say to each other if we wish to keep together. We must keep our eyes open for a chance to escape."

Plum taking the hint, the friends walked along in silence until the journey seemed without end.

The soldiers kept up a continual run of conversation, Jack catching enough to know that the Chilian forces were gaining successes wherever they met the Peruvians. He also learned that the army of Bolivia was now their greatest concern, and that the latter was then on a march over the Andes to meet them.

At nightfall a halt was made under a spur of the mountains, but before the sun had tipped with gold the crest of the distant Andes the weary journey was resumed.

That day about noon they came in sight of a little up-country town, which the prisoners soon learned was known as Santa Rosilla. Its long, narrow streets bore a deserted appearance, save for the motley-coated soldiers passing to and fro, as if on guard.

The town bore every sign of a recent siege, while the indications were as strong that the inhabitants had been completely routed and killed or driven back into the mountains by their conquerors.

Straight down the grand plaza marched the soldiers with their captives, making their way toward the casa consistorial, or town house, above which flapped in the sleepy breeze the flag of Chili.

The door of the town house, which bore the marks of many bullets, was off its hinges, but the rooms within were secure enough for all prisoners of war that might fall into their hands in that isolated district, and thither our twain were marched.

To their delight, which they were careful to conceal, they were put into a room together, though under a strong guard.

"Looks so we were in for it," said Plum, after they had been left by themselves for an hour or more.

"It was a hard set-back to my plans," said Jack.

"I wonder what they will do with us," ventured Plum, expressing the thought uppermost in our hero's mind.

"From what I have overheard I should judge we were likely to be shot at the first opportunity."

"'Pears to me you're mighty cool about it. Will they dare to shoot us? We are not mixed up in their war, and it might make trouble for them in in the end, if I know anything."

"They don't stop to consider that. It is my opinion they would dare to do anything but meet an equal number of the enemy. It looks bad for us, Plum."

"I wonder if we can't dig out of here somehow? These walls don't seem so awful thick."

"Of course we must try and get out of this. The first thing to do will be to free our limbs. Can you loosen your bonds any?"

For the next ten minutes the boys were busy trying to free their hands from the ligatures which had been fastened in no uncertain way.

"It's no use," acknowledged Plum at last. "I believe mine grow tighter and tighter. Hark! I should think that soldier on guard in the hall would get tired of that everlasting tramping back and forth. I've a mind to tell him to stop."

"Better not do it. I wonder if by standing on my shoulder you could look out of that window up there?"

"I have been thinking that same thing. Let's try it."

Naturally their attention had been attracted to a small window, which afforded light and ventilation for the room, but which was about ten feet from the floor.

Tied hands and feet, as they were, the boys tried many times to carry out their plan without avail, until it must have been near midnight when Plum said:

"It's mighty aggravating. There must be lights on the streets, for I've seen their flash."

"Let's try once more. If I lie down perhaps you can get on my neck, after which I believe I can raise you to the window."

This proved a most difficult feat, but after repeated attempts Plum succeeded in gaining the desired position, when Jack slowly straightened up, until he had brought his companion's head on a level with the window, where by leaning against the wall he was enabled to hold him for a hasty look over the scene without.

Plum had barely gained his unsteady perch before he exclaimed in a tone of excitement:

"Oh, Jack! the town is on fire! Everything is burning up!"

At that moment the dull boom of a cannon reached their ears.



Chapter XIX

Chilians on Both Sides



"Looks as if the old town was being raided by some enemy," declared Plum, after a short pause, during which another peal of the distant cannon awoke far and wide the dismal night.

Loud cries were now heard outside the town house, making the youths' situation one of excitement. In the hall adjoining their prison the steady tramp of the sentry's feet had suddenly ceased.

"How about the fire?" asked Jack, bracing himself more firmly against the wall under the weight of his companion.

Boom! boom! boom! rang sullenly on the scene before Plum could reply, and then the rattle of musketry succeeded and the hoarse shouts of men giving orders such as no one could understand in the wild confusion.

"The fire lifts higher and higher," said Plum, as soon as a lull in the tumult allowed him to be heard by his companion. "It seems to be burning on the northeast corner of the town, and the wind is driving it down this way like a race horse. The plaza is full of soldiers."

The cannonade soon became almost continual, and was fairly deafening.

"What will become of us?" asked Plum, showing his first sign of hopelessness.

"Is the window large enough to let us crawl out if our hands were free?" asked Jack.

"It may be; but it is crossed with bars of iron no man could break with his hands."

"Take your last look and then come down."

Plum took a hurried survey of the scene which he realized he might never look upon again, but his narrow orbit allowed of nothing more than what he had described.

The cannons were still thundering forth their loud-voiced peals of war, half drowned by the incessant rattle of the smaller arms in the hands of the town's defenders.

In a moment Plum descended to the floor in a heap.

"Get on your feet if you can," said Jack a moment later.

By resting against the wall, as his companion was doing, Plum Plucky soon stood beside him.

"I should like to know what we are to do in this condition. We are sure to be killed."

"Hark! do you hear anything of the sentry now?"

"No; he went out to join the soldiers. I see him."

"Then our way is clear. Now, Plum, I want you to brace yourself as best you can, and when I give the word throw all your weight against the door with me."

"Going to try and break it down?"

"Yes; ready?"

"Ready."

"Now then, together!"

The old door shook and creaked beneath their combined efforts, but it withstood the shock.

"Again—together!"

This time the whole building trembled, and the door creaked and groaned, but still defied them.

"Still again—together!"

But the third attempt, nor yet the fourth nor fifth cleared their pathway, though when both the boys were bruised from head to feet the rusty hinges suddenly gave away and they went headlong into the narrow hallway.

Jack struck upon top, and he was the first to gain his knees, as near an erect position as he could easily gain, and he began to crawl toward the open air, saying:

"Follow me, Plum."

On the outer threshold they paused to take a hasty survey of the surroundings, soon satisfying themselves that a terrific battle was being waged at the upper end of the town.

"The quicker we get away the better," said Jack, begining to move laboriously toward the grand plaza, with Plum close behind him.

In that slow, tedious way the two crossed the yard in front of the town house, and then steering for the cover of a line of shrubbery bordering on the west side of the plaza, they crawled as fast as they could in that direction.

The sound of the cannon was not heard so constant now, but the storm of the musketry had not seemed to cease to any extent.

What meant infinitely more to them, the firing was rapidly drawing nearer. The fire, too, of the burning town was growing brighter and brighter, even the plaza showing plainly under its vivid glare.

Upon reaching the shrubbery they stopped for a brief respite.

"Look, Jack!" exclaimed Plum, in a shrill whisper, "our prison is on fire! We didn't get out any too soon."

Jack had made the same discovery. He made no reply, his thoughts being busy in another direction.

An incendiary had kindled a fire at one end of the building and so fast did the flames increase and spread that while they watched them they sprang up and enveloped one whole side in a crimson sheet.

"We must get away from this place," said Jack. "The two factions of war are coming this way on a run. It must be the captors of the town have met more than their match this time."

Again the escaping couple began their slow retreat, now under cover of a dense growth reaching they knew not how far. Nor did that matter so long as it afford them shelter from their enemies.

Once, having gained a little summit from which they could look down on the exciting scene, they stopped to gaze back, their curiosity aroused by the wild medley of cries.

The town house was now all ablaze, the lurid fire feeding upon its walls lighting far the night scene, while throwing a weird glamor over the contending factions of war-crazed men, who had now both reached the further side of the plaza and temporally suspended hostilities.

There was a reason for this last, too, as explained by Jack's words, as he analyzed the situation:

"They are Chilians on both sides, Plum!"

"Do you mean, Jack, that this attack on the Chilians of the town has been made by some of their own countrymen?"

"Yes; there has been some mistake made, which has cost many needless lives. What a painful surprise it must be to them!"

Jack afterwards learned that he had been right in his conjectures, and that through some unexplainable blunder one division of the Chilian army had been sent to capture the town already in possession of another portion.

Santa Rosilla was in the possession of the Chilians sure enough now!

But Jack and Plum dared not stop to see the outcome of this singular meeting between the armed forces, but improved every moment to get away from the ill-fated town.



Chapter XX

Preparations for Departure



Three days later, having actually worn off the bonds on their lower limbs by their long, painful journey on their hands and knees through the dense growth, until a friendly Peruvian lad finished their liberation, Jack and Plum entered de la Pama, two sorry-looking youths but still full of courage. Almost the first news they learned was that the St. Resa railroad was again without the men to run the train, which had been stalled for weeks. In fact, the engineer and his helper who had succeeded them, had not made one complete trip, the fireman having blown out the boiler soon after leaving De la Pama.

In this dilemma the officials hailed the appearance of the boys with unfeigned delight. But Jack was sorry to learn that it had been decided not to pay over thirty pistoles a month for his services.

"We might as well let the cars stand idle as to pay out all we can get for help. Then, too, the business is not going to be very good while this war lasts, senor."

The pay was still big for that country, and Jack resolved to accept, though before doing so he asked: "What will you pay my fireman?"

"Twenty pistoles, senor. That is the best we can do. We can get plenty of men for that price." "It doesn't look so. But what do you say, Plum? That will bring you seventy-two dollars a month, if I reckon right. I will try it for awhile if you will go with me."

"I'm with you."

Most unexpected to them at the time they began, the "awhile" proved for a year. Jack had not dreamed he should stay so long, but his previous experience had left him penniless, and with his fixed determination to try again, he knew he would not be able to find so good an opportunity to earn the needed money to begin renewed operations. During those days Jack sent several letters to his folks and to Jenny. In return he received a letter from his father, stating that all was now going fairly well with the family and if he wanted to stay in South America he could do so. Mr. North also sent the information that Fowler & Company had gone into the hands of a receiver and there was no telling whether the business would be continued or not, and Jack need not expect any back pay from the concern.

From Jenny Jack heard not a word, much to his anxiety and dismay. The fact was that Jenny's folks had moved to another town and she had not received Jack's letters, and consequently did not know exactly where he was.

"I suppose she has forgotten all about me," he thought, with a sigh. "Well, I suppose I ought to go back, but I hate to do it before I've managed to get some money together. There's a fortune in that nitrate and I know it, and some day I'll get hold of it."

Very much to Jack's surprise they were not molested very much by the bush-raiders, whose power seemed to have been checked by the advance of the opposing armies, for the war was still carried on, though in a sort of desultory manner, as if each side was afraid of the others. Jack could foresee that the Chilians were pretty sure to secure that portion of the country before they got through. Plum Plucky had stood by his friend all of this time, and they had met with some thrilling experiences, but come out of them safely.

Jack saved his money like a miser, and with undimmed faith in his ultimate success bought five more nitrate beds, to be laughed at by his friend.

"Should think you would want to look after 'em loads you have got over on the Andes," Plum would frequently say.

Each time Jack remained silent.

"Say, Jack," Plum would then invariably say, "don't yeou s'pose 'em oxen are getting hungry by this time?"

Still the other held his peace.

Jack had not forgotten the mysterious island in the equally mysterious lake amid the Andes, and twice during the year his memory had been refreshed by startling accounts given of the place by different parties that had visited the valley. These men had given it the name of the "Devil's Waters," not very inappropriately.

At the end of the year, it now being certain that the Peruvians were losing their hold on the province which comprised the territory in which they were located, Jack said to his companion:

"I am almost sorry to say that I shall make my last trip to-morrow, Plum."

"Going back to nitrates?" asked the other, showing but little surprise.

"Yes. I must get a cargo to America as soon as possible."

"Should think you would want to. Guess I will stick to the old gal here a little longer. When I have got enough money to get out of this swamp in the way I want to I shall go back to old New England.

"I tell you there is no place like the Old Bay State. Yeou won't think me a sneak for deserting yeou now, Jack?" dropping back into his old-time nasal drawl.

"Oh, no, of course not. In fact, I think you are doing just as I should if I were in your place. I will speak a good word for you to get my position as engineer. You can run the engine as well as I now."

"Good for you, Jack. Now, how do you think of getting that stuff to the States?"

"About the same way I tried first, only I shall not try to go behind that spur of the Andes, as I did before.

"I can see my mistake now, though I believe that is the richest deposit I have, and I shall sometime make something out of it. I am going to get a cargo from the bed nearest to the railroad and get the company to freight it for me to the seaboard."

"Then I shall see you occasionally, Jack."

"Oh, yes. I shall not be far away."

Jack was as good as his word, and the following day Plum Plucky proudly took his place as engineer, with a new fireman to help him.

Jack then began to carry out his scheme of getting a cargo of nitrate to his native land.

This time he obtained his supply of nitrate from a bed less than ten miles from the railroad, drawing it to the station with ox teams. With his better knowledge of the country he met with success in this part of the undertaking, and then the train carried it to the sea-coast for him at moderate rates.

Before this had been done he had bargained with a Peruvian captain of a merchantman to carry the cargo to Philadelphia.

This had proved the most difficult part of his arrangements, for with the existing war between the countries it was sometime before he could find a man willing to do it.

But he found one at last and the nitrate was eventually loaded on the vessel.

It was a proud, and yet an anxious, moment for Jack when he found everything in readiness to leave the harbor.

The captain had declared his intention of setting sail under cover of darkness, so as to escape an attack from a Chilian ship should one offer to dispute his passage.

That afternoon Jack saw Plum to bid him goodbye, feeling sorry to part with his honest friend.

The latter actually cried.

"Hang it, Jack! I've a mind to go with you. Think of me in this heathenish country and you among friends and rolling in wealth."

"All but the wealth, Plum. But I shall be glad to have you go with me."

"I thank you, Jack, but I mustn't. I must stay here long enough to get the money to pay up the mortgage on dad's farm, when I shall skip by the light of the moon. You may not find me here when you come back, Jack, but I wish you well."

A little after sunset the Peruvian ship moved slowly out of the harbor of San Maceo, Jack watching the land as it receded from sight with a peculiar interest, and his mind ran swiftly back over the eventful time he had passed in that faraway land.

He had given the captain the last pistole he possessed, as he had been obliged to pay him in advance to get him to undertake the task, so he was again penniless. But he had no doubt he would have money enough as soon as he could get home and dispose of his cargo. Over and again he had figured out his profit, if it should prove saleable at the moderate price he had fixed upon it. Is it a wonder his thoughts were in a tumult? Is it strange that he found it difficult to make himself believe that at last after that long waiting, he was really homeward bound?

"How glad they will be to see me!" he thought. "And Jenny! She will not be expecting me. It has been so long since I left. Some of them may be—"

He was interrupted in his meditations by the report of a gun in the distance, and, glancing to the port, he discovered a ship coming up rapidly.

That there was something wrong in the appearance of the stranger was evident from the bustle and excitement which had suddenly sprung up among officers and crew, not one of whom spoke anything but Spanish.

All sail had been crowded on that the ship could possibly carry; but heavily loaded and at best a poor sailer, the new-comer continued to overhaul them at a startling rate.

Coming alongside of Jack finally, the captain said:

"We are lost, senor! I ought to lose my head for undertaking such a mad project."

"It may not be as bad as you seem to think, senor capitan," replied Jack, hoping to encourage the commander.

But all that he could say was in vain.

The Chilian warship, as the stranger really was, continued to keep up its firing, though the Peruvian vessel had not fired a gun.

Jack anxiously watched the approach of their pursuer, feeling that his fortune, if not his life, was at stake.

It is possible if the Peruvian had laid to and allowed the other to come up without the show of running away, that it might have been permitted to continue its course unmolested. And again it may not have been so.

At any rate the Peruvian captain held to his flight as his only hope of salvation, until at last a shot, better directed than the random firing so long kept up, struck the doomed merchantman fairly amidship.

The craft instantly lurched and trembled from bow to stern.

"She is sinking!" shrieked the captain. "Quick—to the boats!"



Chapter XXI

A Panic on Shipboard



A scene of the wildest description followed the frantic captain's announcement and order. The sailors were panic stricken, and more than half of them plunged headlong into the sea.

The captain was scarcely less distracted than his men, and he only added to the helplessness of the situation by his words and actions.

Jack tried to pacify him by saying:

"Pardon me, senor capitan, but the ship will not sink at once if at all. You have plenty of time in which to save your lives."

"But the Chilian! We shall be made prisoners of war. Heaven protect me! I was a fool to listen to you, Senor North."

"It is too late to think of that now. It is your duty to see if something cannot be done to stop the ship's leak."

It was useless to try to reason with the Peruvian captain. He was sure the ship was going to sink, and seemed determined that she should.

Meanwhile the Chilian continued to draw nearer, though it had nearly stopped firing.

The trumpet-like tone of the commander rang over the water just as the terrified Peruvians lowered a boat and leaped headlong into it, that is, those who had not previously jumped into the sea.

Finding himself alone on the sinking vessel, which was going down fast, Jack answered the Chilian's challenge:

"Ship ahoy! what do you want?"

"What ship is that?"

"The merchant ship, Santa Clara, Senor Captain, now sinking from the effects of your shot."

"Lay to and I'll come aboard."

This command was not obeyed.

The doomed vessel was now lurching fearfully, and Jack knew that he could not leave it any too soon for his own safety of life. Fortunately the shore was not so far away but he believed he could reach it, and throwing off his outer garments, he leaped into the water.

The Peruvians were struggling in every direction, the boat having been upset by them in their mad endeavors to save themselves. Jack knew that the farther he got away from them and the quicker he did it, the better it would be for him. He left them in their furious, but futile, efforts to escape or drown, as their attempts for life deserved.

After swimming a short distance he looked back to find that he was just in season to witness the fate of the ship. He saw her make a sudden lurch forward, and then she seemed to right herself for a moment, but it was her death struggle, for with the next breath she went downward, quickly disappearing from sight forever.

"Another plan gone wrong," thought Jack, "and again I am where I began."

A less courageous youth than Jack North must have given up then, but with the stern determination of his nature not to give up, he resumed his swimming, reaching the land half an hour later.

"This is worse than before," he said ruefully, as he viewed his drenched figure, "for I did save my coat then. Yes, and my cargo of nitrate is still on the mountain waiting for me. I think I will toss up a cent to see what I shall do next. No! come to think of it, I haven't got the cent to do that!"

His first thought was to return to the machine shop in Tocopilla, but as De la Pama was nearer he decided to go there in the morning. "It is useless for me to remain here," he reasoned, "I wonder how many of the Peruvians have escaped? They were a set of cowards anyway, and the captain the biggest fool of them all. I hope he will make good use of my money."

Jack laid down supperless that night under the green blanket of a Peruvian forest, and he went on toward De la Pama the next morning breakfastless, thinking:

"There is one thing certain, I will not take Plum's job from him. If he has no fireman, and will accept me, I will go as his helper."

Though he did not seek immediately his friend, almost the first person he saw in town was Plum. It would be difficult to say which was the more surprised.

"What! not gone to the States, Jack?"

"No, Plum."

"Something gone wrong, Jack, again?"

"About my usual luck, Plum. I am where I began—without a cent in my pocket," and he quickly told the other what had befallen him since they had parted.

"It's too bad, Jack, but I'll tell you what I'll do. I have what amounts to three hundred dollars that I've saved and every dollar of it is yours till you can pay it back."

"I could not think of taking your hard earnings, Plum, for it is uncertain if I should ever be able to pay it back.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, but must look for work again."

"Then you shall have my job, Jack. I had rather fire anyway; honest, Jack."

"Thank you again, Plum, and it's just like your generosity, but I cannot rob you of your situation. How does your fireman do?"

"Tip-top, I am sorry to say. To tell the truth, Jack, he does so well I am afraid he will get my job away from me. I wish you would take the lever again, Jack, and let me fire. I never had so good a time in my life as I did then."

This was a little past noon, and a few minutes later Jack would be obliged to part with Plum, who must start on his return to St. Resa.

"There is one favor you can do me, Plum. If you will lend me money enough to buy a pair of oxen I will begin to team a cargo of nitrate down myself. I do not feel you will take much risk in letting me have that amount."

"I only wish you would take more, Jack."

"I think I have hit on a better plan this time," said Jack, as he took the loan. "I am going to draw enough for a shipload down on the Bolivian coast and house it there until an American ship comes into harbor.

"I may have to wait a long time, but it will be best in the end."

With his oldtime vivacity Jack set out on his new undertaking. He soon found a yoke of oxen to his liking, and finding he had money enough he bought a second pair. Then he started for the mountain ridge where he had so unceremoniously left his two loads of nitrate so long before.

He did not expect to recover the one that had gone over the precipice, though it had not moved from its singular position. To his joy he found the other just where he had left it. The rust had gathered on the iron-work and the sun had discolored the wood, but the wagon was in running order, and as the path from this point was generally descending he had no trouble in drawing the load, though his team consisted of one yoke of oxen less than before.

It would be tedious to follow him in his long, lonely journeys to Cobija, on the coast of Bolivia, where he stored his nitrate until he had there enough for a ship's cargo. During the time his cattle lived by feeding on the grass that grew on the more fertile places along the route, while he lived on whatever food he could pick up, sleeping at night under his cart.

He had no further use for his oxen, so he sold them at the first favorable opportunity, realizing enough for them to pay back the money he had borrowed of his friend, with a fair rate of interest. Surely he had made a more auspicious beginning this time.



Chapter XXII

The Fate of Plum Plucky



It had been three months since Jack had seen Plum, so he resolved to go to De la Pama and see his friend before making another move in his venture. But he had not left town before he was surprised to meet his friend, who had come to Cobija in search of him.

"Lost my job and so I thought I would hunt you up," said the latter, bluntly. "Got a stunning piece of news for you, too. There is an American brig ship just above here at the next town, and I made bold to ask him to take your cargo to New York. He says he will do it for a snip in the profits."

This was a bit of news worth hearing, and in the exuberance of his spirits, Jack flung his cap high into the air and threw his arms about the neck of his friend.

"At last I believe my dream will be fulfilled, but I shall never forget it was you who helped to accomplish it. But I want to pay the money I owe you."

"Not yet, Jack; better keep it awhile longer. I know it is safe. You may need it you know. Besides I am going to the States with you. I have got enough of this country. The war grows hotter and hotter up St. Resa way. I am homesick!"

Jack lost no time in seeing the captain of the brig, a man named Hillgrove, and who gave our hero a most cordial greeting. He had been in Bouton daring his adventurous career, though he could give Jack no information of his friends. He knew John Fowler, the great engine builder, and that simple fact gave him confidence in the young speculator, who must have presented a not very favorable appearance to him.

Jack's long exposure to the tropical sun had fairly blackened his countenance, his hair was long and unkempt, while his clothes were sadly in need of repair, or more truthfully new ones to take their place. But there was an honest frankness in his manner, and Captain Hillgrove entered into the spirit of the venture with a hearty good-will. The bluff old sea dog, too, true to his nature, was anxious to get out to sea again as soon as possible.

"I must and will get out of this infernal country within a week," he said. "So I will run down to Cobija as soon as possible, and if your nitrates is on board by that time the old Elizabeth will be good-natured."

Plum having decided to go home with Jack, it was necessary for him to return to De la Pama for his money.

"I will be back sure, Jack, on the third, if not before," were his parting words.

Captain Hillgrove ran into Cobija the next morning, when the loading of the nitrates was begun with as little delay as possible, Jack feeling in the best of spirits as he superintended the work.

But on the eve of the third day, Jack having got the last of the cargo aboard a little after noon, to his anxiety, Plum Plucky had not appeared.

"He will surely come before morning, unless something has happened to him, for I never knew Plum to break his word," said Jack to the skipper.

"Can't wait any longer!" declared captain Hillgrove the following morning, when it was found that Plum was still missing. "We shall all be confiscated by these infernal Spaniards."

Jack was now really alarmed about his friend, whom he believed had been waylaid and robbed. But he could not think of leaving without making a search for him.

"I am going to start for De la Pama to look for him, but you may expect me back by sunset."

"If you are not I shall set sail without you, for I have seen some of the Chilian spies around today."

"You need not wait any longer than sunset," said Jack, who could not blame the other for his impatience.

Losing no more time, Jack mounted a fleet pony that he had hired at an exorbitant price, and set out for De la Pama at a furious pace.

Toward noon he was gladdened by the sight of an inhabitant of the town whom he knew, and who was on his way to Cobija.

Halting the Peruvian he inquired of him in regard to Plum. This fellow, who knew Plum well, replied that he had seen him in town, and that he had left two days before. Upon second thought, he volunteered the startling information that news had come of an American being waylaid and killed by a party of bush-raiders a dozen miles east of De la Pama!

"Did the young engineer start directly for Cobija?" asked Jack anxiously.

"No; he went toward the east, saying he wished to go to Don de Estuaray before he went to Cobija."

This was sufficient to arouse the fears of Jack, who procured a fresh horse and put on as rapidly as possible across the wild country toward the estancia of Don de Estuaray.

All the afternoon he rode as fast as he could, but he saw nothing of his missing friend. In his anxiety he halted on top of an eminence of land commanding a wide view of the surrounding country, to scan the lonely scene.

His attention was finally caught and held by the flight of one of those enormous vultures of the Andes, which was descrying a circle in the air directly over the valley at his feet. Smaller and smaller grew the orbit of this dark bird while he watched, until suddenly it ended its gyrations and swooped swiftly down out of sight.

Then a second took its place in the air, soon following it to the earth, in turn succeeded by a third, and that by another, and so on, until a dozen had come and gone in this mysterious way.

With a dread foreboding at his heart, Jack rode forward into the isolated valley, when, from a small opening in the centre of the place the sudden whir of wings and the rapid flight of many dark bodies told him the secret of it all.

He found what he expected a moment later—the bones of a human being picked clean of all flesh by the vultures, while scattered here and there were shreds and pieces of the garments worn by the unfortunate person.

He found enough of the clothes to know only too well that they belonged to his lost friend Plum Plucky, and tears filled his eyes as he turned away to shut out the sad spectacle.

"This is fearful!" he murmured. "Poor, poor fellow!"

At this very moment, though of course unknown to him, tired of waiting for him any longer, Captain Hillgrove was sailing out of Gobija harbor, anxious to reach the open sea before night should set in.



Chapter XXIII

Jenny



The vultures were still screaming over his head, venting their rage over being disturbed in their feast, as Jack hastily brushed the tears from his eyes and looked more clearly around him.

"Poor Plum!" he exclaimed, "this is indeed a sad fate. It seems a certain fatality for any one to be my friend. But I suppose you were killed for your money. It seems only decent that I should give your bones human burial."

With his knife and the stirrups taken from the trappings of his horse, Jack hollowed out a spot to receive all that was left of the body he had found.

By the time he had finished the sad task it was quite dark in the forest, so he knew he must get away from the lonely place as soon as possible, if he valued his own life.

With a last farewell look at the wildwood grave which he was never to see again, he rode away through the wilderness.

He soon found, however, that his horse was so spent that it must have rest before going much further.

As impatient as he was to reach Cobija, wondering what Captain Hillgrove would think of his prolonged absence, he yielded to the unavoidable and stopped awhile in the heart of the forest.

It was broad daylight when he rode into De la Pama on a used up horse and himself quite fagged out.

But notwithstanding his condition, he felt obliged to push on for Cobija, dreading lest he should find Captain Hillgrove already gone. Accordingly remounting the pony he had previously ridden, he started for the sea coast at a rapid gait.

The wiry little animal made a remarkable record, but he might as well have been on the road another day, as it seemed, for he found his worst fears realized.

Captain Hillgrove had sailed!

Whither should he turn now? What should he do? Never in his life had he felt so lonely and so near despair as he did at that time. The indomitable pluck which had carried him through so many trials began to leave him. Then, he rallied, exclaiming:

"I will earn money enough to take me back to the United States on the first ship that comes this way. Perhaps with a sample of my nitrate I———"

He suddenly felt a heavy hand laid on his shoulder, and turning he was both astonished and pleased to find one of the seaman of the Elizabeth standing beside him!

"Ahoy, shipmate!" greeted the sailor, giving the true nautical pitch, "so I've follered you into port at last, though it's a sorry cruise I've had."

"Captain Hillgrove!" cried Jack, elated. "Where is he?"

"Outside, shipmate. He durstn't stay inside longer, and he sent me to keep a lookout for you. I was giving you up when I clapped my old watchdogs on you. You are ready to go out to the Elizabeth in my boat?"

Jack's reply was an exclamation of joy and a more fervant grip of the honest old tar's hand.

"Captain Hillgrove had not deserted me after all!"

Without further trouble or delay the couple made the trip to the waiting vessel, when Jack was greeted by the bluff old skipper:

"Bless my eyes! but I had given you up to old Davy Jones."

"And I thought you had left me in the lurch," said Jack frankly, as he cringed under the grip given his hand by the other.

"I did not dare stay in Cobija longer, my hearty. If I had done so nary a bit of your dust would have been left on the Elizabeth. Bless my eyes! but I'm just overflowing and roaring glad—run up the yards lads. Lively, lads! put the old Elizabeth on her wings. We must be a long way from here afore sun-up."

Exciting scenes followed, of which Jack was a spectator and not an actor. For the present his work was done, and he had time now to ponder upon his ups and downs, hardly able to believe that at last he was really on his homeward journey. He felt far more confident in the care of bluff Captain Hillgrove than in that of the fickle Peruvians.

Nor was his confidence misplaced, for the night passed without anything occurring to interrupt their progress, and when the sun rose the following morning it found them many leagues from land, and bowling merrily on their way.

Captain Hillgrove listened to his account of the fate of poor Plum Plucky with a feeling of sorrow, though he had never met the young American.

Jack's return home was something of a triumph, though he was saddened by the loss of his companion during those trying scenes he could not put from his mind, while his longings to reach home were tinged with those forebodings one cannot escape who has been away so long, and the nearer he approached his native land the more ominous became those feelings!

Were his parents still living and well? Was—was Jenny still true to him? What had she thought of his long, weary years of absence? Until then he had not realized that he had been away so long.

At last the old Elizabeth was safely moored at her dock.

Though Captain Hillgrove was anxious to know what the result of their speculation was going to be, he allowed Jack time to hunt up his relatives and friends before the nitrate was moved from the ship's hold.

I cannot begin to explain the joyous reception accorded our hero at his home, for many had given him up as dead.

With a tremulous tongue he asked for Jenny dreading, doubting, expecting he knew not what; and then his cup of happiness overflowed at the thrice-welcome news of her well-being and faithfulness to him, and that she had just returned to her native town.

Jenny was not only living and well, but she had never given up looking for him, believing he would some day return to her.

The sweet happiness of the meeting between the pair is too sacred to be revealed.

When the first transport of his reception home had passed, Jack proceeded to put on the market his ship-load of nitrate, to be met with another rebuff in the checkered wheel of fortune.

He could find no one with faith in the virtue of his product brought from the wilds of South America.

Captain Hillgrove began to think he had made a profitless voyage, though be it said to his credit, he stood ever by Jack.

The latter met the words of scorn uttered against him with his characteristic good-nature. Some of the nitrate was put in the hands of competent chemists, and still more with practical agriculturists.

"I shall win out," said Jack confidently.

"I trust so with all my heart," answered Jenny.

At last some favorable reports came in and then the load of nitrates was sold at a fair profit. Of the amount Jack got several hundred dollars, the rest going to the captain of the Elizabeth.



Chapter XXIV

Jack and the Ocelot



The one most satisfied with the result of this first cargo of nitrate was Captain Hillgrove. He had not expected great returns, but found himself so well paid that he was willing to return for another load as soon as possible.

Jack felt confident of his ultimate success. Already he was the possessor of a fair sum, and with the apparently unlimited deposits of nitrate now in his possession, he believed he could easily secure a fortune. As soon as he should get back to Peru he resolved to get possession of other nitrate beds before the price should advance.

But with that far-seeing sagacity of his he made no talk of what he had done or what he had in mind. Quietly he went about his work, engaging several ships to go to South America with him, prepared to return with loads of the precious substance. He fitted up an office at home and put a trusty man in the place to begin to work up a business. He had fondly looked forward to giving this place to Plum Plucky, but stern fate had decreed different plans.

Jenny was enthusiastic over her Jack's plans, and that they might not be separated so long again she consented to their marriage, which took place before he started on his second trip to Peru, and she accompanied him.

Now that Jack had really got started in his speculations, he studied how best he might promote his interest. His young wife going with him to South America, he resolved to locate in that country until he had got fairly under control the gigantic business he intended to build up.

While successful in his nitrate ventures, he still preserved the manuscript he had picked up in the convict cell on the island of Robinson Crusoe, and he looked forward to the time when he should be able to visit the strange lake in the Andes with means to reach its mysterious island of buried treasure.

So at last, accompanied by a party of surveyors and explorers, armed with papers which would make him the owner of the whole region as soon as the boundaries could be fixed, he started for the place.

He had told his real object to no one, knowing that to do so would be to ruin his prospects without benefiting any one permanently.

He had no difficulty in leading the way to the spur of the Andes where he had met with his thrilling experience with the jaguars, and then the party started for the rocky ridge overlooking the niche in the mountains holding the Devil's Waters.

It was a route that Jack had traveled several times, and feeling in the best of spirits, he set off on a galop, on the pony he was riding.

"Poor Plum!" he murmured, as he rode along. "How I wish he was a live to enjoy this with me."

On and on went our hero until he came to where there was a break in the trail. He was absorbed in thought at the time and did not notice that his pony turned to the left instead of the right.

The way seemed easy, and presently the pony set off on a galop, which soon brought Jack out of his revery.

"Hullo! where am I going?" he asked himself, and brought his steed to a halt. Then he gazed around in perplexity. "I declare I must be lost!"

With the memory of what had happened when he had been lost before, Jack lost no time in turning back. But soon he became bewildered, and brought his steed to a standstill a second time.