AT LIMA
Three days later the sky cleared, and the captain, getting an
observation, found that they had rounded the southernmost point of the
Cape. Another day and the _Para's_ head was turned north, and a week
later they were running smoothly along before a gentle breeze, with the
coast of Chili twenty miles away. The heavy wraps had all been laid
aside, and although the air was still frosty, the crew felt it warm
after what they had endured. The upper spars and yards had all been
sent up, and she was now carrying a crowd of canvas. The mate had
thawed out under the more congenial surroundings. He had worked like a
horse during the storm, setting an example, whether in going aloft or
in the work of clearing off the ice from the bows, and even when his
watch was relieved he seldom went below.
"Well, I hope, Mr. Johnson, we shall sail together until you get your
next step," the captain said. "I could not wish for a better first
officer."
"I want nothing better, sir. She is a fine ship, well manned and well
commanded. I begin to feel at home in her now; at first I didn't. I
hate changes; and though the last captain I sailed with was a surly
fellow, we got on very well together. I would rather sail with a man
like that than with a skipper who is always talking. I am a silent man
myself, and am quite content to eat my meal and enjoy it, without
having to stop every time I am putting my fork into my mouth to answer
some question or other. I was once six months up in the north without
ever speaking to a soul. I was whaling then, and a snow-storm came on
when we were fast on to a fish. It was twenty-four hours before it
cleared off, and when it did there was no ship to be seen. We were in
an inlet at the time in Baffin's Bay. We thought that the ship would
come back, and we landed and hauled up the boat. The ship didn't come
back, and, as I learned long afterwards, was never heard of again. I
suppose she got nipped between two icebergs.
"Winter was coming on fast, and the men all agreed that they would
rather try and make their way south overland than stay there. I told
them that they were fools, but I admit that the prospect of a winter
there was enough to frighten any man. I did not like it myself, but I
thought it was wiser to remain there than to move. Some of the men went
along the shore, or out in the boat, and managed to kill several
sea-cows. They made a sledge, piled the meat on it, and started.
"Meanwhile I had been busy building a sort of hut. I piled great stones
against the foot of the cliffs, and turned the boat upside down to form
a roof. The men helped me to do that job the last thing before they
started. Then I blocked up the entrance, leaving only just room for me
to crawl in and out. The snow began to fall steadily three days after
the others had gone, and very soon covered my hut two feet deep. I
melted the blubber of the whale in the boat's baler, for we had towed
the fish ashore. The first potful or two I boiled over a few bits of
drift-wood. After that it was easy enough, as I unravelled some of the
boat's rope, dipped it in the hot blubber, and made a store of big
candles. There was a lot of meat left on the sea-cows, so I cut that
up, froze it, and stowed as much as I could in the hut. I was bothered
about the rest, as I knew the bears were likely to come down; but I
found a ledge on the face of the perpendicular rock, and by putting the
boat's mast against it I was able to get up to it. Here I piled, I
should say, a ton of meat and blubber. Then I set to work and collected
some dried grass, and soon I had enough to serve as bed and covers. It
took me a month to do all this, and by that time winter was down on me
in earnest. I had spent my evenings in making myself, out of the skins
of the three cows, breeches, high boots, and a coat with a hood over
the head, and in order to make these soft I rubbed them with hot oil.
They were rough things, but I hoped that I might get a bear later on.
Fortunately the boat had two balers, for I required one in which to
melt the snow over the lamp.
"Well, sir, I lived there during that winter. I did not find it
altogether dull, for I had several bits of excitement. For a month or
so bears and wolves came down and fought over the carcass of the whale.
When that was eaten up they turned their attention to me, and over and
over again they tried to break in. They had better have left me alone,
for though they were strong enough to have pulled away the rocks that
blocked the entrance, they could not stand fire. As I had any amount of
rope, I used to soak it in rock-oil, set it on fire, and shove it out
of the entrance. Twice small bears managed to wriggle up the passage,
but I had sharpened the boat-hook and managed to kill them both. One
skin made me a whole suit, and the other a first-rate blanket. Not that
it was ever unpleasantly cold, for a couple of my big candles, and the
thick coating of snow over it, kept the place as warm as I cared for.
Occasionally, when the bears had cleared off, I went out, climbed the
mast, and got fresh supplies down. They had made desperate efforts to
get at the meat, but the face of the rock was luckily too smooth for
them to get any hold. When spring came and the ice broke up, I planted
the mast on the top of the cliff with the sail fastened as a flag, and
a month after the sea was clear a whaler came in and took me off. That
was how I pretty well lost the use of my tongue, and though I am better
than I was, I don't use it much now except on duty."
"That certainly accounts for it," Harry said; "you must have had an
awful time."
"I don't think I minded it very much, sir. Except when I was bothered
by the bears I slept a good lot. I think at first I used to talk out
loud a good deal. But I soon dropped that, though I used to whistle
sometimes when I was cooking the food. I don't think I should have held
on so long if I had only had the sea-cow flesh, but the bears made a
nice change, and I only wished that one or two more had managed to
crawl in."
"I wonder you were able to kill them with a boat-hook."
"I didn't, sir. You know every whaler carries an axe to cut the line if
necessary, and I was able to split their skulls as they crawled in
before they could get fairly on to their feet and use their paws. I was
getting very weak with scurvy towards the end; but as soon as the snow
melted plants began to shoot, and I was able to collect green stuff, so
that I was nearly well by the time I was picked up."
The weather continued fine all the time they were coasting up the
Chilian coast. They were a week at Valparaiso getting out the cargo
they had brought for that town, and did some trading at smaller ports;
but at last, just four months after leaving England, they dropped
anchor off Callao. "Well, it has been a jolly voyage, Harry," his
brother said as they were rowed ashore, after a hearty farewell from
the captain and the first officer.
"I am glad you enjoyed it, Bertie. I was sorry all the time I hadn't
taken a passage for you aft."
"I am better pleased to have been at work; it would have been awfully
slow otherwise. The mates were both good fellows, and I got on well
with the other apprentices. I tried at first not to turn out on night
watch, as I was not obliged to do so, but I soon gave it up; it seemed
disgusting to be lying there when the others had to turn out. It has
been a jolly voyage, but I am glad that we are here at last, and are
going to set to work in search of treasures."
"I had begun to think that we should not get on shore to-day," Harry
said as they neared the landing-place. "What with three hours' waiting
for the medical officer, and another three for that bumptious official
whom they call the port officer, and without whose permission no one is
allowed to land, I think everyone on board was so disgusted that we
should have liked nothing better than to pitch the fellow overboard. It
was rather amusing to watch all those boatmen crowding round shouting
the praises of their own craft and running down the others. But a
little of it goes a long way. It is the same pretty nearly at every
port I have entered. Boatmen are harpies of the worst kind. It is lucky
that we had so little baggage; a tip of a couple of dollars was enough
to render the custom-house officer not only civil but servile."
As they mounted the steps they were assailed by a motley crowd, half of
whom struggled to get near them to hold out their hands for alms, while
the other half struggled and fought for the right of carrying their
baggage. Accustomed to such scenes, Harry at once seized upon two of
them, gave them the portmanteaux, and, keeping behind them, pushed them
through the crowd, telling them to lead the way to the hotel that the
captain had recommended as being the least filthy in the place. They
crossed a square covered with goods of all kinds. There were long rows
of great jars filled with native spirit, bales of cinchona bark, piles
of wheat from Chili, white and rose-coloured blocks of salt, pyramids
of unrefined sugar, and a block of great bars of silver; among these
again were bales and boxes landed from foreign countries, logs of
timber, and old anchors and chains. Numbers of people who appeared to
have nothing to do sauntered about or sat on logs. In odd corners were
native women engaged in making the picanties upon which the poor
largely exist; these were composed of fresh and salt meat, potatoes,
crabs, the juice of bitter oranges, lard, salt, and an abundance of
pepper pods.
"That is the sort of thing we shall have to eat, Bertie."
"Well, I should not mind if I had not got to look on at the making;
they smell uncommonly good."
The hotel was larger and even more dirty than the captain's description
had led them to expect. However, the dinner that was served to them was
better than they had looked for, and being very hungry after their long
wait, they did full justice to it.
"It might have been a good deal worse, Bertie."
"I should think so; after four months of salt junk it is splendid!"
A cup of really good coffee, followed by a little glass of native
spirits, added to their satisfaction. They had hesitated before whether
to push on at once to Lima or wait there till next morning. Their meal
decided them--they would start at daybreak, so as to get to Lima before
the sun became really hot. Harry asked the landlord to bargain for two
riding mules and one for baggage to be ready at that hour, and they
then strolled out to view the place, although Bertie assured his
brother that there was nothing whatever to see in it.
"That may be, Bertie; but we are not going to begin by being lazy.
There is always something to see in foreign lands by those who keep
their eyes open."
After an hour's walk Harry was inclined to think that his brother was
right. The houses were generally constructed of canes, plastered with
mud, and painted yellow. As the result of earthquakes, scarce a house
stood upright--some leaned sideways, and looked as if they were going
to topple over into the road; while others leaned back, as if, were you
to push against them, they would collapse and crush the inmates.
Their night was not a pleasant one. The beds were simple, consisting
only of hides stretched across wooden frames, but, as they very
speedily found, there were numerous other inhabitants. They therefore
slept but little, and were heartily glad when the first gleam of dawn
appeared.
Slipping on their clothes, they ran down to the shore and had a bath.
By the time they returned breakfast was ready--coffee, fish, and eggs.
The mules did not appear for another hour, by which time their patience
was all but exhausted. The portmanteaux were speedily strapped on to
the back of the baggage mule, and they mounted the two others. The
muleteer had brought one for himself, and, fastening the baggage animal
behind it, they started.
It was six miles to Lima, but as the city is five hundred and twelve
feet above the sea, the ascent was steady and somewhat steep. The road
was desperately bad, and the country uninteresting, being for the most
part dried up. Occasionally they saw great mounds of adobe bricks, the
remains of the ancient habitations. As they neared the town vegetation
became general, small canals irrigating the country. Here were fruit
and vegetable gardens, with oranges, plantains, vines, and flowers.
Passing through a gate in the walls they entered the town, which
afforded a pleasant contrast to the squalid misery of Callao. The city,
however, could not be called imposing; the houses were low and
irregular, fantastically painted in squares or stripes, and almost all
had great balconies shut in with trellis-work.
Few of the houses had any windows towards the street, the larger ones
being constructed with a central courtyard, into which the rooms all
opened. The streets were all built at right angles, the principal ones
leading from the grand square, in which stood the cathedral and the
palace of the Spanish viceroys, the other sides consisting of private
houses, with shops and arcades below them. The hotel to which they had
been recommended was a large building with a courtyard, with dining and
other rooms opening from it, and above them the bedrooms. In comparison
with the inn at Callao it was magnificent, but in point of cleanliness
it left a great deal to be desired. After settling themselves in their
room they went out. The change in temperature since they had left
Callao had been very great.
"The first thing to do, Bertie, is to buy ourselves a couple of good
ponchos. You see all the natives are wearing them."
"We certainly want something of the sort, Harry. I thought it was heat
that we were going to suffer from, but it seems just the other way. To
judge from the temperature we might be in Scotland, and this damp mist
chills one to the bone."
"I am not much surprised, for of course I got the subject up as much as
I could before starting; and Barnett told me that Lima was altogether
an exceptional place, and that while it was bright and warm during the
winter months, from May till November on the plains only a few miles
away, even in the summer months there was almost always a clammy mist
at Lima, and that inside the house as well as outside everything
streamed with moisture. He said that this had never been satisfactorily
accounted for. Some say that it is due to the coldness of the river
here--the Rimac--which comes down from the snowy mountains. Others
think that the cold wind that always blows down the valley of the river
meets the winds from the sea here, and the moisture contained in them
is thus precipitated. I believe that a few miles higher up we shall get
out of this atmosphere altogether. Still, the ponchos will be very
useful, for it will be really cold up in the mountains. They serve for
cloaks in the daytime and blankets at night. The best are made of the
wool of the guanacos, a sort of llama. Their wool is very fine, and
before we start we will get two of coarser wool to use as blankets to
sleep on, while we have the finer ones to cover us."
There was no difficulty in finding a shop with the goods they wanted,
and the prices, even of the best, were very moderate. They next bought
two soft felt hats with broad brims.
"That is ever so much more comfortable. We will wait until to-morrow
before we begin what we may call business, Bertie. Of course I shall
deliver the other letters of introduction that Mr. Barnett gave me; but
the principal one--that to his former muleteer--is more important than
all put together. If anything has happened to him, there is an end of
any chance whatever of finding treasure. Of course he may have moved
away, or be absent on a journey with his mules, in which case we shall
have either to follow him or wait for his return."
"That would be a frightful nuisance."
"Yes; still, it is one of the things that we foresaw might happen."
"I vote we go at once, Harry, and see if he is here."
"I don't think we shall find him here; for Barnett said that he lived
in the village of Miraflores, five miles away on the north, and that if
he is not there, Señor Pasquez, to whom I have a letter, will be likely
to tell me where he is to be found, for he is often employed by him.
However, I am as anxious as you to see him. As it is only eleven
o'clock yet, there is no reason why we should not go to Miraflores.
They will get mules for us at the hotel, and tell us which road to
take."
It was not necessary, however, to go into the hotel, for when they
returned, two or three men with mules were waiting to be hired. They
engaged two animals, and as the man of whom they hired them had a
third, and he was ready to accompany them for a small fee, they agreed
to take him with them.
Before they were a mile out of the town the mist cleared off and the
sun shone brightly. The heat, however, was by no means too great to be
pleasant. Miraflores was a charming village, or rather small town,
nestling among gardens and orchards.
"I want to find a muleteer named Dias Otero," Harry said to their guide
as they rode into the place.
"I know him well," he said. "Everyone about here knows Dias. His wife
was a cousin of my mother's."
"Do you know whether he is at home now?"
"Yes, señor; I saw him in Lima three days ago. He had just come down
from the mountains. He had been away two months, and certainly will not
have started again so soon. Shall I lead you to his house at once?"
"Do so; it is to see him that I have come to this town. He worked for a
long time with a friend of mine some years ago, and I have brought a
message from him. I may be some time talking with him, so when I go in
you can tie up your mules for a while."
"That is his house," the man said presently.
It lay in the outskirts of the town, and was neater than the generality
of houses, and the garden was a mass of flowers. They dismounted,
handed over the mules to their owner, and walked to the door. An Indian
of some five-and-forty years came out as they did so.
"Are you Dias Otero?" Harry asked.
"The same, señor."
"I have just arrived from England, and bring a letter to you from Señor
Barnett, with whom you travelled for two or three years some time ago."
The man's face lit up with pleasure. "Will you enter, señor. Friends of
Señor Barnett may command my services in any way. It is a delight to
hear from him. He writes to me sometimes, but in these troubles letters
do not always come. I love the señor; there never was a kinder master.
He once saved my life at the risk of his own. Is there any hope of his
coming out again?"
"I do not think so, Dias. He is strong and well, but I do not think he
is likely to start again on a journey of exploration. He is my greatest
friend. My brother and I were left under his charge when we were young,
and he has been almost a father to us. It is he who has sent us out to
you. Here is his letter."
"Will you read it to me, señor. I cannot read; I am always obliged to
get somebody to read my letters, and write answers for me."
The letter was of course in Spanish, and Harry read:
"Dear friend Dias,
"I am sending out to you a gentleman, Mr. Prendergast, an officer of
the British Navy, in whom I am deeply interested. His brother
accompanies him. I beg that you will treat them as you would me, and
every service you can render him consider as rendered to myself. From a
reason which he will no doubt explain to you in time, it is of the
deepest importance to him that he should grow rich in the course of the
next two years. He asked my advice, and I said to him, 'There is no one
I know of who could possibly put you in the way of so doing better than
my friend Dias Otero. I believe it is in his power to do so if he is
willing.' I also believe that for my sake you will aid him. He will
place himself wholly in your hands. He does not care what danger he
runs, or what hardships he has to go through in order to attain his
purpose. I know that I need not say more to you. He has two years
before him; long before that I am sure you will be as interested in him
as you were in me. He has sufficient means to pay all expenses of
travel for the time he will be out there. I know that you are descended
from nobles of high rank at the court of the Incas when the Spaniards
arrived, and that secrets known to but few were passed down from father
to son in your family. If you can use any of those secrets to the
advantage of my friend, I pray you most earnestly to do so. I trust
that this letter will find you and your good wife in health. Had I been
ten years younger I would have come out with my friends to aid them in
their adventure, but I know that in putting them into your hands I
shall be doing them a vastly greater service than I could do were I
able to come in person."
When Harry ceased, the Indian sat for some time without speaking, then
he said:
"It is a matter that I must think over, señor. It is a very grave one,
and had any other man than Señor Barnett asked this service of me no
money could have tempted me to assent to it. It is not only that my
life would be in danger, but that my name would be held up to
execration by all my people were I to divulge the secret that even the
tortures of the Spaniards could not wring from us. I must think it over
before I answer. I suppose you are staying at the Hotel Morin; I will
call and see you when I have thought the matter over. It is a grave
question, and it may be three or four days before I can decide."
"I thank you, Dias; but there is no occasion for you to give a final
decision now. Whether or no, we shall travel for a while, and I trust
that you will go with us with your mules and be our guide, as you did
to Mr. Barnett. It will be time enough when you know us better to give
us a final answer; it is not to be expected that even for Señor
Barnett's sake you would do this immense service for strangers,
therefore I pray you to leave the matter open. Make arrangements for
your mules and yourself for a three months' journey in the mountains,
show us what there is to see of the gold and silver placers, and the
quicksilver mines at Huanuco. At the end of that time you will know us
and can say whether you are ready to aid us in our search."
The native bowed his head gravely.
"I will think it over," he said; "and now, señors, let us put that
aside. My wife has been busy since you entered in preparing a simple
meal, and I ask you to honour me by partaking of it."
"With pleasure, Dias."
It consisted of _puchero_, a stew consisting of a piece of beef,
cabbage, sweet-potatoes, salt pork, sausage-meat, pigs' feet, yuccas,
bananas, quinces, peas, rice, salt, and an abundance of Chili peppers.
This had been cooked for six hours and was now warmed up. Two bottles
of excellent native wine, a flask of spirits, and some water were also
put on the table. The Indian declined to sit down with them, saying
that he had taken a meal an hour before.
While they ate he chatted with them, asking questions of their voyage
and telling them of the state of things in the country.
"It is always the same, señors, there is a revolution and two or three
battles; then either the president or the one who wants to be president
escapes from the country or is taken and shot, and in a day or two
there is a fresh pronunciamiento. We thought that when the Spaniards
had been driven out we should have had peace, but it is not so; we have
had San Martin, and Bolivar, and Aguero, and Santa Cruz, and Sucre.
Bolivar again finally defeated the Spaniards at Ayacucho. Rodil held
possession of Callao castle, and defended it until January of this
year. We in the villages have not suffered--those who liked fighting
went out with one or other of the generals; some have returned, others
have been killed--but Lima has suffered greatly. Sometimes the people
have taken one side, sometimes the other, and though the general they
supported was sometimes victorious for a short time, in the end they
suffered. Most of the old Spanish families perished; numbers died in
the castle of Callao, where many thousands of the best blood of Lima
took refuge, and of these well-nigh half died of hunger and misery
before Rodil surrendered."
"But does not this make travelling very unsafe?"
The Indian shrugged his shoulders.
"Peru is a large country, señor, and those who want to keep out of the
way of the armies and lighting can do so; I myself have continued my
occupation and have never fallen in with the armies. That is because
the fighting is principally in the plains, or round Cuzco; for the men
do not go into the mountains except as fugitives, as they could not
find food there for an army. It is these fugitives who render the road
somewhat unsafe; starving men must take what they can get. They do not
interfere with the great silver convoys from Potosi or other mines--a
loaf of bread is worth more than a bar of silver in the mountains--but
they will plunder persons coming down with goods to the town or going
up with their purchases. Once or twice I have had to give up the food I
carried with me, but I have had little to grumble at, and I do not
think you need trouble yourself about them; we will take care to avoid
them as far as possible."
After chatting for an hour they left the cottage, and, mounting their
mules, returned to Lima.
"I think he will help us, Harry," Bertie said as soon as they set out.
"I think so too, but we must not press him to begin with. Of course
there is a question too as to how far he can help us. He may know
vaguely where the rich mines once existed; but you must remember that
they have been lost for three hundred years, and it may be impossible
for even a man who has received the traditions as to their positions to
hit upon the precise spot. The mountains, you see, are tremendous;
there must be innumerable ravines and gorges among them. It is certain
that nothing approaching an accurate map can ever have been made of the
mountains, and I should say that in most cases the indications that may
have been given are very vague. They would no doubt have been
sufficient for those who lived soon after the money was hidden, and
were natives of that part of the country and thoroughly acquainted with
all the surroundings, but when the information came to be handed down
from mouth to mouth during many generations, the local knowledge would
be lost, and what were at first detailed instructions would become
little better than vague legends. You know how three hundred years will
alter the face of a country--rocks roll down the hills, torrents wash
away the soil, forests grow or are cleared away. I believe with you
that the Indian will do his best, but I have grave doubts whether he
will be able to locate any big thing."
"Well, you don't take a very cheerful view of things, Harry; you
certainly seemed more hopeful when we first started."
"Yes. I don't say I am not hopeful still, but it is one thing to plan
out an enterprise at a distance and quite another when you are face to
face with its execution. As we have come down the coast, and seen that
great range of mountains stretching along for hundreds of miles, and we
know that there is another quite as big lying behind it, I have begun
to realize the difficulties of the adventures that we are undertaking.
However, we shall hear, when Dias comes over to see us, what he thinks
of the matter. I fancy he will say that he is willing to go with us and
help us as far as he can, but that although he will do his best he
cannot promise that he will be able to point out, with anything like
certainty, the position of any of the old mines."
Next day they called on Señor Pasquez, who received them very cordially.
"So you are going to follow the example of Señor Barnett and spend some
time in exploring the country and doing some shooting. Have you found
Dias?"
"Yes, señor, and I think he will go with us, though he has not given a
positive answer."
"You will be fortunate if you get him; he is one of the best-known
muleteers in the country, and if anyone comes here and wants a guide
Dias is sure to be the first to be recommended. If he goes with you he
can give you much useful advice; he knows exactly what you will have to
take with you, the best districts to visit for your purpose, and the
best way of getting there. For the rest, I shall be very happy to take
charge of any money you may wish to leave behind, and to act as your
banker and cash any orders you may draw upon me. I will also receive
and place to your account any sums that may be sent you from England."
"That, sir, is a matter which Mr. Barnett advised me to place in your
hands. After making what few purchases we require, and taking fifty
pounds in silver, I shall have two hundred and fifty pounds to place in
your hands. Mr. Barnett will manage my affairs in my absence, and will
send to you fifty pounds quarterly."
"You will find difficulty in spending it all in two years," the
merchant said with a smile. "If you are content to live on what can be
bought in the country, it costs very little; and as for the mules, they
can generally pick up enough at their halting-places to serve them,
with a small allowance of grain. You can hire them cheaply, or you can
buy them. The latter is cheaper in the end, but you cannot be sure of
getting mules accustomed to mountains, and you would therefore run the
risk of their losing their foothold, and not only being dashed to
pieces but destroying their saddles and loads. However, if you secure
the services of Dias Otero, you will get mules that know every path in
the mountains. He is famous for his animals, and he himself is
considered the most trusty muleteer here; men think themselves lucky in
obtaining his services. I would send him with loads of uncounted gold
and should be sure that there would not be a piece missing."
Next day Dias came to the hotel.
"I have thought it over, señor," he said. "I need not say that were it
only ordinary service, instead of exploring the mountains, I should be
glad indeed to do my best for a friend of Señor Barnett; but as to the
real purpose of your journey I wish, before making any arrangement,
that the matter should be thoroughly understood. I have no certain
knowledge whatever as to any of the lost mines, still less of any
hidden treasures; but I know all the traditions that have passed down
concerning them. I doubt whether any Indians now possess a certain
knowledge of these things. For generations, no doubt, the secrets were
handed down from father to son, and it is possible that some few may
still know of these places; but I doubt it. Think of the hundreds and
thousands of our people who have been killed in battle, or died as
slaves in the mines, and you will see that numbers of those to whom the
secrets were entrusted must have taken their knowledge to the grave
with them.
"In each generation the number of those who knew the particulars of
these hiding-places must have diminished. Few now can know more than I
do, yet I am sure of nothing. I know generally where the mines were
situated and where some treasures were concealed, and what knowledge I
have I will place at your service; but so great a care was used in the
concealment of the entrances to the mines, so carefully were the
hiding-places of the treasures chosen, and so cunningly concealed,
that, without the surest indications and the most minute instructions,
we might search for years, as men indeed have done ever since the
Spanish came here, without finding them. I am glad that I can lay my
hand upon my heart and say, that whatever may have been possessed by
ancestors of mine, no actual details have ever come down to me; for,
had it been so, I could not have revealed them to you. We know that all
who were instructed in these were bound by the most terrible oaths not
to reveal them. Numbers have died under the torture rather than break
those oaths; and even now, were one of us to betray the secrets that
had come down to him, he would be regarded as accursed. No one would
break bread with him, every door would be closed against him, and if he
died his body would rot where it fell. But my knowledge is merely
general, gathered not only from the traditions known to all our people,
but from confidences made by one member of our family to another. Full
knowledge was undoubtedly given to some of them; but all these must
have died without initiating others into the full particulars. Such
knowledge as I have is at your disposal. I can take you to the
localities, I can say to you, 'Near this place was a great mine,' but
unless chance favours you you may search in vain."
"That is quite as much as I had hoped for, Dias, and I am grateful for
your willingness to do what you can for us, just as you did for Señor
Barnett."