The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 35: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A PERUVIAN PARADISE. 35 ‘‘ Hand more than that, Mr. Keeth,’’ added F itch, ‘‘ you may be hable to ‘elp us by standin’ in with the old chap.”’ ‘“That’s so, Keeth. Stroke his fur the right way, and make love to the girl, You may be able to get the whole crowd of us out, if you’re sweet enough on her.”’ But Ronald Keeth made up his mind that that was one thing he would not do. ‘The priest’s granddaughter should receive as respectful treatment at his hands as though he had met her in a New Vork drawing room. Ford’s insinuating remarks about his interest in her grated upon the engineer’s finer nature. He could not look upon the sweet face of Imozene without remembering that moment of awful peril when they hung together over the gorge with only the frail hempen rope between them and death. How brave \ she had been! And how kind she was to him afterward, coming herself to anoint his wounds. No, -he could not think of her lightly, and promised himself that neither by word nor look would he take advantage of her guile- lessness. He spent much time with the old priest, for. that strange individual seemed to have taken a fancy to him. Beside, he was the only person about the temple with whom he could at first converse. ‘The knowledge of their conquerors’ language had been guarded very jealously by the priests of the Incas ; his host told him that but one member of a generation was ever taught it. } But Keeth had a taste for languages himself, and before long he was rapidly picking up the dialect of these people. With the priest he always conversed in Spanish ; but for several hours every day he was more or less in Imozene’s society ; and when two young folks who have no reason for abso- lutely hating each other are thus thrown together, they must find some medium of communication. Under the girl’s tuition Keeth advanced in his study of the Indian tongue. Imozene, though scarcely more than a child in years (she was about seventeen, as near as Keeth could figure from the Indian measurement of time), was a woman in thought and feeling. And as soon as they learned to understand each other she showed great curiosity in regard to the outside world. Many things he tried to tell her she could not understand—nor was it possible for him to explain what he meant, for her language had no words by which he might express his meaning. That the world beyond the confines of her own mountains was a vast place, full of wonderful things and wonder- ful people, was the fact which impressed her most. She was amazed that the white men, when they already had so much, should care to penetrate the fastnesses of the Andes for any cause whatever. Keeth had in his pack a small map of Peru which he showed her and tried to explain its uses. She thought that the diagram represented the whole world, and when he told her that even that vast territory, of which her beautiful valley was but a tiny spot, was a very small portion of the globe, she scarcely believed him. ‘' Dost thou really mean that, my lord?’’ she asked, laying her hand on his arm and looking up into his face. 7 CopmielaoolK< (S@)