The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

8 A PERUVIAN PARADISE. ‘‘ What do you think of ¢hat, Fitch ?’’ interrupted Ford Kinsale. ‘‘Dry up, Ford,’’ commanded Keeth. ‘‘ Let Senor Rodriguez tell his story.’’ ‘‘T haf always been of an adventurous nature, senors,’’ continued the Spaniard. ‘‘I was hunting with a single guide among the upper Andes. We were set upon by a party of these savages, my guide killed, and I taken prisoner. For three years I haf lived among them, I say. ‘*Senors, they are as untamed, as warlike, as mooch heathen—Jo0s help them !—as were their ancestors when the gr-reat Pizarro led his conquesta- dors to old Cuzco. And with them, senors—with them, I say—I spent t’ree long years. Ah! they were terrible years. But I am repaid—ah, yes, senors!’’ He looked from one to the other of his listeners. ‘‘Senors,’’ he whispered, ‘‘/ haf knowledge of the lost treasures of the Incas !”” The faces of Keeth and Ford Kinsale displayed their interest ; but the trader’s ruddy countenance was white, and he stared at the speaker with wide open eyes and mouth. “T, Jose Rodriguez, learned that which the Indians themselfs knew not,’’ pursued the Spaniard. ‘‘I learned the secret which their old men had forgotten. Aye, I was their captive, but I had eyes. Sz, senor, I haf seen the Incas’ cave.’’ ‘“'The Incas’ cave?’’ repeated Keeth. ‘Sz, senor. ‘The cave of wealth; the tr-reasure house of the great Incas who ruled this land when my countrymen conquered it. My eyes haf been blinded by the glare of gold—dazzled by the flash of such gems as would fitly adorn a monarch’s crown. I, Jose Rodriguez, haf seen | all dis !’’ He uttered these words excitedly, and looked from Keeth to his friends with keenest scrutiny. ‘‘ Vou doubt me, senors!’’ he cried. ‘‘ Look! behold !’’ With trembling fingers he tore open his coat and thrust one hand into a slit in its lining. In an instant he drew forth a thin bar of metal half a foot in length and three or four inches wide. It was dead yellow in hue. He threw it down at their feet and brought out three others from the same hiding place. Fitch pounced upon them like a hawk. He touched his tongue to a bar, bit it, and turned to his companions with a face as white as chalk. ‘‘ Gold—virgin gold, as Hi’m a livin’ man!’’ he gasped. ‘‘Where those catne from, senors,’’ went on Rodriguez, becoming calmer as his listeners’ excitement increased, ‘‘ were great heaps of such bars— wealth, senors! Reeches beyond belief !’’ ‘* And those are all you brought away ?’’ demanded Keeth. ‘« $2, senor—all. I was alone; I beliefed I was pursued, though now I t?ink I was not. Ket was t’rough the old treasure cavern I make my escape, an’ its entrance has been lost to the Indians themselves for generations. I found it quite by accident. ‘They perhaps t’ink me drown’; but, by the blessing of Sancta Maria, I was safe. I travel many days t’rough these mountains. GOmichbooks (SO)