The copious draughts of evil-smelling water I
had drunk in my raging thirst brought on nausea, and it was only by
force of will that I kept myself from falling, when on an eminence I
joyfully sighted the Brazilian estancia.
Hope then revived in me. My
knowing horse had seen the house before me, and without any guidance
made straight towards it at a quicker pace. Well he knew that houses
in those desolate wastes were too far apart to be passed unheeded by,
and I thoroughly concurred in his wisdom. As I drew up before the
lonely place my tongue refused to shout "Ave Maria," but I clapped my
perspiring hands, and soon had the satisfaction of hearing footsteps
within. Visions of shade and of meat and drink and rest floated
before my eyes when I saw the door opened. A coal-black face peeped
out, which, in a cracked, broken voice, I addressed, asking the
privilege to dismount. Horror of horrors, I had not even been
answered ere the door was shut again in my face! Get down without
permission I dare not. The house was a large edifice, built of rough,
undressed stones, and had a thick, high wall of the same material all
around.
Were the inmates fiends that they let me sit there, knowing well that
there was no other habitation within miles? As the minutes slowly
lengthened out, and the door remained closed, my spirits sank lower
and lower.
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