Carmen, whose sufferings were as great as my own, echoed my hope.  And it was not long in being gratified, for even as we gazed upward a flash of lightning split the clouds asunder; peal of thunder followed on peal, the rain came down not in drops nor bucketfuls but in sheets, and with weight and force sufficient to beat a child or a weakling to the earth, It was a veritable godsend; we caught the beautiful cool water in our hands and drank our fill.

In less than an hour not a trace of the fire could be seen—­nor anything else.  The darkness had become so dense that we feared to move lest we might perchance step into one of the boiling springs, fall into the jaws of a jaguar, or set foot on a poisonous snake.  So we stayed where we were, whiles lying on the flooded ground, whiles standing up or walking a few paces in the rain, which continued to fall until the rising of the sun, when it ceased as suddenly as it had begun.

The moor had been turned into a smoking swamp, with a blackened forest on one side and a wall of living green on the other.  The wild animals had vanished.

“Let us go!” said Carmen.

When we reached the trees we took off our clothes a second time, hung them on a branch, and sat in the sun till they dried.

“I suppose it is no use thinking about breakfast till we get to a house or the camp, wherever that may be?” I observed, as we resumed our journey.

“Well, I don’t know.  What do you say about a cup of milk to begin with?”

“There is nothing I should like better—­to begin with—­but where is the cow?”

“There!” pointing to a fine tree with oblong leaves.

“That!”

“Yes, that is the palo de vaca (cow-tree), and as you shall presently see, it will give us a very good breakfast, though we may get nothing else.  But we shall want cups.  Ah, there is a calabash-tree!  Lend me your knife a minute. Gracias!”

And with that Carmen went to the tree, from which he cut a large pear-shaped fruit.  This, by slicing off the top and scooping out the pulp he converted into a large bowl.  The next thing was to make a gash in the palo de vaca, whereupon there flowed from the wound a thick milky fluid which we caught in the bowl and drank.  The taste was agreeable and the result satisfactory, for, though a beefsteak would have been more acceptable, the drink stayed our hunger for the time and helped us on our way.

The trail was easily found.  For a considerable distance it ran between a double row of magnificent mimosa-trees which met overhead at a height of fully one hundred and fifty feet, making a glorious canopy of green leaves and rustling branches.  The rain had cooled the air and laid the dust, and but for the danger we were in (greater than we suspected) and the necessity we were under of being continually on the alert, we should have had a most enjoyable walk.  Late in the afternoon we passed a hut and a maize-field,