On hearing this a broad grin lighted up his face, and showed that he was greatly interested, and that even in Uruguay a ship's biscuit will cheer the heart of a boy and make him your bosom friend.

The lad almost flew home, and returned quickly with butter, milk, and eggs.

I was, after all, in a land of plenty.

With the boy came others, old and young, from neighboring ranches, among them a German settler, who was of great assistance to me in many ways.
[Illustration: A double surprise.] A coast-guard from Fort Teresa, a few miles away, also came, "to protect your property from the natives of the plains," he said.

I took occasion to tell him, however, that if he would look after the people of his own village, I would take care of those from the plains, pointing, as I spoke, to the nondescript "merchant" who had already stolen my revolver and several small articles from my cabin, which by a bold front I had recovered.