We decided to wait for news .sx There were still three or four days .sx Next day there was news of Pino in the sense that a number of people signified their dislike of the government in a threatening manner .sx Pino must have been a quick worker , if he was responsible for this outbreak ; but I think he did no more than encourage what was already well forward .sx The affair was conducted without regard to the interests of non-combatants ; nobody gave notice , and in the course of a morning walk we ran , the three of us , straight into the centre of excitement among the fountains and lawns of a public square .sx Those responsible for the safety of the President fired from the balconies of his palace and strewed the ground with civilians .sx The survivors ran .sx We three sought what shelter there was in an arcade , proceeding there with that affectation of nonchalance that always seems called for , on such occasions , in the visitor from abroad .sx We were joined in the arcade by Mrs. Lines and Mrs. Pearson .sx Mrs. Pearson made no pretence of composure :sx she ran .sx But Mrs. Lines , I must say , was dignified ; she walked .sx towards the arcade with deliberation , and a queer little mincing step as if she was afraid of treading on bullets .sx `There's something admirable in that woman .sx ..' Marlene began .sx But at that moment there was a fresh rattle of machine-guns , and a child , knocked over in a rush of fugitive insurgents , was left yelling and helpless with fear under the statue of some politician .sx Marlene dashed straight out and brought the child to the arcade , leaving Hog and me , when with our slower reactions we reached her , to drag in a man who fell wounded at her feet .sx I was interested to notice the effect of her action on Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Lines .sx Mrs. Pearson , partly no doubt because of her own escape from danger , broke down .sx In effect she apologized , though with glances at her companion , for past mischiefs .sx `Danger brings everyone together,' she said .sx `It makes us realize , doesn't it ?sx that we're all human .sx ' She addressed this to me , though it was intended for Marlene , and I agreed with the sentiment without knowing quite what she meant .sx She tried to bring Mrs. Lines within the region of friendly feeling ; but Mrs. Lines was not to be softened .sx She cut Marlene dead .sx After this we felt ready to depart from Buenos Aires , in one direction or another .sx Arthur and I had in fact packed our trunks and were wondering what address to put on the labels when Marlene knocked at my door with the news that Pino had been thrown out of the country and was in Chile .sx She just gave us the information , and glided away .sx `Well,' I said to Hog , `it never was my intention to visit South America ; but here I am , and it seems a pity not to visit the Pacific coast , and I'm a free man .sx ' `I've no agent on that side,' said Hog ; `we've never done business there .sx But I suppose people use wall-papers in Chile .sx I don't see why they shouldn't .sx I might as well examine the ground .sx ' `We might as well admit that we're going,' I said .sx `Not a yard further than Valparaiso,' Hog protested .sx `I must absolutely sail home from there .sx ' It is not at all impossible,' I observed , `that wallpapers are used , or might be introduced , in Peru .sx You may be neglecting an important market .sx ' Hog smiled , and wrote out labels for Santiago .sx CHAPTER IV .sx I .sx WE left Buenos Aires , not without satisfaction , at half-past ten the next morning .sx I don't know what frame of mind Marlene was in .sx She accepted our company with a kind of charming shy gratitude , as something on which she counted , yet did not presume .sx She had no idea , at this time , I fancy , how miserably the world would fall to pieces if the friendship that we now all three had for each other was withdrawn .sx As to my own frame of mind , I can record a decisive experience on this journey .sx All the first day we travelled across perfectly flat country , with an occasional farm , an occasional tree , a piece of water , and once , if it was not an illusion , a fold in the ground .sx We saw an overwhelming quantity of growing vegetables .sx It was very hot , and every hour or so an attendant came into our compartment and dusted us .sx The .sx food was tough .sx It happened that I spent a good deal of the day alone , reading , or staring ruminatively at the landscape that seemed to flow past the window like a ribbon .sx Towards evening I became conscious of a certain elation the sadness of the pampa had not this time infected me ; I was not susceptible to the earth-pull or to that vast sadness ; the world had lost power .sx I'm afraid I was a little taciturn at dinner , hugging my experience .sx It was renewed at night , when I put my head out and looked across the black pampa to the curved horizon .sx There certainly was a delicious smell , as if the warm wind had taken richness from strong crops .sx But what unlighted darkness !sx What solitude !sx No wonder that there is sadness in the eyes of men who live out their days on those unmitigated plains !sx Yet I think on this particular night the solitudes solitudes without compensation of grandeur would have had no terrors for me .sx Impossible to say .sx Very likely I owed my independence in respect of the lonely scene to the detachment of the train that rolled on imperturbably .sx More important was that I found myself free of some other terrors of solitude and loss .sx Griefs I had feared had lost their power over me ; passions that had threatened my self-possession were dead .sx Strange , that I could now remember in quietness of mind what had once torn me , and possess what when I enjoyed it with anxiety had scarcely been mine .sx With these thoughts in my head , and the breath of the pampa in my nostrils , I returned to the comfortable bed and slept .sx I woke at daybreak , and rose , for we had arrived at Mendoza where one has to move into another train .sx In expectation of an especial pleasure , almost in fear of it , I put my head out of the window and received a shock of delight , the sight , across vineyards and orchards , on a lovely morning in autumn , of snowclad mountains .sx Having spent some minutes in mastering this experience , I turned and saw Arthur at his window and Marlene at hers .sx She combed her hair while her eyes stared at the snow .sx We exchanged good mornings , and shared pleasure in the sight of this stirring country and the anticipation of stupendous things to come .sx In a few minutes more we were out on the platform in .sx search of coffee , which we found , good and hot , and drank it in a keen air from the snows .sx The mountain-climbing train left at eight o'clock .sx We had comfortable chairs in a well-appointed saloon with large window-space .sx A man in the saloon was bored by the journey .sx The name on his luggage was Joliffe .sx Another had been that way several times before and insisted on giving us information .sx The name on his luggage was Merryweather .sx You'll feel a bit funny at the top of the pass,' he assured us .sx `It's about nine thousand feet .sx Once a man who was taken bad died because they had forgotten the oxygen .sx ' For the first half hour after the train left we seemed to potter about Mendoza , with distant views that appeared now on this side of the train , now on that .sx It is a charming place , set among trees of many kinds , including poplar , weeping willow , fig , vine , palm , and some plant with a vivid orange berry .sx Next we came to vineyards edged with bright autumn poplars , snow-mountains beyond them .sx Then there was a fading away of cultivation , and our train wound its way through acres and acres of scrub towards brown hills with deep cloud-shadows on them like ruts .sx Far off , we had glimpses of a colossal snow-peak that dwarfed all my recollections of mountains .sx Soon we stopped at a little green wayside station , all mild and moist and charming .sx 'Slow , isn't it ?sx ' said grumbling Joliffe .sx `Fifteen hours more of it .sx ' 'You'll find plenty to look at soon,' said Merryweather .sx `If you're lucky you'll see Aconcagua , just after Puente del Inca .sx Twenty-three thousand feet , all but .sx ' `I hope I shall be asleep,' Joliffe replied , and both gentlemen glanced at Marlene to see how they had impressed her , the one with his experience , the other with his sang-froid .sx Marlene continued to gaze at the station with serious eyes .sx `How one loves glistening shrubs,' she said .sx The train moved on , and before very long took a plunge into the harsh , much-folded rock .sx Now we were engaged with the Andes themselves , lost among foothills from which the eye could see no way out .sx Railway and road took part in a competition .sx for the easiest places ; a river flowed past us ; the mind of man had not neglected to paint advertisements on convenient faces of rock .sx There was a good deal of cloud at first ; then the hills opened out somewhat , and we had broader views over miles of scrub and saw bright golden poplars and high mountains .sx Presently we came to another lovely little station , a congenial flowery place among the wild rocks , with sweet mountain air , a place where one could spend many weeks , a place to work in at some job that needs solitude .sx `Potrerillos , this is,' said Merryweather .sx `Yes , it's written up in very big letters,' said Hog .sx `A lonely place,' Merryweather went on .sx `Rough people , I fancy .sx Shouldn't care to live here .sx One's life would hardly be safe , I should think .sx ' `Why not give it a trial ?sx ' asked Hog , and Merryweather looked at him as if wondering whether his words contained hidden meaning .sx We three almost regretted leaving that station , I believe .sx Perhaps each one of us entertained the unpractical thought that here was a place for the cultivation of friendship , a place where responsibilities might lose pressure and reality .sx But the train moved on .sx I must say with each advance each hill turned , each valley conquered , we were rewarded for what we had left behind with ever more splendid scenes .sx The clouds moved away leaving a sky of intense blue ; the rocks grew wilder , and took on deep colours with a predominance of glistening red .sx The eye received satisfaction from an infinity of forms and shadows There were continual unfoldings and surprises We might be chugging along under a wall of rock clinging as it were to a ledge alongside the river that still flowed past , now , as it seemed , no more than a trickle in a wide dry bed ; then with a turn , the end of the valley would be filled with mountains , or there would be a sudden opening out and an immense view over tangled , yellow plain with stupendous snowpeaks like clouds on the horizon .sx `That's where a chap landed who first flew over the Andes,' said Merryweather .sx `You may have noticed a tablet at the station .sx ' 'Yes , thank you , we saw it,' said Marlene , anticipating Hog .sx `We might see a condor any minute,' Merryweather vouchsafed .sx Indeed , we were coming to regions where such birds might well preside over bleached remains .sx After a remarkable vermilion rock and a very pretty snow-saddle high up over the train , we came to a wilderness of terrific , naked , and much tortured mountains .sx I remarked on the immense grinding-down that was going on to Joliffe , who was offering me a cigarette ; to which he replied , `Slag-heaps .sx Reminds me of Wigan .sx ' An excellent man , I thought , in spite of his grumbling tone ; one who refuses to be impressed by mere size .sx He got something to grumble at shortly , no doubt through divine or poetic justice ; for during lunch ( which we three much enjoyed , with some of that excellent Chilean wine ) a waiter stumbled over his foot and emptied a dish of spaghetti into his lap .sx