When Harvey had detached a half dozen he descended, and despite the inclement weather they sat down for a feast, this being the first of fruit or fresh vegetable they had tasted since leaving Chicla.
Although it was damp no rain fell on the place where they rested, for the broad leaves of the trees were so interlaced as to form a natural umbrella that made a perfect watershed.
The skin of the chirimoya is thick and tough, and their jack-knives were called into use, but once within the shell a treat indeed was found. Internally the fruit is snowy white and juicy, and embedded within the pulp are many seeds, but these are as easily removed as are the seeds of a watermelon.
“My, this is delicious!” said Harvey, smacking his lips.
“Picking chirimoyas from trees is better sport than picking up puma cubs from beneath them, is it not?” asked Hope-Jones.
“Somewhat,” said the lad, as he buried his face in the fruit and took so large a mouthful that his cheeks were distended.
“Be careful lest you choke,” warned Hope-Jones; then turning to Ferguson he asked:—
“How would you describe the flavor should you wish to do so to a person at home?”
“I couldn’t. It is finer than the pineapple, more luscious than the best strawberry, and richer than the peach. There is no fruit with which I could make comparison. Can you think of any?”
They enjoyed the repast with which nature had provided them, then Ferguson urged that they take up their march again.
“What’s the matter with remaining here?” Harvey asked.
“It’s too damp. We all would have colds in the morning. No, we must find a dry spot, even if we have to keep going till late at night. As it is, perhaps we had better each take a couple of quinine pills. Here, I will stand treat,” and he commenced to unstrap his knapsack.
“Chirimoyas for the first course and quinine for the second,” remarked Harvey. “Who wouldn’t call that a genuine Peruvian meal?”
Then they resumed their way in the rain, which continued falling heavily, dripping from the trees overhead.
Since morning they had been descending into a valley that was lower than any part of the Montaña which they had as yet traversed; indeed, they were at an altitude of only five thousand feet above sea level; and as they were on the eastern slope, where there is no trade wind to cool the air, the temperature had become tropical.