{"product_id":"2940016094083","title":"The Rover of the Andes","description":"THE ROVER OF THE ANDES, A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA, BY R.M.\u003cbr\u003eBALLANTYNE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA TALE OF ADVENTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTowards the close of a bright and warm day, between fifty and sixty\u003cbr\u003eyears ago, a solitary man might have been seen, mounted on a mule,\u003cbr\u003ewending his way slowly up the western slopes of the Andes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough decidedly inelegant and unhandsome, this specimen of the human\u003cbr\u003efamily was by no means uninteresting.  He was so large, and his legs\u003cbr\u003ewere so long, that the contrast between him and the little mule which he\u003cbr\u003ebestrode was ridiculous.  He was what is sometimes styled \"loosely put\u003cbr\u003etogether;\" nevertheless, the various parts of him were so massive and\u003cbr\u003emuscular that, however loosely he might have been built up, most men\u003cbr\u003ewould have found it rather difficult to take him down.  Although wanting\u003cbr\u003ein grace, he was by no means repulsive, for his face, which was\u003cbr\u003eornamented with a soft flaxen beard and moustache of juvenile texture,\u003cbr\u003eexpressed wonderful depths of the milk of human kindness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe wore boots with the trousers tucked into them, a grey tunic, or\u003cbr\u003ehunting coat, belted at the waist, and a broad-brimmed straw hat, or\u003cbr\u003esombrero.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvidently the times in which he travelled were troublous, for, besides\u003cbr\u003ehaving a brace of large pistols in his belt, he wore a cavalry sabre at\u003cbr\u003ehis side.  As if to increase the eccentricity of his appearance, he\u003cbr\u003ecarried a heavy cudgel, by way of riding-whip; but it might have been\u003cbr\u003eobserved that, however much he flourished this whip about, he never\u003cbr\u003eactually applied it to his steed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn reaching a turn of the road at the brow of an eminence the mule\u003cbr\u003estopped, and, letting its head droop till almost as pendent as its tail,\u003cbr\u003esilently expressed a desire for repose.  The cavalier stepped off.  It\u003cbr\u003ewould convey a false impression to say that he dismounted.  The mule\u003cbr\u003eheaved a sigh.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Poor little thing!\" murmured the traveller in a soft, low voice, and in\u003cbr\u003ea language which even a mule might have recognised as English; \"you may\u003cbr\u003ewell sigh.  I really feel ashamed of myself for asking you to carry such\u003cbr\u003ea mass of flesh and bone.  But it's your own fault--you know it is--for\u003cbr\u003eyou _won't_ be led.  I'm quite willing to walk if you will only follow.\u003cbr\u003eCome--let us try!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGently, insinuatingly, persuasively, the traveller touched the reins,\u003cbr\u003eand sought to lead the way.  He might as well have tried to lead one of\u003cbr\u003ethe snow-clad peaks of the mighty Cordillera which towered into the sky\u003cbr\u003ebefore him.  With ears inclining to the neck, a resolute expression in\u003cbr\u003ethe eyes, his fore-legs thrown forward and a lean slightly backward, the\u003cbr\u003emule refused to move.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Come now, _do_ be amiable; there's a good little thing!  Come on,\" said\u003cbr\u003ethe strong youth, applying more force.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePeruvian mules are not open to flattery.  The advance of the fore-legs\u003cbr\u003ebecame more decided, the lean backward more pronounced, the ears went\u003cbr\u003eflat down, and incipient passion gleamed in the eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, well, have it your own way,\" exclaimed the youth, with a laugh,\u003cbr\u003e\"but don't blame me for riding you so much.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe once more re-m-; no, we forgot--he once more lifted his right leg\u003cbr\u003eover the saddle and sat down.  Fired, no doubt, with the glow of\u003cbr\u003econscious victory the mule moved on and up at a more lively pace than\u003cbr\u003ebefore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThus the pair advanced until they gained a rocky eminence, whence the\u003cbr\u003erich Peruvian plains could be seen stretching far-away toward the\u003cbr\u003eglowing horizon, where the sun was about to dip into the Pacific.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47177898754288,"sku":"2940016094083","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940016094083","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}