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diff --git a/39728-8.txt b/39728-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8d4b18e..0000000 --- a/39728-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9352 +0,0 @@ - IN FAR BOLIVIA - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Title: In Far Bolivia - A Story of a Strange Wild Land - -Author: Gordon Stables - -Release Date: May 18, 2012 [EBook #39728] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN FAR BOLIVIA *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - -[Illustration: "BRAWN ... DASHED ON TO THE RESCUE"] - - - - - In Far Bolivia - - A Story of a Strange Wild Land - - - BY - - DR. GORDON STABLES, R.N. - - Author of "'Twixt School and College" "The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds" - - "The Naval Cadet" "Kidnapped by Cannibals" &c. - - - - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. FINNEMORE, R.I._ - - - - - BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED - - LONDON GLASGOW DUBLIN BOMBAY - - 1901 - - - - - TO - - MARIE CONNOR LEIGHTON - - (NOVELIST AND CRITIC) - - THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED - - EVERY KINDLY WISH - - BY - - THE AUTHOR - - - - - PREFACE - - -Every book should tell its own story without the aid of "preface" or -"introduction". But as in this tale I have broken fresh ground, it is -but right and just to my reader, as well as to myself, to mention -prefatorially that, as far as descriptions go, both of the natives and -the scenery of Bolivia and the mighty Amazon, my story is strictly -accurate. - -I trust that Chapter XXIII, giving facts about social life in La Paz and -Bolivia, with an account of that most marvellous of all sheets of fresh -water in the known world, Lake Titicaca, will be found of general -interest. - -But vast stretches of this strange wild land of Bolivia are a closed -book to the world, for they have never yet been explored; nor do we know -aught of the tribes of savages who dwell therein, as far removed from -civilization and from the benign influence of Christianity as if they -were inhabitants of another planet. I have ventured to send my heroes -to this land of the great unknown, and have at the same time endeavoured -to avoid everything that might border on sensationalism. - -In conclusion, my boys, if spared I hope to take you out with me again -to Bolivia in another book, and together we may have stranger adventures -than any I have yet told. - -THE AUTHOR. - - - - - ---- - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I--ON THE BANKS OF THE GREAT AMAZON - CHAPTER II--STRANGE ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST--LOST! - CHAPTER III--BURNLEY HALL, OLD AND NEW - CHAPTER IV--AWAY DOWN THE RIVER - CHAPTER V--A DAY IN THE FOREST WILDS - CHAPTER VI--"NOT ONE SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD SHED" - CHAPTER VII--"A COLD HAND SEEMED TO CLUTCH HER HEART" - CHAPTER VIII--FIERCELY AND WILDLY BOTH SIDES FOUGHT - CHAPTER IX--THAT TREE IN THE FOREST GLADE - CHAPTER X--BENEE MAKES A STRANGE DISCOVERY - CHAPTER XI--ALL ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS - CHAPTER XII--BENEE ENTRENCHED--SAVAGE REVELS IN THE FOREST - CHAPTER XIII--THE MARCH TO THE LOVELESS LAND - CHAPTER XIV--THE HOME OF THE CANNIBAL--BENEE'S ROMANCE - CHAPTER XV--SHOOKS-GEE'S STORY--A CANNIBAL QUEEN - CHAPTER XVI--ON THE BANKS OF A BEAUTIFUL RIVER - CHAPTER XVII--BILL AND HIS BOATS - CHAPTER XVIII--AS IF STRUCK BY A DUM-DUM BULLET - CHAPTER XIX--STRUGGLING ONWARDS UP-STREAM - CHAPTER XX--THE PAGAN PAYNEES WERE THIRSTING FOR BLOOD - CHAPTER XXI--THE FOREST IS SHEETED IN FLAMES - CHAPTER XXII--EVENINGS BY THE CAMP FIRE - CHAPTER XXIII--A MARVELLOUS LAKE IN A MARVELLOUS LAND--LA PAZ - CHAPTER XXIV--BENEE'S STORY--THE YOUNG CANNIBAL QUEEN - CHAPTER XXV--BENEE'S MOTHER TO THE FRONT - CHAPTER XXVI--THE PALE-FACE QUEEN HAS FLED - CHAPTER XXVII--THE FIGHT AT THE FORT - CHAPTER XXVIII--THE DREAM AND THE TERROR! - CHAPTER XXIX--EASTWARD HO! FOR MERRIE ENGLAND - - ---- - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - -"Brawn ... dashed on to the rescue" . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ - -"Brawn sprang at once upon his man" - -"She ... held her at arm's-length" - -"Fire low, lads ... don't waste a shot!" - - - - - IN FAR BOLIVIA - - - - -CHAPTER I--ON THE BANKS OF THE GREAT AMAZON - - -Miles upon miles from the banks of the mighty river, had you wandered -far away in the shade of the dark forest that clothed the valleys and -struggled high over the mountain-tops themselves, you would have heard -the roar and the boom of that great buzz-saw. - -As early as six of a morning it would start, or soon after the sun, like -a huge red-hot shot, had leapt up from his bed in the glowing east -behind the greenery of the hills and woods primeval. - -To a stranger coming from the south towards the Amazon--great queen of -all the rivers on earth--and not knowing he was on the borders of -civilization, the sound that the huge saw made would have been decidedly -alarming. - -He would have stopped and listened, and listening, wondered. No -menagerie of wild beasts could have sent forth a noise so loud, so -strange, so persistent! Harsh and low at times, as its great teeth tore -through the planks of timber, it would change presently into a dull but -dreadful _basso profundo_, such as might have been emitted by -antediluvian monsters in the agonies of death or torture, rising anon -into a shrill howl or shriek, then subsiding once again into a steady -grating roar, that seemed to shake the very earth. - -Wild beasts in this black forest heard the sounds, and crept stealthily -away to hide themselves in their caves and dens; caymans or alligators -heard them too, as they basked in the morning sunshine by lakelet or -stream--heard them and crawled away into caves, or took to the water -with a sullen plunge that caused the finny inhabitants to dart away in -terror to every point of the compass. - -"Up with the tree, lads. Feed him home," cried Jake Solomons loudly but -cheerily. "Our pet is hungry this morning. I say, Bill, doesn't she -look a beauty. Ever see such teeth, and how they shine, too, in the red -sunlight. Guess you never did, Bill. I say, what chance would the -biggest 'gator that ever crawled have with Betsy here. Why, if Betsy -got one tooth in his hide she'd have fifty before you could say -'Jerusalem', and that 'gator'd be cut in two. Tear away, Betsy! Grind -and groan and growl, my lass! Have your breakfast, my little pet; why, -your voice is sweetest music to my ear. I say, Bill, don't the saw-dust -fly a few? I should smile! - -"But see," he continued, "yonder come the darkies with our matutinal. -Girls and boys with baskets, and I can see the steam curling up under -Chloe's arm from the great flagon she is carrying! Look how her white -eyes roll, and her white teeth shine as she smiles her six-inch smile! -Good girl is Chloe. She knows we're hungry, and that we'll welcome her. -Wo, now, Betsy! Let the water off, Bill. Betsy has had her snack, and -so we'll have ours." - -There was quietness now o'er hill and dell and forest-land. - -And this tall Yankee, Jake Solomons, who was fully arrayed in cotton -shirt and trousers, his brown arms bare to the shoulder, stretched his -splendidly knit but spare form with a sort of a yawn. - -"Heigho, Bill!" he said. "I'm pining for breakfast. Aren't you?" - -"That I am," replied Burly Bill with his broadest grin. - -Jake ran to the open side of the great saw-mill. Three or four strides -took him there. - -"Ah! Good-morning, Chloe, darling! Morning, Keemo! Morning, Kimo!" - -"Mawning, sah!" This was a chorus. - -"All along dey blessed good-foh-nuffin boys I no come so queeck," said -Chloe. - -"Stay, stay, Chloe," cried Jake, "never let your angry passions rise. -'Sides, Chloe, I calculate such language ain't half-proper. But how -glittering your cheeks are, Chloe, how white your teeth! There! you -smile again. And that vermilion blouse sets off your dark complexion to -a nicety, and seems just made for it. Chloe, I would kiss you, but the -fear of making Bill jealous holds me back." - -Burly Bill shook with laughter. Bill was well named the Burly. Though -not so tall as Jake, his frame was immense, though perhaps there was a -little more adipose tissue about it than was necessary in a climate like -this. But Bill's strength was wonderful. See him, axe in hand, at the -foot of a tree! How the chips fly! How set and determined the man's -face, while the great beads of sweat stand like pearls on his brow! - -Burly Bill was a white man turned black. You couldn't easily have -guessed his age. Perhaps he was forty, but at twenty, when still in -England, Bill was supple and lithe, and had a skin as white as a -schoolboy's. But he had got stouter as the years rolled on, and his face -tanned and tanned till it tired of tanning, and first grew purple, and -latterly almost black. The same with those hirsute bare arms of his. - -There was none of the wild "Ha! ha!" about Bill's laughter. It was a -sort of suppressed chuckle, that agitated all his anatomy, the while his -merry good-natured eyes sought shelter behind his cheeks' rotundity. - -Under a great spreading tree the two men laid themselves down, and Chloe -spread their breakfast on a white cloth between them, Jake keeping up -his fire of chaff and sweet nothings while she did so. Keemo and Kimo, -and the other "good-foh-nuffin boys" had brought their morning meal to -the men who fed the great buzz-saw. - -"Ah, Chloe!" said Jake, "the odour of that coffee would bring the dead -to life, and the fish and the beef and the butter, Chloe! Did you do -all this yourself?" - -"All, sah, I do all. De boys jes' kick about de kitchen and do nuffin." - -"Dear tender-eyed Chloe! How clever you are! Guess you won't be so kind -to me when you and I get spliced, eh?" - -"Ah sah! you no care to marry a poor black gal like Chloe! Dere is a -sweet little white missie waiting somew'eres foh Massa Jake. I be your -maid, and shine yo' boots till all de samee's Massa Bill's cheek foh -true." - -As soon as Chloe with her "good-foh-nuffin boys" had cleared away the -breakfast things, and retired with a smile and saucy toss of her curly -poll, the men lay back and lit their pipes. - -"She's a bright intelligent girl that," said Jake. "I don't want a wife -or--but I say, Bill, why don't you marry her? I guess she'd make ye a -tip-topper." - -"Me! Is it marry?" - -Burly Bill held back his head and chuckled till he well-nigh choked. - -Honest Bill's ordinary English showed that he came from the old country, -and more particularly from the Midlands. But Bill could talk properly -enough when he pleased, as will soon be seen. - -He smoked quietly enough for a time, but every now and then he felt -constrained to take his meerschaum from his mouth and give another -chuckle or two. - -"Tchoo-hoo-hoo!" he laughed. "Me marry! And marry Chloe! -Tchoo-hoo-hoo!" - -"To change the subject, William," said Jake, "seein' as how you've -pretty nearly chuckled yourself silly, or darned near it, how long have -you left England?" - -"W'y, I coom over with Mr. St. Clair hisse'f, and Roland w'y he weren't -more'n seven. Look at 'e now, and dear little Peggy, 'is sister by -adoption as ever was, weren't a month over four. Now Rolly 'e bees nigh -onto fifteen, and Peggy--the jewel o' the plantation--she's goin' on for -twelve, and main tall for that. W'y time do fly! Don't she, Jake?" - -"Well, I guess I've been here five years, and durn me if I want to -leave. Could we have a better home? I'd like to see it. I'd smile a -few odd ones. But listen, why here comes the young 'uns!" - -There was the clatter of ponies' feet, and next minute as handsome a boy -as ever sat in saddle, and as pretty and bright a lassie as you could -wish to meet, galloped into the clearing, and reined up their spirited -little steeds close to the spot where the men were lounging. - -Burly Bill stuck his thumb into the bowl of his meerschaum to put it -out, and Jake threw his pipe on the bank. - -Roland was tall for his age, like Peggy. But while a mass of fair and -irrepressible hair curled around the boy's sun-burned brow, Peggy's hair -was straight and black. When she rode fast it streamed out behind her -like pennons in the breeze. What a bright and sunny face was hers too! -There was ever a happy smile about her red lips and dark eyes. - -"You've got to begin to smoke again immediately," said the boy. - -"No, no, Master Roland, not in the presence of your sister." - -"But," cried Peggy, with a pretty show of pomposity, "I command you!" - -"Ah, then, indeed!" said Jake; and soon both men were blowing clouds -that made the very mosquitoes change their quarters. - -"Father'll be up soon, riding on Glancer. This nag threw Father, coming -home last night. Mind, Glancer is seventeen hands and over." - -"He threw him?" - -"That he did, in the moonlight. Scared at a 'gator. Father says he -heard the 'gator's great teeth snapping and thought he was booked. But -lo! Jake, at that very moment Glancer struck out with both -hind-legs--you know how he is shod. He smashed the 'gator's skull, and -the beast turned up his yellow belly to the moon." - -"Bravo!" - -"Then Father mounted mighty Glancer and rode quietly home. - -"Peggy and I," he continued, "have ridden along the bank to the -battlefield to hold a coroner's inquest on the 'gator, but he's been -hauled away by his relations. I suppose they'll make potato soup of -him." - -Burly Bill chuckled. - -"Well, Peggy and I are off. See you in the evening, Jake. By-by!" - -And away they rode, like a couple of wild Indians, followed by a huge -Irish wolf-hound, as faithful a dog to his mistress--for he was Peggy's -own pet--as ever dog could be. - -They were going to have a day in the forest, and each carried a short -six-chambered rifle at the saddle. - -A country like the wild one in which they dwelt soon makes anyone brave -and fearless. They meant to ride quite a long way to-day and not return -till the sun began to decline in the far and wooded west. So, being -already quite an old campaigner, Roland had not forgotten to bring -luncheon with him, and some for bold Brawn also. - -Into the forest they dashed, leaving the mighty river, which was there -about fifteen miles broad probably, in their rear. - -They knew every pathway of that primeval woodland, and it mattered but -little to them that most of these had been worn by the feet of wild -beasts. Such tracks wind out and in, and in and out, and meet others in -the most puzzling and labyrinthine manner. - -Roland carried a compass, and knew how to use it, but the day was -unusually fine and sunny, so there was little chance of their getting -lost. - -The country in which they lived might well have been called the land of -perpetual summer. - -But at some spots the forest was so pitchy dark, owing to the -overhanging trees and wild flowering creepers, that they had to rein up -and allow Coz and Boz, as their ponies were named, to cautiously feel -the way for themselves. - -How far away they might have ridden they could not themselves tell, had -they not suddenly entered a kind of fairy glade. At one side it was -bounded by a crescentic formation of rock, from the very centre of which -spouted a tiny clear crystal waterfall. Beneath was a deep pool, the -bottom of which was sand and yellow shingle, with here and there a patch -of snow-white quartz. And away from this a little stream went -meandering slowly through the glade, keeping it green. - -On the other side were the lordly forest trees, bedraped with flowering -orchids and ferns. - -Flowers and ferns grew here and there in the rockface itself. No wonder -the young folks gazed around them in delighted wonder. - -Brawn was more practical. He cared nothing for the flowers, but enjoyed -to the fullest extent the clear cool water of the crystal pool. - -"Oh, isn't it lovely?" said Roland. - -"And oh, I am so hungry, Rolly!" - -Rolly took the hint. - -The ponies were let loose to graze, Brawn being told to head them off if -they attempted to take to the woods. - -"I understand," said Brawn, with an intelligent glance of his brown eyes -and wag of his tail. - -Then down the boy and girl squatted with the noble wolf-hound beside -them, and Roland speedily spread the banquet on the moss. - -I dare say that hunger and romance seldom tread the same platform--at -the same time, that is. It is usually one down, the other up; and -notwithstanding the extraordinary beauty of their surroundings, for some -time both boy and girl applied themselves assiduously to the discussion -of the good things before them; that meat-pie disappearing as if by -magic. Then the hard-boiled eggs, the well-buttered and flouriest of -floury scones, received their attention, and the whole was washed down -with _vinum bovis_, as Roland called it, cow's wine, or good milk. - -Needless to say, Brawn, whose eyes sparkled like diamonds, and whose -ears were conveniently erect, came in for a good share. - -Well, but the ponies, Boz and Coz, had not the remotest idea of running -away. In fact they soon drew near to the banqueting-table. Coz laid -his nose affectionately on his little mistress's shoulder and heaved an -equine sigh, and Boz began to nibble at Roland's ears in a very winning -way. - -And the nibbling and the sigh brought them cakes galore. - -Roland offered Boz a bit of pie. - -The pony drew back, as if to say, "Vegetarians, weren't you aware?" - -But Brawn cocked his bonnie head to one side, knowingly. - -"Pitch it this way, master," he said. "I've got a crop for any kind of -corn, and a bag for peas." - -A strange little rodent creature, much bigger than any rat, however, -with beautiful sad-looking eyes, came from the bush, and stood on its -hind-legs begging, not a yard away. Its breast was as white as snow. - -Probably it had no experience of the genus _homo_, and all the cruelties -he is guilty of, under the title of sport. - -Roland pitched several pieces of pie towards the innocent. It just -tasted a morsel, then back it ran towards the wood with wondrous speed. - -If they thought they had seen the last of it, they were much mistaken, -for the innocent returned in two minutes time, accompanied not only by -another of his own size, but by half a dozen of the funniest little -fairies ever seen inside a forest. - -"My wife and children," said innocent No. 1. - -"My services to you," bobbed innocent No. 2. - -But the young ones squawked and squealed, and tumbled and leapt over -each other as they fed in a manner so droll that boy and girl had to -laugh till the woods rang. - -Innocent No. 1 looked on most lovingly, but took not a morsel to -himself. - -Then all disappeared as suddenly as they had come. - -Truly the student of Nature who betakes himself to lonely woods sees -many wonders! - -It was time now to lie back in the moss and enjoy the _dolce far -niente_. - -The sky was as blue as blue could be, all between the rifts of -slowly-moving clouds. The whisper of the wind among the forest trees, -and the murmur of the falling water, came like softest music to Roland's -ears. Small wonder, therefore, that his eyes closed, and he was soon in -the land of sweet forgetfulness. - -But Peggy had a tiny book, from which she read passages to Brawn, who -seemed all attention, but kept one eye on the ponies at the same time. - -It was a copy of the "Song of Hiawatha", a poem which Peggy thought -ineffably lovely. Hark to her sweet girl voice as she reads: - - "These songs so wild and wayward, - These legends and traditions". - - -They appealed to her simple soul, for dearly did she love the haunts of -Nature. - - "Loved the sunshine of the meadow, - Loved the shadow of the forest, - Loved the wind among the branches, - The rushing of great rivers - Through their palisades of pine-trees." - - -She believed, too: - - "That even in savage bosoms - There are longings, yearnings, strivings - For the good they comprehend not; - That feeble hands and helpless, - Groping blindly in the darkness, - Touch God's right hand... - And are lifted up and strengthened". - - ---- - -Roland slumbered quietly, and the day went on apace. - -He slept so peacefully that she hardly liked to arouse him. - -The little red book dropped from her hand and fell on the moss, and her -thoughts now went far, far away adown the mighty river that flows so -sadly, so solemnly onwards to the great Atlantic Ocean, fed on its way -by a hundred rapid streams that melt in its dark bosom and are seen -nevermore. - -But it was not the river itself the little maiden's thoughts were -dwelling on; not the strange wild birds that sailed along its surface on -snow-white wings; not the birds of prey--the eagle and the hawk--that -hovered high in air, or with eldritch screams darted on their prey like -bolts from the blue, and bore their bleeding quarries away to the silent -forest; not even the wealth of wild flowers that nodded over the banks -of the mighty stream. - -Her thoughts were on board a tall and darksome raft that was slowly -making its way seaward to distant Pará, or in the boats that towed it. -For there was someone on the raft or in those boats who even then might -be fondly thinking of the dark-haired maiden he had left behind. - -But Peggy's awakening from her dream of romance, and Roland's from his -slumber, was indeed a terrible one. - - - - -CHAPTER II--STRANGE ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST--LOST! - - -Fierce eyes had been watching the little camp for an hour and more, -glaring out on the sunny glade from the dark depths of a forest tree not -far off; out from under a cloudland of waving foliage that rustled in -the balmy wind. Watching, and watching unwaveringly, Peggy, while she -read; watching the sleeping Roland; the great wolf-hound, Brawn; and -watching the ponies too. - -Ever and anon these last would come closer to the tree, as they nibbled -grass or moss, then those fierce eyes burned more fiercely, and the -cat-like tail of a monster jaguar moved uneasily as if the wild beast -meditated a spring. - -But the ponies, sniffing danger in the air, perhaps--who can -tell?--would toss their manes and retreat to the shadow of the rocks. - -Had the dog not been there the beast would have dared all, and sprung at -once on one of those nimble steeds. - -But he waited and watched, watched and waited, and at long last his time -came. With a coughing roar he now launched himself into the air, the -elasticity of the branch giving greater force to his spring. - -Straight on the shoulders or back of poor Boz he alighted. His talons -were well driven home, his white teeth were preparing to tear the flesh -from the pony's neck. - -Both little steeds yelled wildly, and in nightmarish terror. - -Up sprang Brawn, the wolf-hound, and dashed on to the rescue. - -Peggy seized her loaded rifle and hurried after him. - -Thoroughly awake now, and fully cognizant of the terrible danger, Roland -too was quickly on the scene of action. - -To fire at a distance were madness. He might have missed the struggling -lion and shot poor Boz, or even faithful Brawn. - -This enormous dog had seized the beast by one hock, and with his paws -against the pony was endeavouring to tear the monster off. - -The noise, the movement, the terror, caused poor Roland's head to whirl. - -He felt dazed, and almost stupid. - -Ah! but Peggy was clear-headed, and a brave and fearless child was she. - -Her feet seemed hardly to touch the moss, so lightly did she spring -along. - -Her little rifle was cocked and ready, and, taking advantage of a few -seconds' lull in the fearful scrimmage, she fired at five yards' -distance. - -The bullet found billet behind the monster's ear, his grip relaxed, and -now Brawn tore him easily from his perch and finished him off on the -ground, with awful din and habbering. - -Then, with blood-dripping jaws he came with his ears lower, half -apologetically, to receive the praise and caresses of his master and -mistress. - -But though the adventure ended thus happily, frightened beyond measure, -the ponies, Coz and Boz, had taken to the bush and disappeared. - -Knowing well the danger of the situation, Roland and Peggy, with Brawn, -tried to follow them. But Irish wolf-hounds have but little scent, and -so they searched and searched in vain, and returned at last to the -sun-kissed glade. - -It was now well on towards three o'clock, and as they had a long forest -stretch of at least ten miles before them ere they could touch the banks -of the great queen of waters, Roland determined, with the aid of his -compass, to strike at once into the beast-trodden pathway by which they -had come, and make all haste homewards before the sun should set and -darkness envelop the gloomy forest. - -"Keep up your heart, Peggy; if your courage and your feet hold out we -shall reach the river before dusk." - -"I'm not so frightened now," said Peggy; but her lips were very -tremulous, and tears stood in her eyes. - -"Come, come," she cried, "let us hurry on! Come, Brawn, good dog!" - -Brawn leapt up to lick her ear, and taking no thought for the skin of -the jaguar, which in more favourable circumstances would have been borne -away as a trophy, and proof of Peggy's valour, they now took to the bush -in earnest. - -Roland looked at his watch. - -"Three hours of light and more. Ah! we can do it, if we do not lose our -way." - -So off they set. - -Roland took the lead, rifle in hand, Peggy came next, and brave Brawn -brought up the rear. - -They were compelled to walk in single file, for the pathways were so -narrow in places that two could not have gone abreast. - -Roland made constant reference to his little compass, always assuring -his companion that they were still heading directly for the river. - -They had hurried on for nearly an hour, when Roland suddenly paused. - -A huge dark monster had leapt clear and clean across the pathway some -distance ahead, and taken refuge in a tree. - -It was, no doubt, another jaguar, and to advance unannounced might mean -certain death to one of the three. - -"Are you all loaded, Peggy?" said Roland. - -"Every chamber!" replied the girl. - -There was no tremor about her now; and no backwoods Indian could have -acted more coolly and courageously. - -"Blaze away at that tree then, Peg." - -Peggy opened fire, throwing in three or four shots in rapid succession. - -The beast, with a terrible cry, darted out of the tree and came rushing -along to meet and fight the little party. - -"Down, Brawn, down! To heel, sir!" - -Next moment Roland fired, and with a terrible shriek the jaguar took to -the bush, wounded and bleeding, and was seen no more. - -But his yells had awakened the echoes of the forest, and for more than -five minutes the din of roaring, growling, and shrieking was fearful. - -Wild birds, no doubt, helped to swell the pandemonium. - -After a time, however, all was still once more, and the journey was -continued in silence. - -Even Peggy, usually the first to commence a conversation, felt in no -mood for talking now. - -She was very tired. Her feet ached, her brow was hot, and her eyes felt -as if boiling in their sockets. - -Roland had filled his large flask at the little waterfall before leaving -the glade, and he now made her drink. - -The draught seemed to renew her strength, and she struggled on as -bravely as ever. - - ---- - -Just two and a half hours after they had left the forest clearing, and -when Roland was holding out hopes that they should soon reach the road -by the banks of the river, much to their astonishment they found -themselves in a strange clearing which they had never seen before. - -The very pathway ended here, and though the boy went round and round the -circle, he could find no exit. - -To retrace his steps and try to find out the right path was the first -thought that occurred to Roland. - -This plan was tried, but tried in vain, and so--weary and hopeless now -beyond measure--they returned to the centre of the glade and threw -themselves down on the soft green moss. - -Lost! Lost! - -The words kept repeating themselves in poor Roland's brain, but Peggy's -fatigue was so complete that she preferred rest even in the midst of -danger to going farther. - -Brawn, heaving a great sigh, laid himself down beside them. - -The warm day wore rapidly to a close, and at last the sun shimmered red -through the forest trees. - -Then it sank. - -The briefest of twilight, and the stars shone out. - -Two hours of starlight, then solemnly uprose the round moon and flooded -all the glade, draping the whispering trees in a blue glare, beautifully -etherealizing them. - -Sorrow bringeth sleep. - -"Good-night, Rolly! Say your prayers," murmured Peggy. - -There were stars in the sky. There were stars too that flitted from -bush to bush, while the winds made murmuring music among the lofty -branches. - -Peggy was repeating to herself lines that she had read that very day: - - ..."the firefly Wah-wah-tay-see, - Flitting through the dusk of evening, - With the twinkle of its candle, - Lighting up the brakes and bushes. - * * * * * - Wah-wah-tay-see, little firefly, - Little, flitting, white-fire insect, - Little dancing, white-fire creature, - Light me with your little candle. - Ere upon my bed I lay me, - Ere in sleep I close my eyelids." - - ---- - -The forest was unusually silent to-night, but ever and anon might be -heard some distant growl showing that the woods sheltered the wildest -beasts. Or an owl with mournful cry would flap its silent wings as it -flew across the clearing. - -But nothing waked those tired and weary sleepers. - -So the night wore on and on. The moon had reached the zenith, and was -shining now with a lustre that almost rivalled daylight itself. - -It must have been well on towards two o'clock in the morning when Brawn -emitted a low and threatening growl. - -This aroused both Roland and Peggy, and the former at once seized his -rifle. - -Standing there in the pale moonlight, not twenty yards away, was a tall, -dark-skinned, and powerful-looking Indian. In his right hand he held a -spear or something resembling one; in his left a huge catapult or sling. -He was dressed for comfort--certainly not for ornament. Leggings or -galligaskins covered his lower extremities, while his body was wrapped -in a blanket. He had no head-covering, save a matted mass of hair, in -which were stuck a few feathers. - -Roland took all this in at a glance as he seized his rifle and prepared -for eventualities. According to the traditional painter of Indian life -and customs the proper thing for this savage to have said is "Ugh!" He -said nothing of the sort. Nor did he give vent to a whoop and yell that -would have awakened the wild birds and beasts of the forest and every -echo far and near. - -"Who goes there?" cried Roland, raising his gun. - -"No shootee. No shootee poor Indian man. I friendee you. Plenty -friendee." - -Probably there was a little romance about Roland, for, instead of -saying: "Come this way then, old chap, squat down and give us the news," -he said sternly: - -"Advance, friend!" - -But the Indian stood like a statue. - -"No undahstandee foh true." - -And Roland had to climb down and say simply: - -"Come here, friend, and speak." - -Brawn rushed forward now, but he looked a terror, for his hair was all -on end like a hyena's, and he growled low but fiercely. - -"Down, Brawn! It's a good man, Brawn." - -Brawn smelt the Indian's hand, and, seeming satisfied, went back to the -spot where Peggy sat wondering and frightened. - -She gathered the great dog to her breast and hugged and kissed him. - -"What foh you poh chillun sleepee all in de wood so? S'pose wild beas' -come eatee you, w'at den you do?" - -"But, friend," replied Roland, "we are far from Burnley Hall, our home, -and we have lost everything. We have lost our ponies, lost our way, and -lost ourselves." - -"Poh chillun!" said this strange being. "But now go sleepee foh true. -De Indian he lie on blanket. He watchee till de big sun rise." - -"Can we trust him, Peggy?" - -"Oh yes, yes!" returned Peggy. "He is a dear, good man; I know by his -voice." - -In ten minutes more the boy and girl were fast asleep. - -The Indian watched. - -And Brawn watched the Indian. - - ---- - -When the sun went down on the previous evening, and there were no signs -of the young folks returning, both Mr. St. Clair and his wife became -very uneasy indeed. - -Then two long hours of darkness ensued before the moon sailed up, first -reddening, then silvering, the wavelets and ripples on the great river. - -"Surely some evil must have befallen them," moaned Mrs. St. Clair. "Oh, -my Roland! my son! I may never see you more. Is there nothing can be -done? Tell me! Tell me!" - -"We must trust in Providence, Mary; and it is wrong to mourn. I doubt -not the children are safe, although perhaps they have lost their way in -the woods." - -Hours of anxious waiting went by, and it was nearly midnight. The house -was very quiet and still, for the servants were asleep. - -Burly Bill and Jake had mounted strong horses at moonrise, and gone off -to try to find a clue. But they knew it was in vain, nay, 'twould have -been sheer madness to enter the forest now. They coo-eed over and over -again, but their only answer was the echoing shriek of the wild birds. - -They were just about to return after giving their last shrill coo-ee-ee, -when out from the moonlit forest, with a fond whinny, sprang Coz and -Boz. - -Jake sprang out of his saddle, throwing his bridle to Bill. - -In the bright moonlight, Jake could see at once that there was something -wrong. He placed his hand on Boz's shoulder. He staggered back as he -withdrew it. - -"Oh, Bill," he cried, "here is blood, and the pony is torn and bleeding! -Only a jaguar could have done this. This is terrible." - -"Let us return at once," said Bill, who had a right soft heart of his -own behind his burly chest. - -"But oh!" he added, "how can we break the news to Roland's parents?" - -"We'll give them hope. Mrs. St. Clair must know nothing yet, but at -early dawn all the ranch must be aroused, and we shall search the forest -for miles and miles." - - ---- - -Jake, after seeing the ponies safe in their stable, left Bill to look to -Boz's wounds, while with St. Clair's leave he himself set off at a round -gallop to get assistance from a neighbouring ranch. - -Day had not yet broken ere forty good men and true were on the -bridle-path and tearing along the river's banks. St. Clair himself was -at their head. - -I must leave the reader to imagine the joy of all the party when soon -after sunrise there emerged from the forest, guided by the strange -Indian, Roland, Peggy, and noble Brawn, all looking as fresh as the dew -on the tender-eyed hibiscus bloom or the wild flowers that nodded by the -river's brim. - -"Wirr--rr--r--wouff, wouff, wouff!" barked Brawn, as he bounded forward -with joy in every feature of his noble face, and I declare to you there -seemed to be a lump in his throat, and the sound of his barking was -half-hysterical. - -St. Clair could not utter a word as he fondly embraced the children. He -pretended to scold a little, but this was all bluff, and simply a ruse -to keep back the tears. - -But soft-hearted Burly Bill was less successful. He just managed to drop -a little to the rear, and it was not once only that he was fain to draw -the sleeve of his rough jacket across his eyes. - - ---- - -But now they are mounted, and the horses' heads are turned homewards. -Peggy is seated in front of Burly Bill, of whom she is very fond, and -Roland is saddled with Jake. The Indian and Brawn ran. - -Poor Mrs. St. Clair, at the big lawn gate, gazing westward, sees the -cavalcade far away on the horizon. - -Presently, borne along on the morning breeze come voices raised in a -brave and joyous song: - - "Down with them, down with the lords of the forest". - - -And she knows her boy and Peggy are safe. - -"Thank God for all his mercies!" she says fervently, then, woman-like, -bursts into tears. - - - - -CHAPTER III--BURNLEY HALL, OLD AND NEW - - -I have noticed more than once that although the life-story of some good -old families in England may run long stagnant, still, when one important -event does take place, strange thing after strange thing may happen, and -the story rushes on with heedless speed, like rippling brooklets to the -sea. - -The St. Clairs may have been originally a Scottish family, or branch of -some Highland clan, but they had been settled on a beautiful estate, far -away in the wilds of Cornwall, for over one hundred and fifty years. - -Stay, though, we are not going back so far as that. Old history, like -old parchment, has a musty odour. Let us come down to more modern times. - -When, then, young Roland's grandfather died, and died intestate, the -whole of the large estate devolved upon his eldest son, with its fat -rentals of fully four thousand a-year. Peggy St. Clair, our little -heroine, was his only child, and said to be, even in her infancy, the -very image of her dead-and-gone mother. - -No wonder her father loved her. - -But soon the first great event happened in the life-story of the St. -Clairs. For, one sad day Peggy's father was borne home from the -hunting-field grievously wounded. - -All hope of recovery was abandoned by the doctor shortly after he had -examined his patient. - -Were Herbert to die intestate, as his father had done, his second -brother John, according to the old law, could have stepped into his -shoes and become lord of Burnley Hall and all its broad acres. - -But, alive to the peril of his situation, which the surgeon with tears -in his eyes pointed out to him, the dying man sent at once for his -solicitor, and a will was drawn up and placed in this lawyer's hands, -and moreover he was appointed one of the executors. This will was to be -kept in a safe until Peggy should be seventeen years of age, when it was -to be opened and read. - -I must tell you that between the brothers Herbert and John there had -long existed a sort of blood-feud, and it was as well they never met. - -Thomas, however, was quickly at his wounded brother's bedside, and never -left it until-- - - "Clay-cold Death had closed his eye". - - -The surgeon had never given any hopes, yet during the week that -intervened between the terrible accident and Herbert's death there were -many hours in which the doomed man appeared as well as ever, though -scarce able to move hand or foot. His mind was clear at such times, and -he talked much with Thomas about the dear old times when all were young. - -Up till now this youngest son and brother, Thomas, had led rather an -uneasy and eventful life. Nothing prospered with him, though he had -tried most things. - -He was married, and had the one child, Roland, to whom the reader has -already been introduced. - -"Now, dear Tom," said Herbert, one evening after he had lain still with -closed eyes for quite a long time, and he placed a white cold hand in -that of his brother as he spoke, "I am going to leave you. We have -always been good friends and loved each other well. All I need tell you -now, and I tell you in confidence, is that Peggy, at the age of -seventeen, will be my heir, with you, dear Tom, as her guardian." - -Tom could not reply for the gathering tears. He just pressed Herbert's -hand in silence. - -"Well," continued the latter, "things have not gone over well with you, -I know, but I have often heard you say you could do capitally if you -emigrated to an almost new land--a land you said figuratively 'flowing -with milk and honey'. I confess I made no attempt to assist you to go -to the great valley of the Amazon. It was for a selfish reason I -detained you. My brother John being nobody to me, my desire was to have -you near." - -He paused, almost exhausted, and Tom held a little cup of wine to his -lips. - -Presently he spoke again. - -"My little Peggy!" he moaned. "Oh, it is hard, hard to leave my -darling! - -"Tom, listen. You are to take Peggy to your home. You are to care for -her as the apple of your eye. You must be her father, your wife her -mother." - -"I will! I will! Oh, brother, can you doubt me!" - -"No, no, Tom. And now you may emigrate. I leave you thirty thousand -pounds, all my deposit account at Messrs. Bullion & Co.'s bank. This is -for Peggy and you. My real will is a secret at present, and that which -will be read after--I go, is a mere epitome. But in future it will be -found that I have not forgotten even John." - -Poor Peggy had run in just then, and perched upon the bed, wondering -much that her father should lie there so pale and still, and make no -attempt to romp with her. At this time her hair was as yellow as the -first approach of dawn in the eastern sky. - - ---- - -That very week poor Squire St. Clair breathed his last. - -John came to the funeral with a long face and a crape-covered hat, -looking more like a mute than anything else. - -He sipped his wine while the epitomized will was read; but a wicked -light flashed from his eyes, and he ground out an oath at its -conclusion. - -All the information anyone received was that though sums varying from -five hundred pounds to a thousand were left as little legacies to -distant relations and to John, as well as _douceurs_ to the servants, -the whole of the estates were willed in a way that could not be divulged -for many a long year. - -John seized his hat, tore from it the crape, and dashed it on the floor. -The crape on his arm followed suit. He trampled on both and strode away -slamming the door behind him. - -Years had flown away. - -Tom and his wife had emigrated to the banks of the Amazon. They settled -but a short time at or near one of its mouths, and then Tom, who had no -lack of enterprise, determined to journey far, far into the interior, -where the land was not so level, where mountains nodded to the moon, and -giant forests stretched illimitably to the southward and west. - -At first Tom and his men, with faithful Bill as overseer, were mere -squatters, but squatters by the banks of the queen of waters, and in a -far more lovely place than dreams of elfinland. Labour was very cheap -here, and the Indians soon learned from the white men how to work. - -Tom St. Clair had imported carpenters and artificers of many sorts from -the old country, to say nothing of steam plant and machinery, and that -great resounding steel buzz-saw. - -Now, although not really extravagant, he had an eye for the beautiful, -and determined to build himself a house and home that, although not -costing a deal, would be in reality a miniature Burnley Hall. And what -a truly joyous time Peggy and her cousin, or adopted brother, had of it -while the house was gradually being built by the busy hands of the -trained Indians and their white brethren! - -Not they alone, but also a boy called Dick Temple, whose uncle was Tom -St. Clair's nearest neighbour, That is, he lived a trifle over seven -miles higher up the river. Dick was about the same age and build as -Roland. - -There was a good road between Temple's ranch and Tom St. Clair's place, -and when, after a time, Tom and Peggy had a tutor imported for their own -especial benefit, the two families became very friendly indeed. - -Dick Temple was a well-set-up and really brave and good-looking lad. -Little Peggy averred that there never had been, or never could be, -another boy half so nice as Dick. - -But I may as well state here at once and be done with it--Dick was -simply a reckless, wild dare-devil. Nothing else would suffice to -describe young Dick's character even at this early age. And he soon -taught Roland to be as reckless as himself. - - ---- - -Time rolled on, and the new Burnley Hall was a _fait accompli_. - -The site chosen by Tom for his home by the river was a rounded and -wooded hill about a quarter of a mile back from the immediate bank of -the stream. But all the land between the hill and the Amazon was -cultivated, and not only this, but up and down the river as well for -over a mile, for St. Clair wanted to avoid too close contact with -unfriendly alligators, and these scaly reptiles avoid land on which -crops are growing. - -The tall trees were first and foremost cleared off the hill; not all -though. Many of the most beautiful were left for effect, not to say -shade, and it was pleasant indeed to hear the wind whispering through -their foliage, and the bees murmuring in their branches, in this flowery -land of eternal summer. - -Nor was the undergrowth of splendid shrubs and bushes and fruit-trees -cleared away. They were thinned, however, and beautiful broad winding -walks led up through them towards the mansion. - -The house was one of many gables; altogether English, built of quartz -for the most part, and having a tower to it of great height. - -From this tower one could catch glimpses of the most charming scenery, -up and down the river, and far away on the other shore, where forests -swam in the liquid air and giant hills raised their blue tops far into -the sky. - -So well had Tom St. Clair flourished since taking up his quarters here -that his capital was returning him at least one hundred per cent, after -allowing for wear and tear of plant. - -I could not say for certain how many white men he had with him. The -number must have been close on fifty, to say nothing of the scores and -scores of Indians. - -Jake Solomons and Burly Bill were his overseers, but they delighted in -hard work themselves, as we have already seen. So, too, did Roland's -father himself, and as visitors to the district were few, you may be -certain he never wore a London hat nor evening dress. - -Like those of Jake and Bill, his sleeves were always rolled up, and his -muscular arms and brave square face showed that he was fit for anything. -No, a London hat would have been sadly out of place; but the -broad-brimmed Buffalo Bill he wore became him admirably. - -That big buzz-saw was a triumph. The clearing of the forest commenced -from close under the hill where stood the mansion, and strong horses and -bullocks were used to drag the gigantic trees towards the mill. - -Splendid timber it was! - -No one could have guessed the age of these trees until they were cut -down and sawn into lengths, when their concentric rings might be -counted. - -The saw-mill itself was a long way from the mansion-house, with the -villages for the whites and Indians between, but quite separate from -each other. - -The habitations of the whites were raised on piles well above the -somewhat damp ground, and steps led up to them. Two-roomed most of them -were, but that of Jake was of a more pretentious character. So, too, -was Burly Bill's hut. - -It would have been difficult to say what the Indians lived on. Cakes, -fruit, fish, and meat of any kind might form the best answer to the -question. They ate roasted snakes with great relish, and many of these -were of the deadly-poisonous class. The heads were cut off and buried -first, however, and thus all danger was prevented. Young alligators -were frequently caught, too, and made into a stew. - -The huts these faithful creatures lived in were chiefly composed of -bamboo, timber, and leaves. Sometimes they caught fire. That did not -trouble the savages much, and certainly did not keep them awake at -night. For, had the whole village been burned down, they could have -built another in a surprisingly short time. - -When our hero and heroine got lost in the great primeval forest, Burnley -Hall was in the most perfect and beautiful order, and its walks, its -flower-garden, and shrubberies were a most pleasing sight. All was -under the superintendence of a Scotch gardener, whom St. Clair had -imported for the purpose. - -By this time, too, a very large portion of the adjoining forest had been -cut down, and the land on which those lofty trees had grown was under -cultivation. - -If the country which St. Clair had made his home was not in reality a -land flowing with milk and honey, it yielded many commodities equally -valuable. Every now and then--especially when the river was more or less -in flood--immense rafts were sent down stream to distant Pará, where the -valuable timber found ready market. - -Several white men in boats always went in charge of these, and the boats -served to assist in steering, and towing as well. - -These rafts used often to be built close to the river before an expected -rising of the stream, which, when it did come, floated them off and -away. - -But timber was not the only commodity that St. Clair sent down from his -great estate. There were splendid quinine-trees. There was coca and -cocoa, too. - -There was a sugar plantation which yielded the best results, to say -nothing of coffee and tobacco, Brazil-nuts and many other kinds of nuts, -and last, but not least, there was gold. - -This latter was invariably sent in charge of a reliable white man, and -St. Clair lived in hope that he would yet manage to position a really -paying gold-mine. - -More than once St. Clair had permitted Roland and Peggy to journey down -to Pará on a great raft. But only at the season when no storms blew. -They had an old Indian servant to cook and "do" for them, and the centre -of the raft was hollowed out into a kind of cabin roofed over with -bamboo and leaves. Steps led up from this on to a railed platform, -which was called the deck. - -Burly Bill would be in charge of boats and all, and in the evenings he -would enter the children's cabin to sing them songs and tell them -strange, weird tales of forest life. - -He had a banjo, and right sweetly could he play. Old Beeboo the Indian, -would invariably light his meerschaum for him, smoking it herself for a -good five minutes first and foremost, under pretence of getting it well -alight. - -Beeboo, indeed, was altogether a character. Both Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair -liked her very much, however, for she had been in the family, and nursed -both Peggy and Roland, from the day they had first come to the country. -As for her age, she might have been any age between five-and-twenty and -one hundred and ten. She was dark in skin--oh, no! not black, but more -of copper colour, and showed a few wrinkles at early morn. But when -Beeboo was figged out in her nicest white frock and her deep-blue or -crimson blouse, with her hair hanging down in two huge plaits, then, -with the smile that always hovered around her lips and went dancing away -up her face till it flickered about her eyes, she was very pleasant -indeed. The wrinkles had all flown up to the moon or somewhere, and -Beeboo was five-and-twenty once again. - -I must tell you something, however, regarding her, and that is the -worst. Beeboo came from a race of cannibals who inhabit one of the -wildest and almost inaccessible regions of Bolivia, and her teeth had -been filed by flints into a triangular shape, the form best adapted for -tearing flesh. She had been brought thence, along with a couple of -wonderful monkeys and several parrots, when only sixteen, by an English -traveller who had intended to make her a present to his wife. - -Beeboo never got as far as England, however. She had watched her -chance, and one day escaped to the woods, taking with her one of the -monkeys, who was an especial favourite with this strange, wild girl. - -She was frequently seen for many years after this. It was supposed she -had lived on roots and rats--I'm not joking--and slept at night in -trees. She managed to clothe herself, too, with the inner rind of the -bark of certain shrubs. But how she had escaped death from the talons -of jaguars and other wild beasts no one could imagine. - -Well, one day, shortly after the arrival of St. Clair, hunters found the -jaguar queen, as they called her, lying in the jungle at the foot of a -tree. - -There was a jaguar not far off, and a huge piece of sodden flesh lay -near Beeboo's cheek, undoubtedly placed there by this strange, wild pet, -while close beside her stood a tapir. - -Beeboo was carried to the nearest village, and the tapir followed as -gently as a lamb. My informant does not know what became of the tapir, -but Beeboo was tamed, turned a Christian too, and never evinced any -inclination to return to the woods. - -Yet, strangely enough, no puma nor jaguar would ever even growl or snarl -at Beeboo. - -These statements can all be verified. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--AWAY DOWN THE RIVER - - -Before we start on this adventurous cruise, let us take a peep at an -upland region to the south of the Amazon. It was entirely surrounded by -caoutchouc or india-rubber trees, and it was while wandering through -this dense forest with Jake, and making arrangements for the tapping of -those trees, the juice of which was bound to bring the St. Clairs much -money, that they came upon the rocky table-land where they found the -gold. - -This was some months after the strange Indian had found the "babes in -the wood", as Jake sometimes called Roland and Peggy. - -"I say, sir, do you see the quartz showing white everywhere through the -bloom of those beautiful flowers?" - -"Ugh!" cried St. Clair, as a splendidly-coloured but hideous large snake -hissed and glided away from between his feet. "Ugh! had I tramped on -that fellow my prospecting would have been all ended." - -"True, sir," said Jake; "but about the quartz?" - -"Well, Jake." - -"Well, Mr. St. Clair, there is gold here. I do not say that we've -struck an El Dorado, but I am certain there is something worth digging -for in this region." - -"Shall we try? You've been in Australia. What say you to a shaft?" - -"Good! But a horizontal shaft carried into the base of this hill or -hummock will, I think, do for the present. It is only for samples, you -know." - -And these samples had turned out so well that St. Clair, after claiming -the whole hill, determined to send Jake on a special message to Pará to -establish a company for working it. - -He could take no more labour on his own head, for really he had more -than enough to do with his estate. - -No white men were allowed to work at the shaft. Only Indians, and these -were housed on the spot. So that the secret was well kept. - -And now the voyage down the river was to be undertaken, and a most -romantic cruise it turned out to be. - -St. Clair had ordered a steamer to be built for him in England and sent -out in pieces. She was called _The Peggy_, after our heroine. Not very -large--but little over the dimensions of a large steam-launch, in -fact--but big enough for the purpose of towing along the immense raft -with the aid of the current. - -Jake was to go with his samples of golden sand and his nuggets; Burly -Bill, also, who was captain of the _Peggy_; and Beeboo, to attend to the -youngsters in their raft saloon. Brawn was not to be denied; and last, -but not least, went wild Dick Temple. - -The latter was to sleep on board the steamer, but he would spend most of -his time by day on the raft. - -All was ready at last. The great raft was floated and towed out far -from the shore. All the plantation hands, both whites and Indians, were -gathered on the banks, and gave many a lusty cheer as the steamer and -raft got under way. - -The last thing that those on shore heard was the sonorous barking of the -great wolf-hound, Brawn. - -There was a ring of joy in it, however, that brought hope to the heart -of both Tom St. Clair and his winsome wife. - -Well, to our two heroes and to Peggy, not to mention Brawn and Burly -Bill, the cruise promised to be all one joyous picnic, and they set -themselves to make the most of it. - -But to Jake Solomons it presented a more serious side. He was St. -Clair's representative and trusted man, and his business was of the -highest importance, and would need both tact and skill. - -However, there was a long time to think about all this, for the river -does not run more than three miles an hour, and although the little -steamer could hurry the raft along at probably thrice that speed, still -long weeks must elapse before they could reach their destination. - -As far as the raft was concerned, this would not be Pará. She would be -grounded near to a town far higher up stream, and the timber, nuts, -spices, and rubber taken seaward by train. - -In less than two days everyone had settled down to the voyage. - -The river was very wide and getting wider, and soon scarcely could they -see the opposite shore, except as a long low green cloud on the northern -horizon. - -Life on board the raft was for a whole week a most uneventful dreamy -sort of existence. One day was remarkably like another. There was the -blue of the sky above, the blue on the river's great breast, broken, -however, by thousands of lines of rippling silver. - -There were strangely beautiful birds flying tack and half-tack around -the steamer and raft, waving trees flower-bedraped--the flowers trailing -and creeping and climbing everywhere, and even dipping their sweet faces -in the water,--flowers of every hue of the rainbow. - -Dreamy though the atmosphere was, I would not have you believe that our -young folks relapsed into a state of drowsy apathy. Far from it. They -were very happy indeed. Dick told Peggy that their life, or his, felt -just like some beautiful song-waltz, and that he was altogether so happy -and jolly that he had sometimes to turn out in the middle watch to -laugh. - -Peggy had not to do that. - -In her little state-room on one side of the cabin, and in a hammock, she -slept as soundly as the traditional top, and on a grass mat on the deck, -with a footstool for a pillow, slumbered Beeboo. - -Roland slept on the other side, and Brawn guarded the doorway at the -foot of the steps. - -Long before Peggy was awake, and every morning of their aquatic lives, -the dinghy boat took the boys a little way out into mid-stream, and they -stripped and dived, enjoyed a two-minutes' splash, and got quickly on -board again. - -The men always stood by with rifles to shoot any alligator that might be -seen hovering nigh, and more than once reckless Dick had a narrow -escape. - -"But," he said one day in his comical way, "one has only once to die, -you know, and you might as well die doing a good turn as any other way." - -"Doing a good turn?" said Roland enquiringly. - -"Certainly. Do you not impart infinite joy to a cayman if you permit -him to eat you?" - -The boys were always delightfully hungry half an hour before breakfast -was served. - -And it was a breakfast too! - -Beeboo would be dressed betimes, and have the cloth laid in the saloon. -The great raft rose and fell with a gentle motion, but there was nothing -to hurt, so that the dishes stuck on the cloth without any guard. - -Beeboo could bake the most delicious of scones and cakes, and these, -served up hot in a clean white towel, were most tempting; the butter was -of the best and sweetest. Ham there was, and eggs of the gull, with -fresh fried fish every morning, and fragrant coffee. - -Was it not quite idyllic? - -The forenoon would be spent on deck under the awning; there was plenty -to talk about, and books to read, and there was the ever-varying -panorama to gaze upon, as the raft went smoothly gliding on, and on, and -on. - -Sometimes they were in very deep water close to the bank, for men were -always in the chains taking soundings from the steamer's bows. - -Close enough to admire the flowers that draped the forest trees; close -enough to hear the wild lilt of birds or the chattering of monkeys and -parrots; close enough to see tapirs moving among the trees, watched, -often enough, by the fierce sly eyes of ghastly alligators, that -flattened themselves against rocks or bits of clay soil, looking like a -portion of the ground, but warily waiting until they should see a chance -to attack. - -There cannot be too many tapirs, and there cannot be too few alligators. -So our young heroes thought it no crime to shoot these squalid horrors -wherever seen. - -But one forenoon clouds banked rapidly up in the southern sky, and soon -the sun was hidden in sulphurous rolling banks of cumulus. - -No one who has ever witnessed a thunderstorm in these regions can live -long enough to forget it. - -For some time before it came on the wind had gone down completely. In -yonder great forest there could not have been breeze or breath enough to -stir the pollen on the trailing flowers. The sun, too, seemed shorn of -its beams, the sky was no longer blue, but of a pale saffron or sulphur -colour. - -It was then that giant clouds, like evil beasts bent on havoc and -destruction, began to show head above the horizon. Rapidly they rose, -battalion on battalion, phalanx on phalanx. - -There were low mutterings even now, and flashes of fire in the far -distance. But it was not until the sky was entirely overcast that the -storm came on in dread and fearful earnest. At this time it was so -dark, that down in the raft saloon an open book was barely visible. -Then peal after peal, and vivid flash after flash, of blue and crimson -fire lit up forest and stream, striking our heroes and heroine blind, or -causing their eyes for a time to overrun with purple light. - -So terrific was the thunder that the raft seemed to rock and shiver in -the sound. - -This lasted for fully half an hour, the whole world seeming to be in -flames. - -Peggy stood by Dick on the little deck, and he held her arm in his; held -her hand too, for it was cold and trembling. - -"Are you afraid?" he whispered, during a momentary lull. - -"No, Dick, not afraid, only cold, so cold; take me below." - -He did so. - -He made her lie down on the little sofa, and covered her with a rug. - -All just in time, for now down came the awful rain. It was as if a -water-spout had broken over the seemingly doomed raft, and was sinking -it below the dark waters of the river. - -Luckily the boys managed to batten down in time, or the little saloon -would have been flooded. - -They lit the lamp, too. - -But with the rain the storm seemed to increase in violence, and a strong -wind had arisen and added greatly to the terror of the situation. Hail -came down as large as marbles, and the roaring and din was now deafening -and terrible. - -Then, the wind ceased to blow almost instantaneously. It did not die -away. It simply dropped all of a sudden. Hail and rain ceased shortly -after. - -Dick ventured to peep on deck. - -It was still dark, but far away and low down on the horizon a streak of -the brightest blue sky that ever he had seen had made its appearance. -It broadened and broadened as the dark canopy of clouds, curtain-like, -was lifted. - -"Come up, Peggy. Come up, Rol. The storm is going. The storm has -almost gone," cried Dick; and soon all three stood once more on the -deck. - -Away, far away over the northern woods rolled the last bank of clouds, -still giving voice, however, still spitting fire. - -But now the sun was out and shining brightly down with a heat that was -fierce, and the raft was all enveloped in mist. - -So dense, indeed, was the fog that rose from the rain-soaked raft, that -all the scenery was entirely obscured. It was a hot vapour, too, and -far from pleasant, so no one was sorry when Burly Bill suddenly appeared -from the lower part of the raft. - -"My dear boys," he said heartily, "why, you'll be parboiled if you stop -here. Come with me, Miss Peggy, and you, Brawn; I'll come back for you, -lads. Don't want to upset the dinghy all among the 'gators, see?" - -Bill was back again in a quarter of an hour, and the boys were also -taken on board the boat. - -"She's a right smart little boat as ever was," said Bill; "but if we was -agoin' to get 'er lip on to the water, blow me tight, boys, if the -'gators wouldn't board us. They'm mebbe very nice sociable kind o' -animals, but bust my buttons if I'd like to enter the next world down a -'gator's gullet." - -Beeboo did not mind the steam a bit, and by two o'clock she had as nice -a dinner laid in the raft saloon as ever boy or girl sat down to. - -But by this time the timbers were dry once more, and although white -clouds of fog still lay over the low woods, all was now bright and -cheerful. Yet not more so than the hearts of our brave youngsters. - -Courage and sprightliness are all a matter of strength of heart, and you -cannot make yourself brave if your system is below par. The coward is -really more to be pitied than blamed. - -Well, it was very delightful, indeed, to sit on deck and talk, build -castles in the air, and dream daydreams. - -The air was cool and bracing now, and the sun felt warm, but by no means -too hot. - -The awning was prettily lined with green cloth, the work of Mrs. St. -Clair's own hands, assisted by the indefatigable Beeboo, and there was -not anything worth doing that she could not put willing, artful hands -to. - -The awning was scalloped, too, if that be the woman's word for the flaps -that hung down a whole foot all round. "Vandyked" is perhaps more -correct, but then, you see, the sharp corners of the vandyking were all -rounded off. So I think scalloped must stand, though the word reminds -me strangely of oysters. - -But peeping out from under the scalloped awning, and gazing northwards -across the sea-like river, boats under steam could be noticed. -Passengers on board too, both ladies and gentlemen, the former all -rigged out in summer attire. - -"Would you like to be on board yonder?" said Dick to Peggy, as the girl -handed him back the lorgnettes. - -"No, indeed, I shouldn't," she replied, with a saucy toss of her pretty -head. - -"Well," she added, "if you were there, little Dickie, I mightn't mind it -so much." - -"Little Dick! Eh?" Dick laughed right heartily now. - -"Yes, little Dickie. Mind, I am nearly twelve; and after I'm twelve I'm -in my teens, quite an old girl. A child no longer anyhow. And after I'm -in my teens I'll soon be sixteen, and then I suppose I shall marry." - -"Who will marry you, Peggy?" - -This was not very good grammar, but Dick was in downright earnest -anyhow, and his young voice had softened wonderfully. - -"Me?" he added, as she remained silent, with her eyes seeming to follow -the rolling tide. - -"You, Dick! Why, you're only a child!" - -"Why, Peggy, I'm fifteen--nearly, and if I live I'm bound to get older -and bigger." - -"No, no, Dick, you can marry Beeboo, and I shall get spliced, as the -sailors call it, to Burly Bill." - -The afternoon wore away, and Beeboo came up to summon "the chillun" to -tea. - -Up they started, forgetting all about budding love, flirtation, and -future marriages, and made a rush for the companion-ladder. - -"Wowff--wowff!" barked Brawn, and the 'gators on shore and the tapirs in -the woods lifted heads to listen, while parrots shrieked and monkeys -chattered and scolded among the lordly forest trees. - -"Wowff--wowff!" he barked. "Who says cakes and butter?" - -The night fell, and Burly Bill came on board with his banjo, and his -great bass voice, which was as sweet as the tone of a 'cello. - -Bill was funnier than usual to-night, and when Beeboo brought him a big -tumbler of rosy rum punch, made by herself and sweetened with honey, he -was merrier still. - -Then to complete his happiness Beeboo lit his pipe. - -She puffed away at it for some time as usual, by way of getting it in -working order. - -"'Spose," she said, "Beeboo not warm de bowl ob de big pipe plenty -proper, den de dear chile Bill take a chill." - -"You're a dear old soul, Beeb," said Bill. - -Then the dear old soul carefully wiped the amber mouth-piece with her -apron, and handed Burly Bill his comforter. - -The great raft swayed and swung gently to and fro, so Bill sang his pet -sea-song, "The Rose of Allandale". He was finishing that bonnie verse-- - - "My life had been a wilderness, - Unblest by fortune's gale, - Had fate not linked my lot to hers, - The Rose of Allandale", - -when all at once an ominous grating was heard coming from beneath the -raft, and motion ceased as suddenly as did Bill's song. - -"Save us from evil!" cried Bill. "The raft is aground!" - - - - -CHAPTER V--A DAY IN THE FOREST WILDS - - -Burly Bill laid down his banjo. Then he pushed his great extinguisher -of a thumb into the bowl of his big meerschaum, and arose. - -"De good Lawd ha' mussy on our souls, chillun!" cried Beeboo, twisting -her apron into a calico rope. "We soon be all at de bottom ob de deep, -and de 'gators a-pickin' de bones ob us!" - -"Keep quiet, Beeb, there's a dear soul! Never a 'gator'll get near you. -W'y, look 'ow calm Miss Peggy is. It be'ant much as'll frighten she." - -Burly Bill could speak good English when he took time, but invariably -reverted to Berkshire when in the least degree excited. - -He was soon on board the little steamer. - -"What cheer, Jake?" he said. - -"Not much o' that. A deuced unlucky business. May lose the whole voyage -if it comes on to blow!" - -"W'y, Jake, lad, let's 'ope for the best. No use givin' up; be there? -I wouldn't let the men go to prayers yet awhile, Jake. Not to make a -bizness on't like, I means." - -Well, the night wore away, but the raft never budged, unless it was to -get a firmer hold of the mud and sand. - -A low wind had sprung up too, and if it increased to a gale she would -soon begin to break up. - -It was a dreary night and a long one, and few on board the steamer slept -a wink. - -But day broke at last, and the sun's crimson light changed the ripples -on the river from leaden gray to dazzling ruby. - -Then the wind fell. - -"There are plenty of river-boats, Bill," said Jake. "What say you to -intercept one and ask assistance?" - -"Bust my buttons if I would cringe to ne'er a one on 'em! They'd charge -salvage, and sponge enormous. I knows the beggars as sails these puffin' -Jimmies well." - -"Guess you're about right, Bill, and you know the river better'n I." - -"Listen, Jake. The bloomin' river got low all at once, like, after the -storm, and so you got kind o' befoozled, and struck. I'd a-kept further -out. But Burly Bill ain't the man to bully his mate. On'y listen -again. The river'll rise in a day or two, and if the wind keeps in its -sack, w'y we'll float like a thousand o' bricks on an old Thames lumper! -Bust my buttons, Jake, if we don't!" - -"Well, Bill, I don't know anything about the bursting of your buttons, -but you give me hope. So I'll go to breakfast. Tell the engineer to -keep the fires banked." - -Two days went past, and never a move made the raft. - -It was a wearisome time for all. The "chillun", as Beeboo called them, -tried to beguile it in the best way they could with reading, talking, -and deck games. - -Dick and Roland were "dons" at leap-frog, and it mattered not which of -them was giving the back, but as soon as the other leapt over Brawn -followed suit, greatly to the delight of Peggy. He jumped in such a -business-like way that everybody was forced to laugh, especially when -the noble dog took a leap that would have cleared a five-barred gate. - -But things were getting slow on the third morning, when up sprang Burly -Bill with his cartridge-belt on and his rifle under his arm. - -"Cap'n Jake," he said, touching his cap in Royal Navy fashion, "presents -his compliments to the crew of this durned old stack o' timber, and begs -to say that Master Rolly and Master Dick can come on shore with me for a -run among the 'gators, but that Miss Peggy had better stop on board with -Beeboo. Her life is too precious to risk!" - -"Precious or not precious," pouted the girl, "Miss Peggy's going, and -Brawn too; so you may tell Captain Jake that." - -"Bravo, Miss Peggy! you're a real St. Clair. Well, Beeboo, hurry up, -and get the nicest bit of cold luncheon ready for us ever you made in -your life." - -"Beeboo do dat foh true. Plenty quick, too; but oh, Massa Bill, 'spose -you let any ebil ting befall de poh chillun, I hopes de 'gators'll eat -you up!" - -"More likely, Beeb, that we'll eat them; and really, come to think of -it, a slice off a young 'gator's tail aint 'arf bad tackle, Beeboo." - -An hour after this the boat was dancing over the rippling river. It was -not the dinghy, but a gig. Burly Bill himself was stroke, and three -Indians handled the other bits of timber, while Roland took the tiller. - -The redskins sang a curious but happy boat-lilt as they rowed, and Bill -joined in with his 'cello voice: - - "Ober de watter and ober de sea--ee--ee, - De big black boat am rowing so free, - Eee--Eee--O--ay--O! - De big black boat, is it nuffin' to me--ee--ee, - We're rowing so free? - - "Oh yes, de black boat am some-dings to me - As she rolls o'er de watter and swings o'er de sea, - Foh de light ob my life, she sits in de stern, - An' sweet am de glance o' Peggy's dark e'e, - Ee--ee--O--ay--O--O!" - - -"Well steered!" said Burly Bill, as Roland ran the gig on the sandy -beach of a sweet little backwater. - -Very soon all were landed. Bill went first as guide, and the Indians -brought up the rear, carrying the basket and a spare gun or two. - -Great caution and care were required in venturing far into this wild, -tropical forest, not so much on account of the beasts that infested it -as the fear of getting lost. - -It was very still and quiet here, however, and Bill had taken the -precaution to leave a man in the boat, with orders to keep his weather -ear "lifting", and if he heard four shots fired in rapid succession late -in the afternoon to fire in reply at once. - -It was now the heat of the day, however, and the hairy inhabitants of -this sylvan wilderness were all sound asleep, jaguars and pumas among -the trees, and the tapirs in small herds wherever the jungle was -densest. - -There was no chance, therefore, of getting a shot at anything. -Nevertheless, the boys and Peggy were not idle. They had brought -butterfly-nets with them, and the specimens they caught when about five -miles inland, where the forest opened out into a shrub-clad moorland, -were large and glorious in the extreme. - -Indeed, some of them would fetch gold galore in the London markets. - -But though these butterflies had an immense spread of quaintly-shaped -and exquisitely-coloured wings, the smaller ones were even more -brilliant. - -Strange it is that Nature paints these creatures in colours which no -sunshine can fade. All the tints that man ever invented grow pale in -the sun; these never do, and the same may be said concerning the -tropical birds that they saw so many of to-day. - -But no one had the heart to shoot any of these. Why should they soil -such beautiful plumage with blood, and so bring grief and woe into this -love-lit wilderness? - -This is not a book on natural history, else gladly would I describe the -beauties in shape and colour of the birds, and their strange manners, -the wary ways adopted in nest-building, and their songs and queer ways -of love-making. - -Suffice it to say here that the boys were delighted with all the -tropical wonders and all the picturesque gorgeousness they saw -everywhere around them. - -But their journey was not without a spice of real danger and at times of -discomfort. The discomfort we may dismiss at once. It was borne, as -Beeboo would say, with Christian "forty-tood", and was due partly to the -clouds of mosquitoes they encountered wherever the soil was damp and -marshy, and partly to the attacks of tiny, almost invisible, insects of -the jigger species that came from the grass and ferns and heaths to -attack their legs. - -Burly Bill was an old forester, and carried with him an infallible -remedy for mosquito and jigger bites, which acted like a charm. - -In the higher ground--where tropical heath and heather painted the -surface with hues of crimson, pink, and purple--snakes wriggled and -darted about everywhere. - -One cannot help wondering why Nature has taken the pains to paint many -of the most deadly of these in colours that rival the hues of the -humming-birds that yonder flit from bush to bush, from flower to flower. - -Perhaps it is that they may the more easily seek their prey, their gaudy -coats matching well with the shrubs and blossoms that they wriggle -amongst, while gliding on and up to seize helpless birds in their nests -or to devour the eggs. - -Parrots here, and birds of that ilk, have an easy way of repelling such -invaders, for as soon as they see them they utter a scream that -paralyses the intruders, and causes them to fall helplessly to the -ground. - -To all creatures Nature grants protection, and clothes them in a manner -that shall enable them to gain a subsistence; but, moreover, every -creature in the world has received from the same great power the means -of defending or protecting itself against the attacks of enemies. - -On both sides, then, is Nature just, for though she does her best to -keep living species extant until evolved into higher forms of life, she -permits each species to prey on the overgrowth or overplus of others -that it may live. - -Knocking over a heap of soft dry mould with the butt end of his rifle, -Dick started back in terror to see crawl out from the heap a score or -more of the most gigantic beetles anyone could imagine. These were -mostly black, or of a beautiful bronze, with streaks of metallic blue -and crimson. - -They are called harlequins, and live on carrion. Nothing that dies comes -wrong to these monsters, and a few of them will seize and carry away a -dead snake five or six hundred times their own weight. My readers will -see by this that it is not so much muscle that is needed for feats of -strength as indomitable will and nerve force. But health must be at the -bottom of all. Were a man, comparatively speaking, as strong as one of -these beetles, he could lift on his back and walk off with a weight of -thirty tons! - -Our heroes had to stop every now and then to marvel at the huge working -ants, and all the wondrous proofs of reason they evinced. - -It was well to stand off, however, if, with snapping horizontal -mandibles and on business intent, any of these fellows approached. For -their bites are as poisonous as those of the green scorpions or -centipedes themselves. - -What with one thing or another, all hands were attacked by healthy -hunger at last, and sought the shade of a great spreading tree to -satisfy Nature's demands. - -When the big basket was opened it was found that Beeboo had quite -excelled herself. So glorious a luncheon made every eye sparkle to look -at it. And the odour thereof caused Brawn's mouth to water and his eyes -to sparkle with expectancy. - -The Indians had disappeared for a time. They were only just round the -shoulder of a hill, however, where they, too, were enjoying a good feed. - -But just as Burly Bill was having a taste from a clear bottle, which, as -far as the look of it went, would have passed for cold tea, two Indian -boys appeared, bringing with them the most delicious of fruits as well -as fresh ripe nuts. - -The luncheon after that merged into a banquet. - -Burly Bill took many sips of his cold tea. When I come to think over -it, however, I conclude there was more rum than cold tea in that brown -mixture, or Bill would hardly have smacked his lips and sighed with such -satisfaction after every taste. - -The fruit done, and even Brawn satisfied, the whole crew gave themselves -up to rest and meditation. The boys talked low, because Peggy's -meditations had led to gentle slumber. An Indian very thoughtfully -brought a huge plantain leaf which quite covered her, and protected her -from the chequered rays of sunshine that found their way through the -tree. Brawn edged in below the leaf also, and enjoyed a good sleep -beside his little mistress. - -Not a gun had been fired all day long, yet a more enjoyable picnic in a -tropical forest it would be difficult to imagine. - -Perhaps the number of the Indians scared the jaguars away, for none -appeared. - -Yet the day was not to end without an adventure. - -Darkness in this country follows the short twilight so speedily, that -Burly Bill did well to get clear of the forest's gloom while the sun was -still well above the horizon. - -He trusted to the compass and his own good sense as a forester to come -out close to the spot where he had left the boat. But he was deceived. -He struck the river a good mile and a half above the place where the -steamer lay at anchor and the raft aground on the shoals. - -Lower and lower sank the sun. The ground was wet and marshy, and the -'gators very much in evidence indeed. - -Now the tapirs--and droll pig-bodied creatures they look, though in -South America nearly as big as donkeys--are of a very retiring -disposition, but not really solitary animals as cheap books on natural -history would have us believe. They frequent low woods, where their -long snouts enable them to pull down the tender twigs and foliage on -which, with roots, which they can speedily unearth, they manage to -exist--yes, and to wax fat and happy. - -But they are strict believers in the doctrine of cleanliness, and are -never found very far from water. They bathe every night. - -Just when the returning picnic was within about half a mile of the boat, -Burly Bill carrying Peggy on his shoulder because the ground was damp, a -terrible scrimmage suddenly took place a few yards round a backwater. - -There was grunting, squeaking, the splashing of water, and cries of -pain. - -"Hurry on, boys; hurry on; two of you are enough! It's your show, lads." - -The boys needed no second bidding, and no sooner had they opened out the -curve than a strange sight met their gaze. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--"NOT ONE SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD SHED" - - -A gigantic and horribly fierce alligator had seized upon a strong young -tapir, and was trying to drag it into the water. - -The poor creature had both its feet set well in front, and was resisting -with all its might, while two other larger animals, probably the -parents, were clawing the cayman desperately with their fore-feet. - -But ill, indeed, would it have fared with all three had not our heroes -appeared just in the nick of time. - -For several more of these scaly and fearsome reptiles were hurrying to -the scene of action. - -Dick's first shot was a splendid one. It struck the offending cayman in -the eye, and went crashing through his brain. - -The brute gasped, the blood flowed freely, and as he fell on his side, -turning up his yellow belly, the young tapir got free, and was hurried -speedily away to the woods. - -Volley after volley was poured in on the enraged 'gators, but the boys -had to retreat as they fought. Had they not done so, my story would have -stopped short just here. - -It was not altogether the sun's parting rays that so encrimsoned the -water, but the blood of those old-world caymans. - -Three in all were killed in addition to the one first shot. So that it -is no wonder the boys felt elated. - -Beeboo had supper waiting and there was nothing talked about that -evening except their strange adventures in the beautiful forest. - - ---- - -Probably no one could sleep more soundly than did our heroes and heroine -that night. - -Next day, and next, they went on shore again, and on the third a huge -jaguar, who fancied he would like to dine off Brawn's shoulder, fell a -victim to Dick Temple's unerring aim. - -But the raft never stirred nor moved for a whole week. - -Said Bill to Jake one morning, as he took his meerschaum from his mouth: - -"I think, Jake, and w'at I thinks be's this like. There ain't ne'er a -morsel o' good smokin' and on'y just lookin' at that fine and valuable -pile o' timber. It strikes me conclusive like that something 'ad better -be done." - -"And what would you propose, Bill?" said Jake. - -"Well, Jake, you're captain like, and my proposition is subject to your -disposition as it were. But I'd lighten her, and lighten her till she -floats; then tow her off, and build up the odd timbers again." - -"Good! You have a better head than I have, Bill; and it's you that -should have been skipper, not me." - -Nothing was done that day, however, except making a few more attempts -with the steamer at full speed to tow her off. She did shift and slue -round a little, but that was all. - -Next morning dawned as beautifully as any that had gone before it. - -There were fleecy clouds, however, hurrying across the sky as if on -business bent, and the blue between them was bluer than ever our young -folks had seen it. - -Dick Temple, with Roland and Peggy, had made up their minds to go on -shore for another day while the work of dismantling the raft went on. - -But a fierce south wind began to blow, driving heavy black clouds before -it, and lashing the river into foam. - -One of those terrible tropic storms was evidently on the cards, and come -it did right soon. - -The darkest blackness was away to the west, and here, though no thunder -could be heard, the lightning was very vivid. It was evident that this -was the vortex of the hurricane, for only a few drops of rain fell -around the raft. - -The picnic scheme was of course abandoned, and all waited anxiously -enough for something to come. - -That something did come in less than an hour--the descent of the mighty -Amazon in flood. Its tributaries had no doubt been swollen by the awful -rain and water-spouts, and poured into the great queen of rivers double -their usual discharge. - -A bore is a curling wave like a shore breaker that rushes down the -smaller rivers, and is terribly destructive to boating or to shipping. - -The Amazon, however, did not rise like this. It came rushing almost -silently down in a broad tall wave that appeared to stretch right across -it, from the forest-clad bank where the raft lay to the far-off green -horizon in the north. - -But Burly Bill was quite prepared for eventualities. - -Steam had been got up, the vessel's bows were headed for up stream, and -the hawser betwixt raft and boat tautened. - -On and on rushed the huge wave. It towered above the raft, even when -fifty yards away, in the most threatening manner, as if about to sweep -all things to destruction. - -But on its nearer approach it glided in under the raft, and steamer as -well--like some huge submarine monster such as we read of in fairy books -of the long-long-ago--glided in under them, and seemed to lift them -sky-high. - -"Go ahead at full speed!" - -It was the sonorous voice of Burly Bill shouting to the engineer. - -"Ay, ay, sir!" came the cheery reply. - -The screw went round with a rush. - -It churned up a wake of foaming water as the _Peggy_ began to forge -ahead, and next minute, driven along on the breeze, the monster raft -began to follow and was soon out and away beyond danger from rock or -shoal. - -Then arose to heaven a prayer of thankfulness, and a cheer so loud and -long that even the parrots and monkeys in the forest depths heard it, -and yelled and chattered till they frightened both 'gators and jaguars. - -Just two weeks after these adventures, the little _Peggy_ was at anchor, -and the great raft safely beached. - -Burly Bill was left in charge with his white men and his Indians, with -Dick Temple to act as supercargo, and Jake Solomons with Roland and -Peggy, not to mention the dog, started off for Pará. - -In due course, but after many discomforts, they arrived there, and Jake, -after taking rooms in a hotel, hurried off to secure his despatches from -the post-office. - -"No letters!" cried Jake, as his big brown fist came down with a bang on -the counter. "Why, I see the very documents I came for in the -pigeon-hole behind you!" - -The clerk, somewhat alarmed at the attitude of this tall Yankee -backwoodsman, pulled them out and looked at them. - -"They cannot be delivered," he said. - -"And why?" thundered Jake, "Inasmuch as to wherefore, you greasy-faced -little whipper-snapper!" - -"Not sufficient postage." - -Jake thrust one hand into a front pocket, and one behind him. Then on -the counter he dashed down a bag of cash and a six-chambered revolver. - -"I'm Jake Solomons," he said. "There before you lies peace or war. -Hand over the letters, and you'll have the rhino. Refuse, and I guess -and calculate I'll blow the whole top of your head off." - -The clerk preferred peace, and Jake strode away triumphant. - -When he returned to the hotel and told the boys the story, they laughed -heartily. In their eyes, Jake was more a hero than ever. - -"Ah!" said the giant quietly, "there's nothing brings these long-shore -chaps sooner to their senses than letting 'em have a squint down the -barrel of a six-shooter." - -The letters were all from Mr. St. Clair, and had been lying at the -post-office for over a week. They all related to business, to the sale -of the timber and the other commodities, the best markets, and so on and -so forth, with hints as to the gold-mine. - -But the last one was much more bulky than the others, and so soon as he -had glanced at the first lines, Jake lit his meerschaum, then threw -himself back in his rocker to quietly discuss it. - -It was a plain, outspoken letter, such as one man of the world writes to -another. Here is one extract:-- - -_Our business is increasing at a rapid rate, Jake Solomon. I have too -much to do and so have you; therefore, although I did not think it -necessary to inform you before, I have been in communication with my -brother John, and he is sending me out a shrewd, splendid man of -business. He will have arrived before your return._ - -_I can trust John thoroughly, and this Don Pedro Salvador, over and -above his excellent business capabilities, can talk Spanish, French, and -Portuguese._ - -_I do not quite like the name, Jake, so he must be content to be called -plain Mr. Peter._ - - ---- - -About the very time that Jake Solomons was reading this letter, there -sat close to the sky-light of an outward-bound steamer at Liverpool, two -men holding low but earnest conversation. Their faces were partly -obscured, for it was night, and the only light a glimmer from the ship's -lamp. - -Steam was up and roaring through the pipes. - -A casual observer might have noted that one was a slim, swarthy, but -wiry, smart-looking man of about thirty. His companion was a man -considerably over forty. - -"I shall go now," said the latter. "You have my instructions, and I -believe I can trust you." - -"Have I not already given you reason to?" was the rejoinder. "At the -risk of penal servitude did I not steal my employer's keys, break into -his room at night, and copy that will for you? It was but a copy of a -copy, it is true, and I could not discover the original, else the -quickest and simplest plan would have been--fire:" - -"True, you did so, but"--the older man laughed lightly--"you were well -paid for the duty you performed." - -"Duty, eh?" sneered the other. "Well," he added, "thank God nothing has -been discovered. My employer has bidden me an almost affectionate -farewell, and given me excellent certificates." - -The other started up as a loud voice hailed the deck: - -"Any more for the shore!" - -"I am going now," he said. "Good-bye, old man, and remember my last -words: not one single drop of blood shed!" - -"I understand, and will obey to the letter. Obedience pays." - -"True; and you shall find it so. Good-bye!" - -"_A Dios!_" said the other. - -The last bell was struck, and the gangway was hauled on shore. - -The great ship _Benedict_ was that night rolling and tossing about on -the waves of the Irish Channel. - - ---- - -Jake Solomons acquainted Roland and Peggy with the contents of this last -letter, and greatly did the latter wonder what the new overseer would be -like, and if she should love him or not. - -For Peggy had a soft little heart of her own, and was always prepared to -be friendly with anyone who, according to her idea, was nice. - -Jake took his charges all round the city next day and showed them the -sights of what is now one of the most beautiful towns in South America. - -The gardens, the fountains, the churches and palaces, the flowers and -fruit, and feathery palm-trees, all things indeed spoke of -delightfulness, and calm, and peace. - -And far beyond and behind all this was the boundless forest primeval. - -This was not their last drive through the city, and this good fellow -Jake, though his business took him from home most of the day, delighted -to take the children to every place of amusement he could think of. But -despite all this, these children of the forest wilds began to long for -home, and very much rejoiced were they when one evening, after dinner, -Jake told them they should start on the morrow for Bona Vista, near to -which town the little steamer lay, and so up the great river and home. - -Jake had done all his business, and done it satisfactorily, and could -return to the old plantation and Burnley Hall with a light and cheerful -heart. - -He had even sold the mine, although it was not to be worked for some -time to come. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--"A COLD HAND SEEMED TO CLUTCH HER HEART" - - -Many months passed away pleasantly and happily enough on the old -plantation. The children--Roland, by the way, would hardly have liked -to be called a child now--were, of course, under the able tuition of Mr. -Simons, but in addition Peggy had a governess, imported directly from -Pará. - -This was a dark-eyed Spanish girl, very piquant and pretty, who talked -French well, and played on both the guitar and piano. - -Tom St. Clair had not only his boy's welfare, but his niece's, or -adopted daughter's, also at heart. - -It would be some years yet before she arrived at the age of sweet -seventeen, but when she did, her uncle determined to sell off or realize -on his plantation, his goods and chattels, and sail across the seas once -more to dear old Cornwall and the real Burnley Hall. - -He looked forward to that time as the weary worker in stuffy towns or -cities does to a summer holiday. - -There is excitement enough in money-making, it is like an exhilarating -game of billiards or whist, but it is apt to become tiresome. - -And Tom St. Clair was often overtired and weary. He was always glad when -he reached home at night to his rocking-chair and a good dinner, after -toiling all day in the recently-started india-rubber-forest works. - -But Mr. Peter took a vast deal of labour off his hands. - -Mr. Peter, or Don Pedro, ingratiated himself with nearly everyone from -the first, and seemed to take to the work as if to the manner born. - -There were three individuals, however, who could not like him, strange -to say; these were Peggy herself, Benee the Indian who had guided them -through the forest when lost, and who had remained on the estate ever -since, while the third was Brawn, the Irish wolf-hound. - -The dog showed his teeth if Peter tried even to caress him. - -Both Roland and Dick--the latter was a very frequent visitor--got on -very well with Peter--trusted him thoroughly. - -"How is it, Benee," said Roland one day to the Indian, "that you do not -love Don Pedro?" - -Benee spat on the ground and stamped his foot. - -"I watch he eye," the semi-savage replied. "He one very bad man. Some -day you know plenty moochee foh true." - -"Well," said Tom one evening as he and his wife sat alone in the -verandah together, "I do long to get back to England. I am tired, dear -wife--my heart is weak why should we remain here over two years more? -We are wealthy enough, and I promise myself and you, dear, many long -years of health and happiness yet in the old country." - -He paused and smoked a little; then, after watching for a few moments -the fireflies that flitted from bush to bush, he stretched his left arm -out and rested his hand on his wife's lap. - -Some impulse seized her. She took it and pressed it to her lips. But a -tear trickled down her cheek as she did so. - -Lovers still this couple were, though nearly twenty years had elapsed -since he led her, a bonnie, buxom, blushing lassie, to the altar. - -But now in a sweet, low, but somewhat sad voice he sang a verse of that -dear old song--"We have lived and loved together":-- - - "We have lived and loved together - Through many changing years, - We have shared each other's gladness - And dried each other's tears. - I have never known a sorrow - That was long unsoothed by thee, - For thy smile can make a summer - Where darkness else would be. - - -Mrs. St. Clair would never forget that evening on the star-lit lawn, nor -the flitting, little fire-insects, nor her husband's voice. - - ---- - -Is it not just when we expect it least that sorrow sometimes falls -suddenly upon us, hiding or eclipsing all our promised happiness and -joy? - -I have now to write a pitiful part of my too true story, but it must be -done. - -Next evening St. Clair rode home an hour earlier. - -He complained of feeling more tired than usual, and said he would lie -down on the drawing-room sofa until dinner was ready. - -Peggy went singing along the hall to call him at the appointed time. - -She went singing into the room. - -"Pa, dear," she cried merrily; "Uncle-pa, dinner is all beautifully -ready!" - -"Come, Unky-pa. How sound you sleep!" - -Then a terror crept up from the earth, as it were, and a cold hand -seemed to clutch her heart. - -She ran out of the room. - -"Oh, Auntie-ma!" she cried, "come, come quickly, pa won't wake, nor -speak!" - -Heigho! the summons had come, and dear "Uncle-pa" would never, never -wake again. - -This is a short chapter, but it is too sad to continue. - -So falls the curtain on the first act of this life-drama. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--FIERCELY AND WILDLY BOTH SIDES FOUGHT - - -The gloomy event related in last chapter must not be allowed to cast a -damper over our story. - -Of course death is always and everywhere hovering near, but why should -boys like you and me, reader, permit that truth to cloud our days or -stand between us and happiness? - -Two years, then, have elapsed since poor, brave Tom St. Clair's death. - -He is buried near the edge of the forest in a beautiful enclosure where -rare shrubs grow, and where flowers trail and climb far more beautiful -than any we ever see in England. - -At first Mrs. St. Clair had determined to sell all off and go back to -the old country, but her overseer Jake Solomons and Mr. Peter persuaded -her not to, or it seemed that it was their advice which kept her from -carrying out her first intentions. But she had another reason, she -found she could not leave that lonesome grave yet awhile. - -So the years passed on. - -The estate continued to thrive. - -Roland was now a handsome young fellow in his eighteenth year, and -Peggy, now beautiful beyond compare, was nearly fifteen. - -Dick Temple, the bold and reckless huntsman and horseman, was quieter -now in his attentions towards her. She was no longer the child that he -could lift on to his broad young shoulders and carry, neighing and -galloping like a frightened colt, round and round the lawn. - -And Roland felt himself a man. He was more sober and sedate, and had -taken over all his father's work and his father's responsibilities. But -for all that, lightly enough lay the burden on his heart. - -For he had youth on his side, and - - "In the lexicon of youth which fate reserves - For a bright manhood there is no such word - As fail". - - ---- - -I do not, however, wish to be misunderstood. It must not be supposed -that Roland had no difficulties to contend with, that all his business -life was as fair and serene as a bright summer's day. On the contrary, -he had many losses owing to the fluctuations of the markets and the -failures of great firms, owing to fearful storms, and more than once -owing to strikes or revolts among his Indians in the great india-rubber -forest. - -But Roland was light-hearted and young, and difficulties in life, I have -often said, are just like nine-pins, they are put up to be bowled over. - -Besides, be it remembered that if it were all plain sailing with us in -this world we should not be able to appreciate how really happy our -lives are. The sky is always bluest 'twixt the darkest clouds. - -On the whole, Roland, who took stock, and, with honest Bill and Jake -Solomons, went over the books every quarter, had but little reason to -complain. This stock-taking consumed most of their spare time for the -greater part of a week, and when it was finished Roland invariably gave -a dinner-party, at which I need hardly say his dear friend Dick Temple -was present. And this was always the happiest of happy nights to Dick, -because the girl he loved more than all things on earth put together was -here, and looked so innocent and beautiful in her simple dresses of -white and blue. - -There was no such thing as flirtation here, but Dick was fully and -completely in earnest when he told himself that if he lived till he was -three- or four-and-twenty he would ask Peggy to be his wife. - -Ah! there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. - -Dick, I might, could, would, or should have told you before, lived with -a bachelor uncle, who, being rather old and infirm, seldom came out. He -had good earnest men under him, however, as overseers, and his -plantations were thriving, especially that in which tobacco was -cultivated. - -The old man was exceedingly fond of Dick, and Dick would be his heir. - -Probably it was for his uncle's sake that Dick stayed in the -country--and of course for Peggy's and Roland's--for, despite its grand -field for sport and adventure, the lad had a strange longing to go to -England and play cricket or football. - -He had been born in Britain just as Roland was, and had visited his -childhood's home more than once during his short life. - -Now just about this time Don Pedro, or Mr. Peter as all called him, had -asked for and obtained a holiday. He was going to Pará for a change, he -said, and to meet a friend from England. - -That he did meet a friend from England there was little doubt, but their -interview was a very short one. Where he spent the rest of his time was -best known to himself. - -In three months or a little less he turned up smiling again, and most -effusive. - -About a fortnight after his arrival he came to Jake one morning pretty -early. - -Jake was preparing to start on horseback for the great forest. - -"I'm on the horns of a dilemma, Mr. Solomons," he said, laughing his -best laugh. "During the night about twenty Bolivian Indians have -encamped near to the forest. They ask for work on the india-rubber -trees. They are well armed, and all sturdy warriors. They look as if -fighting was more in their line than honest labour." - -"Well, Mr. Peter, what is their excuse for being here anyhow?" - -"They are bound for the sea-shore at the mouths of the river, and want -to earn a few dollars to help them on." - -"Well, where is the other horn of the dilemma?" - -"Oh! if I give them work they may corrupt our fellows." - -"Then, Mr. Peter, I'd give the whole blessed lot the boot and the sack." - -"Ah! now, Mr. Solomons, you've got to the other horn. These savages, -for they are little else, are revengeful." - -"We're not afraid." - -"No, we needn't be were they to make war openly, but they are sly, and -as dangerous as sly. They would in all probability burn us down some -dark night." - -Jake mused for a minute. Then he said abruptly: - -"Let the poor devils earn a few dollars, Mr. Peter, if they are -stony-broke, and then send them on their way rejoicing." - -"That's what I say, too," said Burly Bill, who had just come up. "I've -been over yonder in the starlight. They look deuced uncouth and nasty. -So does a bull-dog, Jake, but is there a softer-hearted, more kindly dog -in all creation?" - -So that very day the Indians set to work with the other squads. - -The labour connected with the collecting of india-rubber is by no means -very hard, but it requires a little skill, and is irksome to those not -used to such toil. - -But labour is scarce and Indians are often lazy, so on the whole Jake -was not sorry to have the new hands, or "serinqueiros" as they are -called. - -The india-rubber trees are indigenous and grow in greatest profusion on -that great tributary of the Amazon called the Madeira. But when poor -Tom St. Clair came to the country he had an eye to business. He knew -that india-rubber would always command a good market, and so he visited -the distant forests, studied the growth and culture of the trees as -conducted by Nature, and ventured to believe that he could improve upon -her methods. - -He was successful, and it was not a great many years before he had a -splendid plantation of young trees in his forest, to say nothing of the -older ones that had stood the brunt of many a wild tropical storm. - -It will do no harm if I briefly describe the method of obtaining the -india-rubber. Tiny pots of tin, holding about half a pint, are hung -under an incision in the bark of the tree, and these are filled and -emptied every day, the contents being delivered by the Indian labourers -at the house or hut of an under-overseer. - -The sap is all emptied into larger utensils, and a large smoking fire, -made of the nuts of a curious kind of palm called the Motokoo, being -built, the operators dip wooden shovels into the sap, twirling these -round quickly and holding them in the smoke. Coagulation takes place -very quickly. Again the shovel is dipped in the sap, and the same -process is repeated until the coagulated rubber is about two inches -thick, when it is cooled, cut, or sliced off, and is ready for the -distant market. - -Now, from the very day of their arrival, there was no love lost between -the old and steady hands and this new band of independent and flighty -ones. - -The latter were willing enough to slice the bark and to hang up their -pannikins, and they would even empty them when filled, and condescend to -carry their contents to the preparing-house. But they were lazy in the -extreme at gathering the nuts, and positively refused to smoke the sap -and coagulate it. - -It made them weep, they explained, and it was much more comfortable to -lie and wait for the sap while they smoked and talked in their own -strange language. - -After a few days the permanent hands refused to work at the same trees, -or even in the same part of the estrados or roads that led through the -plantation of rubber-trees. - -A storm was brewing, that was evident. Nor was it very long before it -burst. - -All unconscious that anything was wrong, Peggy, with Brawn, was romping -about one day enjoying the busy scene, Peggy often entering into -conversation with some of her old favourites, when one of the strange -Indians, returning from the tub with an empty tin, happened to tread on -Brawn's tail. - -The dog snarled, but made no attempt to bite. Afraid, however, that he -would spring upon the fellow, Peggy threw herself on the ground, -encircling her arms around Brawn's shoulders, and it was she who -received the blow that was meant for the dog. - -It cut her across the arm, and she fainted with pain. - -Brawn sprang at once upon his man and brought him down. - -[Illustration: "BRAWN SPRANG AT ONCE UPON HIS MAN"] - -He shook the wretch as if he had been but a rat, and blood flowed -freely. - -Burly Bill was not far off, and just as the great hound had all but -fixed the savage by the windpipe, which he would undoubtedly have torn -out, Bill pulled him off by the collar and pacified him. - -The blood-stained Indian started to his legs to make good his retreat, -but as his back was turned in flight, Bill rushed after him and dealt -him a kick that laid him prone on his face. - -This was the signal for a general męlée, and a terrible one it was! - -Bill got Peggy pulled to one side, and gave her in charge to Dick, who -had come thundering across on his huge horse towards the scene of -conflict. - -Under the shelter of a spreading tree Dick lifted his precious charge. -But she speedily revived when he laid her flat on the ground. She -smiled feebly and held out her hand, which Dick took and kissed, the -tears positively trickling over his cheeks. - -Perhaps it was a kind of boyish impulse that caused him to say what he -now said: - -"Oh, Peggy, my darling, how I love you! Whereever you are, dear, -wherever I am--oh, always think of me a little!" - -That was all. - -A faint colour suffused Peggy's cheek for just a moment. Then she sat -up, and the noble hound anxiously licked her face. - -But she had made no reply. - -Meanwhile the męlée went merrily on, as a Donnybrook Irishman might -remark. - -Fiercely and wildly both sides fought, using as weapons whatsoever came -handiest. - -But soon the savages were beaten and discomfited with, sad to tell, the -loss of one life--that of a savage. - -Not only Jake himself, but Roland and Mr. Peter were now on the scene of -the recent conflict. Close to Peter's side, watching every movement of -his lips and eyes, stood Benee, the Indian who had saved the children. - -Several times Peter looked as if he felt uneasy, and once he turned -towards Benee as if about to speak. - -He said nothing, and the man continued his watchful scrutiny. - -After consulting for a short time together, Jake and Roland, with Burly -Bill, determined to hold a court of inquiry on the spot. - -But, strange to say, Peter kept aloof. He continued to walk to and fro, -and Benee still hung in his rear. But this ex-savage was soon called -upon to act as interpreter if his services should be needed, which they -presently were. - -Every one of the civilized Indians had the same story to tell of the -laziness and insolence of the Bolivians, and now Jake ordered the chief -of the other party to come forward. - -They sulked for a short time. - -But Jake drew his pistols, and, one in each hand, stepped out and -ordered all to the front. - -They made no verbal response to the questions put to them through Benee. -Their only reply was scowling. - -"Well, Mr. St. Clair," said Jake, "my advice is to pay these rascals and -send them off." - -"Good!" said Roland. "I have money." - -The chief was ordered to draw nearer, and the dollars were counted into -his claw-like fist. - -The fellow drew up his men in a line and gave to each his pay, reserving -his own. - -Then at a signal, given by the chief, there was raised a terrible -war-whoop and howl. - -The chief spat on his dollars and dashed them into a neighbouring pool. -Every man did the same. - -Roland was looking curiously on. He was wondering what would happen -next. - -He had not very long to wait, for with his foot the chief turned the -dead man on his back, and the blood from his death-stab poured out -afresh. - -He dipped his palm in the red stream and held it up on high. His men -followed his example. - -Then all turned to the sun, and in one voice uttered just one word, -which, being interpreted by Benee, was understood to mean--REVENGE! - -They licked the blood from their hands, and, turning round, marched in -silence and in single file out and away from the forest and were seen no -more. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THAT TREE IN THE FOREST GLADE - - -The things, the happenings, I have now to tell you of in this chapter -form the turning-point in our story. - -Weeks passed by after the departure of that mysterious band of savages, -and things went on in the same old groove on the plantation. - -Whence the savages had come, or whither they had gone, none could tell. -But all were relieved at their exit, dramatic and threatening though it -had been. - -The hands were all very busy now everywhere, and one day, it being the -quarter's end, after taking stock Roland gave his usual dinner-party, -and a ball to his natives. These were all dressed out as gaily as gaily -could be. The ladies wore the most tawdry of finery, most of which they -had bought, or rather had had brought them by their brothers and lovers -from Pará, and nothing but the most pronounced evening dress did any -"lady of colour" deign to wear. - -Why should they not ape the quality, and "poh deah Miss Peggy". - -Peggy was very happy that evening, and so I need hardly say was Dick -Temple. Though he never had dared to speak of love again, no one could -have looked at those dark daring eyes of his and said it was not there. - -It must have been about eleven by the clock and a bright moonlight night -when Dick started to ride home. He knew the track well, he said, and -could not be prevailed upon to stay all night. Besides, his uncle -expected him. - -The dinner and ball given to the plantation hands had commenced at -sunset, or six o'clock, and after singing hymns--a queer finish to a -most hilarious dance--all retired, and by twelve of the clock not a -sound was to be heard over all the plantation save now and then the -mournful cry of the shriek-owl or a plash in the river, showing that the -'gators preferred a moonshiny night to daylight itself. - -The night wore on, one o'clock, two o'clock chimed from the turret on -Burnley Hall, and soon after this, had anyone been in the vicinity he -would have seen a tall figure, wrapped in cloak and hood, steal away -from the house adown the walks that led from the flowery lawns. The -face was quite hidden, but several times the figure paused, as if to -listen and glance around, then hurried on once more, and finally -disappeared in the direction of the forest. - -Peggy's bedroom was probably the most tastefully-arranged and -daintily-draped in the house, and when she lay down to-night and fell -gently asleep, very sweet indeed were the dreams that visited her -pillow. The room was on a level with the river lawn, on to which it -opened by a French or casement window. Three o'clock! - -The moon shone on the bed, and even on the girl's face, but did not -awaken her. - -A few minutes after this, and the casement window was quietly opened, -and the same cloaked figure, which stole away from the mansion an hour -before, softly entered. - -It stood for more than half a minute erect and listening, then, bending -low beside the bed, listened a moment there. - -Did no spectral dream cross the sleeping girl's vision to warn her of -the dreadful fate in store for her? - -Had she shrieked even now, assistance would have been speedily -forthcoming, and she might have been saved! - -But she quietly slumbered on. - -Then the dark figure retreated as it had come, and presently another and -more terrible took its place--a burly savage carrying a blanket or rug. - -First the girl's clothing and shoes, her watch and all her trinkets, -were gathered up and handed to someone on the lawn. - -Then the savage, approaching the bed with stealthy footsteps, at once -enveloped poor Peggy in the rug and bore her off. - -For a moment she uttered a muffled moan or two, like a nightmare scream, -then all was still as the grave. - - ---- - -"Missie Peggy! Missie Peggy," cried Beeboo next morning at eight as she -entered the room. "What for you sleep so long? Ah!" she added -sympathizingly, still holding the door-knob in her hand. "Ah! but den -the poh chile very tired. Dance plenty mooch las' night, and--" - -She stopped suddenly. - -Something unusual in the appearance of the bed attire attracted her -attention and she speedily rushed towards it. - -She gave vent at once to a loud yell, and Roland himself, who was -passing near, ran in immediately. - -He stood like one in a state of catalepsy, with his eyes fixed on the -empty bed. But he recovered shortly. - -"Oh, this is a fearful day!" he cried, and hastened out to acquaint Jake -and Bill, both of whom, as well as Mr. Peter, slept in the east wing of -the mansion. - -He ran from door to door knocking very loud and shouting: "Awake, awake, -Peggy has gone! She has been kidnapped, and the accursed savages have -had their revenge!" - -In their pyjamas only, Jake and Bill appeared, and after a while Mr. -Peter, fully dressed. - -He looked sleepy. - -"I had too much wine last night," he said, with a yawn, "and slept very -heavily all night. But what is the matter?" - -He was quietly and quickly informed. - -"This is indeed a fearful blow, but surely we can trace the scoundrels!" - -"Boys, hurry through with your breakfast," said Roland. "Jake, I will -be back in a few minutes." - -He whistled shrilly and Brawn came rushing to his side. - -"Follow me, Brawn." - -His object was to find out in which direction the savages had gone. - -Had Brawn been a blood-hound he could soon have picked up the scent. - -As it was, however, his keen eyes discovered the trail on the lawn, and -led him to the gate. He howled impatiently to have it opened, then -bounded out and away towards the forest in a westerly and southerly -direction, which, if pursued far enough, would lead towards Bolivia, -along the wild rocky banks of the Madeira River. - -It was a whole hour before Brawn returned. He carried something in his -mouth. He soon found his master, and laid the something gently down at -his feet, stretching himself--grief-stricken--beside it. - -It was one of Peggy's boots, with a white silk stocking in it, drenched -in blood. - -The white men and Indians were now fully aroused, and, leaving Jake in -charge of the estate, Roland picked out thirty of the best men, armed -them with guns, and placed them under the command of Burly Bill. Then -they started off in silence, Roland and Burly mounted, the armed whites -and Indians on foot. - -Brawn went galloping on in front in a very excited manner, often -returning and barking wildly at the horses as if to hurry them on. - -Throughout that forenoon they journeyed by the trail, which was now -distinct enough, and led through the jungle and forest. - -They came out on to a clearing about one o'clock. Here was water in -abundance, and as they were all thoroughly exhausted, they threw -themselves down by the spring to quench their thirst and rest. - -Bill made haste now to deal out the provisions, and after an hour, -during which time most of them slept, they resumed their journey. - -A mile or two farther on they came to a sight which almost froze their -blood. - -In the middle of a clearing or glade stood a great tree. It was -hollowed out at one side, and against this was still a heap of -half-charred wood, evidently the remains of a fierce fire, though every -ember had died black out. - -Here was poor Peggy's other shoe. That too was bloody. - -And here was a pool of coagulated blood, with huge rhinoceros beetles -busy at their work of excavation. Portions or rags of dress also! - -It was truly an awful sight! - -Roland reined up his horse, and placed his right hand over his eyes. - -"Bill," he managed to articulate, "can you have the branches removed, -and let us know the fearful worst?" - -Burly Bill gave the order, and the Indians tossed the half-burned wood -aside. - -Then they pulled out bone after bone of limbs, of arms, of ribs. But -all were charred almost into cinders! - -Roland now seemed to rise to the occasion. - -He held his right arm on high. - -"Bill," he cried; "here, under the blazing sun and above the remains, -the dust of my dead sister, I register a vow to follow up these fiends -to their distant homes, if Providence shall but lead us aright, and to -slay and burn every wretch who has aided or abetted this terrible deed!" - -"I too register that vow," said Bill solemnly. - -"And I, and I!" shouted the white men, and even the Indians. - -They went on again once more, after burying the charred bones and dust. - -But the trail took them to a ford, and beyond the stream there was not -the imprint of even a single footstep. - -The retiring savages must either have doubled back on their tracks or -waded for miles up or down the rocky stream before landing. - -Nothing more could be done to-day, for the sun was already declining, -and they must find their way out of the gloom of the forest before -darkness. So the return journey was made, and just as the sun's red -beams were crimsoning the waters of the western river, they arrived once -more at the plantation and Burnley Hall. - -The first to meet them was Peter himself. He seemed all anxiety. - -"What have you found?" he gasped. - -It was a moment or two before Roland could reply. - -"Only the charred remains of my poor sister!" he said at last, then -compressed his mouth in an effort to keep back the tears. - -The Indian who took so lively an interest in Mr. Peter was not far away, -and was watching his man as usual. - -None noticed, save Benee himself, that Mr. Peter heaved something very -like a sigh of relief as Roland's words fell on his ears. - -Burnley Hall was now indeed a castle of gloom; but although poor Mrs. -St. Clair was greatly cast down, the eager way in which Roland and Dick -were making their preparations to follow up the savage Indians, even to -the confines or interior, if necessary, of their own domains, gave her -hope. - -Luckily they had already found a clue to their whereabouts, for one of -the civilized Bolivians knew that very chief, and indeed had come from -the same far-off country. He described the people as a race of -implacable savages and cannibals, into whose territory no white man had -ever ventured and returned alive. - -Were they a large tribe? No, not large, not over three or four -thousand, counting women and children. Their arms? These were spears -and broad two-bladed knives, with great slings, from which they could -hurl large stones and pieces of flint with unerring accuracy, and bows -and arrows. And no number of white men could stand against these unless -they sheltered themselves in trenches or behind rocks and trees. - -This ex-cannibal told them also that the land of this terrible tribe -abounded in mineral wealth, in silver ore and even in gold. - -For this information Roland cared little; all he wished to do was to -avenge poor Peggy's death. If his men, after the fighting, chose to lay -out claims he would permit a certain number of them to do so, their -names to be drawn by ballot. The rest must accompany the expedition -back. - -Dick's uncle needed but little persuasion to give forty white men, fully -armed and equipped, to swell Roland's little army of sixty whites. -Besides these, they would have with them carriers and -ammunition-bearers--Indians from the plantations. - -Dick was all life and fire. If they were successful, he himself, he -said, would shoot the murderous chief, or stab him to the heart. - -A brave show indeed did the little army make, when all mustered and -drilled, and every man there was most enthusiastic, for all had loved -poor lost Peggy. - -"I shall remain at my post here, I suppose," said Mr. Peter. - -"If I do not alter my mind I shall leave you and Jake, with Mr. Roberts, -the tutor, to manage the estate in my absence," said Roland. - -He did alter his mind, and, as the following will show, he had good -occasion to do so. - -One evening the strange Indian Benee, between whom and Peter there -existed so much hatred, sought Roland out when alone. - -"Can I speakee you, all quiet foh true?" - -"Certainly, my good fellow. Come into my study. Now, what is it you -would say?" - -"Dat Don Pedro no true man! I tinkee much, and I tinkee dat." - -"Well, I know you don't love each other, Benee; but can you give me any -proofs of his villainy?" - -"You letee me go to-night all myse'f alone to de bush. I tinkee I bring -you someding strange. Some good news. Ha! it may be so!" - -"I give you leave, and believe you to be a faithful fellow." - -Benee seized his master's hand and bent down his head till his brow -touched it. - -Next moment he was gone. - -Next morning he was missed. - -"Your pretty Indian," said Mr. Peter, with an ill-concealed sneer, "is a -traitor, then, after all, and a spy, and it was no doubt he who -instigated the abduction and the murder, for the sake of revenge, of -your poor little sister." - -"That remains to be seen, Mr. Peter. If he, or anyone else on the -plantation, is a traitor, he shall hang as high as Haman." - -Peter cowered visibly, but smiled his agitation off. - -And that same night about twelve, while Roland sat smoking on the lawn -with Dick, all in the moonlight, everyone else having retired--smoking -and talking of the happy past--suddenly the gate hinges creaked, and -with a low growl Brawn sprang forward. But he returned almost -immediately, wagging his tail and being caressed by Benee himself. - -Silently stood the Indian before them, silently as a statue, but in his -left hand he carried a small bundle bound up in grass. It was not his -place to speak first, and both young men were a little startled at his -sudden appearance. - -"What, Benee! and back so soon from the forest?" - -"Benee did run plenty quickee. Plenty jaguar want eat Benee, but no can -catchee." - -"Well?" - -"I would speekee you bof boys in de room." - -The two started up together. - -Here was some mystery that must be unravelled. - - - - -CHAPTER X--BENEE MAKES A STRANGE DISCOVERY - - -Benee followed them into Roland's quiet study, and placed his strange -grass-girt bundle on a cane chair. - -Roland gave him a goblet of wine-and-water, which he drank eagerly, for -he was faint and tired. - -"Now, let us hear quickly what you have to say, Benee." - -The Indian came forward, and his words, though uttered with some -vehemence, and accompanied by much gesticulation, were delivered in -almost a whisper. - -It would have been impossible for any eavesdropper in the hall to have -heard. - -"Wat I tellee you 'bout dat Peter?" he began. - -"My good friend," said Roland, "Peter accuses you of being a spy and -traitor." - -"I killee he!" - -"No, you will not; if Peter is guilty, I will see that justice overtakes -him." - -"Well, 'fore I go, sah, I speakee you and say I bringee you de good -news." - -"Tell us quickly!" said Dick in a state of great excitement. - -"Dis, den, is de good news: Missie Peggy not dead! No, no!" - -"Explain, Benee, and do not raise false hopes in our breasts." - -"De cannibals make believe she murder; dat all is." - -"But have we not found portions of her raiment, her blood-dripping -stockings, and also her charred remains?" - -"Listen, sah. Dese cannibals not fools. Dey beat you plenty of trail, -so you can easily find de clearing where de fire was. Dey wis' you to -go to dat tree to see de blood, de shoe, and all. But when you seekee -de trail after, where is she? Tellee me dat. Missie Peggy no murder. -No, no. She am carried away, far away, as one prisint to de queen ob de -cannibals." - -"What were the bones, my good Benee?" - -Then Benee opened his strange bundle, and there fell on the floor the -half-burned skull and jaws of a gigantic baboon. - -"I find dat hid beside de tree. Ha, ha!" - -"It is all clear now," said Roland. "My dear, faithful Benee," he -continued, "can you guide us to the country of the cannibals? You will -meet your reward, both here and hereafter." - -"I not care. I lub Missie Peggy. Ah, she come backee once moh, foh -true!" - -And now Dick Temple, the impulsive, must step forward and seize Benee by -the hand. "God bless you!" he said; and indeed it was all he could say. - -When the Indian had gone, Roland and Dick drew closer together. - -"The mystery," said the former, "seems to me, Dick, to be as dark and -intricate as ever. I can understand the savages carrying poor Peggy -away, but why the tricky deceit, the dropped shoe that poor, noble Brawn -picked up, the pool of blood, the rent and torn garments, and the -half-charred bones?" - -"Well, I think I can see through that, Roland. I believe it was done to -prevent your further pursuit; for, as Benee observes, the trail is left -plainly enough for even a white man to see as far as the 'fire-tree' and -on to the brook. But farther there is none." - -"Well, granting all this; think you, Dick, that no one instigated them, -probably even suggested the crime and the infernal deceit they have -practised?" - -"Now you are thinking of, if not actually accusing, Mr. Peter?" - -"I am, Dick. I have had my suspicions of him ever since a month after -he came. It was strange how Benee hated him from the beginning, to say -nothing of Brawn, the dog, and our dear lost Peggy." - -"Cheer up!" said Dick. "Give Peter a show, though things look dark -against him." - -"Yes," said Roland sternly, "and with us and our expedition he must and -shall go. We can watch his every move, and if I find that he is a -villain, may God have mercy on his soul! His body shall feed the -eagles." - -Dick Temple was a wild and reckless boy, it is true, and always first, -if possible, in any adventure which included a spice of danger, but he -had a good deal of common sense notwithstanding. - -He mused a little, and rolled himself a fresh cigarette before he -replied. - -"Your Mr. Peter," he said, "may or may not be guilty of duplicity, -though I do not see the _raison d'ętre_ for any such conduct, and I -confess to you that I look upon lynching as a wild kind of justice. At -the same time I must again beg of you, Roland, to give the man a decent -show." - -"Here is my hand on that, Dick. He shall have justice, even should that -just finish with his dangling at a rope's end." - -The two shortly after this parted for the night, each going to his own -room, but I do not think that either of them slept till long past -midnight. - -They were up in good time, however, for the bath, and felt invigorated -and hungry after the dip. - -They were not over-merry certainly, but Mrs. St. Clair was quite -changed, and just a little hysterically hilarious. For as soon as he -had tubbed, Roland had gone to her bedroom and broken the news to her -which Benee had brought. - -That same forenoon Dick and Roland rode out to the forest. - -They could hear the boom and shriek and roar of the great buzz-saw long -before they came near the white-men's quarters. - -They saw Jake,--and busy enough he was too,--and told him that they had -some reason to doubt the honesty or sincerity of Mr. Peter, and that -they would take him along with them. - -"Thank God!" said Jake most fervently. "I myself cannot trust a man -whom a dog like Brawn and a savage like Benee have come to hate." - -By themselves that day the young fellows completed their plans, and all -would now be ready to advance in a week's time. - -That same day, however, on parade and in presence of Mr. Peter, Roland -made a little speech. - -"We are going," he said, "my good fellows, on a very long and -adventurous journey. Poor Miss Peggy is, as we all know" (this was -surely a fib that would be forgiven) "dead and gone, but we mean to -follow these savages up to their own country, and deal them such a blow -as will paralyse them for years. Yellow Charlie yonder is himself one -of their number, but he has proved himself faithful, and has offered to -be our guide as soon as we enter unknown regions. - -"I have," he added, "perfect faith in my white men, faith in Mr. Peter, -whom I am taking with me--" - -Peter took a step forward as if to speak, but Roland waved him back. - -"And I know my working Indians will prove themselves good men and true. - -"After saying this, it is hardly necessary to add that if anyone is -found attempting to desert our column, even should it be Burly Bill -himself" (Burly Bill laughed outright), "he will be shot down as we -would shoot a puma or alligator." - -There was a wild cheer after Roland stepped down from the balcony, and -in this Mr. Peter seemed to join so heartily that Roland's heart smote -him. - -For perhaps, after all, he had been unkind in thought to this man. - -Time alone would tell. - -The boys determined to leave nothing to chance, but ammunition was of -even more importance than food. They hoped to find water everywhere, -and the biscuits carried, with the roots they should dig, would serve to -keep the expedition alive and healthy, with the aid of their good guns. - -Medicine was not forgotten, nor medical comforts. - -For three whole days Roland trained fast-running Indians to pick up a -trail. A man would be allowed to have three miles' start, and then, -when he was quite invisible, those human sleuth-hounds would be let -loose, and they never failed to bring back their prisoner after a time. - -One man at least was much impressed by these trials of skill. - -Just a week before the start, and late in the evening, Benee once more -presented himself before our young heroes. - -"I would speakee you!" - -"Well, Benee, say what you please, but all have not yet retired. Dick, -get out into the hall, and warn us if anyone approaches." - -Dick jumped up, threw his cigarette away, and did as he was told. - -"Thus I speakee you and say," said Benee. "You trustee I?" - -"Assuredly!" - -"Den you let me go?" - -"How and where?" - -"I go fast as de wind, fleeter dan de rain-squall, far ober de mountains -ob Madeira, far froo' de wild, dark forest. I heed noting, I fear -noting. No wil' beas' makee Benee 'fraid. I follow de cannibals. I -reach de country longee time 'foh you. I creepee like one snake to de -hut ob poh deah Peggy. She no can fly wid me, but I 'sure her dat you -come soon, in two moon p'laps, or free. I make de chile happy. Den I -creep and glide away again all samee one black snake, and come back to -find you. I go?" - -Roland took the man's hand. Savage though he was, there was kindness -and there was undoubted sincerity in those dark, expressive eyes, and -our hero at once gave the permission asked. - -"But," he said, "the way is long and dangerous, my good Benee, so here I -give you two long-range six-shooters, a repeating-rifle, and a box of -cartridges. May God speed your journey, and bring you safely back with -news that shall inspire our hearts! Go!" - -Benee glided away as silently as he had come, and next morning his place -was found empty. But would their trust in this man reap its reward, -or--awful doubt--was Benee false? - -Next night but one something very strange happened. - -All was silent in and around Burnley Hall, and the silvery tones of the -great tower clock had chimed the hour of three, when the window of Mr. -Peter's room was silently opened, and out into the moonlight glided the -man himself. - -He carried in his hand a heavy grip-sack, and commenced at once taking -the path that led downwards to the river. - -Here lay the dinghy boat drawn up on the beach. She was secured with -padlock and chain, but all Roland's officers carried keys. - -It was about a quarter of a mile to the river-side, and Peter was -proceeding at a fairly rapid rate, considering the weight of his -grip-sack. - -He had a habit of talking to himself. He was doing so now. - -"I have only to drop well down the river and intercept a steamer. It is -this very day they pass, and--" - -Two figures suddenly glided from the bush and stood before him. - -One sprang up behind, whom he could not see. - -"Good-morning, Mr. Peter! Going for a walk early, aren't you? It's -going to turn out a delightful day, I think." - -They were white men. - -"Here!" cried Peter, "advance but one step, or dare to impede my -progress, and you are both dead men! I am a good shot, and happen, as -you see, to have the draw on you." - -Next moment his right arm was seized from behind, the men in front -ducked, and the first shot went off in the air. - -"Here, none o' that, guv'nor!" said a set, determined voice. - -The revolver was wrenched from his grasp, and he found himself on his -back in the pathway. - -"It is murder you'd be after! Eh?" - -"Not so, my good fellow," said Peter. "I will explain." - -"Explain, then." - -"My duties are ended with Mr. Roland St. Clair. He owes me one month's -wages. I have forfeited that and given warning, and am going. That is -all." - -"You are going, are you? Well, we shall see about that." - -"Yes, you may, and now let me pass on my peaceful way." - -"He! he! he! But tell us, Mr. Peter, why this speedy departure? Hast -aught upon thy conscience, or hast got a conscience?" - -Peter had risen to his feet. - -"Merely this. I claim the privilege of every working man, that of -giving leave. I am not strong, and I dread the long journey Mr. St. -Clair and his little band are to take." - -"But," said the other, "you came in such a questionable shape, and we -were here to watch for stragglers, not of course thinking for a moment, -Mr. Peter, that your French window would be opened, and that you -yourself would attempt to take French leave. - -"Now you really must get back to your bedroom, guv'nor, and see Mr. St. -Clair in the morning. My mates will do sentry-go at your window, and I -shall be by your door in case you need anything. It is a mere matter of -form, Mr. Peter, but of course we have to obey orders. Got ere a drop -of brandy in your flask?" - -Peter quickly produced quite a large bottle. He drank heavily himself -first, and then passed it round. - -But the men took but little, and Mr. Peter, half-intoxicated, allowed -himself to be conducted to bed. - -When these sentries gave in their report next morning to Roland, Mr. -Peter did not rise a deal in the young fellow's estimation. - -"It only proves one thing," he said to Dick. "If Peter is so anxious to -give us the slip, we must watch him well until we are far on the road -towards the cannibals' land." - -"That's so," returned Dick Temple. - -Not a word was said to Peter regarding his attempted flight when he sat -down to breakfast with the boys, and naturally enough he believed it had -not been reported. Indeed he had some hazy remembrance of having -offered the sentries a bribe to keep dark. - -Mr. Peter ate very sparingly, and looked sadly fishy about the eyes. - -But he made no more attempts to escape just then. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--ALL ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS - - -That Benee was a good man and true we have little reason to doubt, up to -the present time at all events. - -Yet Dick Temple was, curiously enough, loth to believe that Mr. Peter -was other than a friend. And nothing yet had been proved against him. - -"Is it not natural enough," said he to Roland, "that he should funk--to -put it in fine English--the terrible expedition you and I are about to -embark upon? And knowing that you have commanded him to accompany us -would, in my opinion, be sufficient to account for his attempt to escape -and drop down the river to Pará, and so home to his own country. -Roland, I repeat, we must give the man a show." - -"True," said Roland, "and poor Benee is having his show. Time alone can -prove who the traitor is. If it be Benee he will not return. On the -contrary, he will join the savage captors of poor Peggy, and do all in -his power to frustrate our schemes." - -No more was said. - -But the preparations were soon almost completed, and in a day or two -after this, farewells being said, the brave little army began by forced -marches to find its way across country and through dense forests and -damp marshes, and over rocks and plains, to the Madeira river, high -above its junction with the great Amazon. - - ---- - -Meanwhile let us follow the lonely Indian in his terrible journey to the -distant and unexplored lands of Bolivia. - -Like all true savages, he despised the ordinary routes of traffic or -trade; his track must be a bee-line, guiding himself by the sun by day, -but more particularly by the stars by night. - -Benee knew the difference betwixt stars and planets. The latter were -always shifting, but certain stars--most to him were like lighthouses to -mariners who are approaching land--shone over the country of the -cannibals, and he could tell from their very altitude how much progress -he was making night after night. - -So lonesome, so long, was his thrice dreary journey, that had it been -undertaken by a white man, in all probability he would soon have been a -raving maniac. - -But Benee had all the cunning, all the daring, and all the wisdom of a -true savage, and for weeks he felt a proud exhilaration, a glorious -sense of freedom and happiness, at being once more his own master, no -work to do, and hope ever pointing him onwards to his goal. - -What was that goal? it may well be asked. Was Benee disinterested? Did -he really feel love for the white man and the white man's children? Can -aught save selfishness dwell in the breast of a savage? In brief, was -it he who had been the spy, he who was the guilty man; or was it Peter -who was the villain? Look at it in any light we please, one thing is -certain, this strange Indian was making his way back to his own country -and to his own friends, and Indians are surely not less fond of each -other than are the wild beasts who herd together in the forest, on the -mountain-side, or on the ice in the far-off land of the frozen north. -And well we know that these creatures will die for each other. - -If there was a mystery about Peter, there was something approaching to -one about Benee also. - -But then it must be remembered that since his residence on the St. Clair -plantation, Benee had been taught the truths of that glorious religion -of ours, the religion of love that smoothes the rugged paths of life for -us, that gives a silver lining to every cloud of grief and sorrow, and -gilds even the dark portals of death itself. - -Benee believed even as little children do. And little Peggy in her -quiet moods used to tell him the story of life by redemption in her -almost infantile way. - -For all that, it is hard and difficult to vanquish old superstitions, -and this man was only a savage at heart after all, though, nevertheless, -there seemed to be much good in his rough, rude nature, and you may -ofttimes see the sweetest and most lovely little flowers growing on the -blackest and ruggedest of rocks. - -Well, this journey of Benee's was certainly no sinecure. Apart even -from all the dangers attached to it, from wild beasts and wilder men, it -was one that would have tried the hardest constitution, if only for the -simple reason that it was all a series of forced marches. - -There was something in him that was hurrying him on and encouraging him -to greater and greater exertions every hour. His daily record depended -to a great extent on the kind of country he had to negotiate. He began -with forty miles, but after a time, when he grew harder, he increased -this to fifty and often to sixty. It was at times difficult for him to -force his way through deep, dark forest and jungle, along the winding -wild-beast tracks, past the beasts themselves, who hid in trees ready to -spring had he paused but a second; through marshes and bogs, with here -and there a reedy lake, on which aquatic birds of brightest colours -slept as they floated in the sunshine, but among the long reeds of which -lay the ever-watchful and awful cayman. - -In such places as these, I think Benee owed his safety to his utter -fearlessness and sang-froid, and to the speed at which he travelled. - -It was not a walk by any means, but a strange kind of swinging trot. -Such a gait may still be seen in far-off outlying districts of the -Scottish Highlands, where it is adopted by postal "runners", who -consider it not only faster but less tiresome than walking. - -For the first hundred miles, or more, the lonely traveller found himself -in a comparatively civilized country. This was not very much to his -liking, and as a rule he endeavoured to give towns and villages, and -even rubber forests, where Indians worked under white men overseers, a -wide berth. - -Yet sometimes, hidden in a tree, he would watch the work going on; watch -the men walking hither and thither with their pannikins, or deftly -whirling the shovels they had dipped in the sap-tub and holding them in -the dark smoke of the palm-tree nuts, or he would listen to their songs. -But it was with no feeling of envy; it was quite the reverse. - -For Benee was free! Oh what a halo of happiness and glory surrounds -that one little word "Free"! - -Then this lonely wanderer would hug himself, as it were, and, dropping -down from his perch, start off once more at his swinging trot. - -Even as the crow flies, or the bee wings its flight, the length of -Benee's journey would be over six hundred miles. But it was impossible -for anyone to keep a bee-line, owing to the roughness of the country and -the difficulties of every kind to be overcome, so that it is indeed -impossible to estimate the magnitude of this lone Indian's exploit. - -His way, roughly speaking, lay between the Madeira River and the Great -Snake River called Puras (_vide_ map); latterly it would lead him to the -lofty regions and plateaux of the head-waters of Maya-tata, called by -the Peruvians the Madre de Dios, or Holy Virgin River. - -But hardly a day now passed that he had not a stream of some kind to -cross, and wandering by its banks seeking for a ford delayed him -considerably. - -He was journeying thus one morning when the sound of human voices not -far off made him creep quickly into the jungle. - -The men did not take long to put in an appearance. - -A portion of some wandering, hunting, or looting tribe they were, and -cut-throat looking scoundrels everyone of them--five in all. - -They were armed with bows and arrows and with spears. Their arrows, -Benee could see, were tipped with flint, and the flint was doubtless -poisoned. They carried also slings and broad knives in their belts of -skin. The slings are used in warfare, but they are also used by -shepherds--monsters who, like many in this country, know not the meaning -of the words "mercy to dumb animals"--on their poor sheep. - -These fellows, who now lay down to rest and to eat, much to Benee's -disgust, not to say dismay, were probably a party of llama (pronounced -yahmah) herds or shepherds who had, after cutting their master's throat, -banded together and taken to this roving life. - -So thought Benee, at all events, for he could see many articles of -European dress, such as dainty scarves of silk, lace handkerchiefs, &c., -as well as brooches, huddled over their own clothing, and one -fierce-looking fellow pulled out a gold watch and pretended to look at -the time. - -So angry was Benee that his savage nature got uppermost, and he handled -his huge revolvers in a nervous way that showed his anxiety to open fire -and spoil the cut-throats' dinner. But he restrained himself for the -time being. - -In addition to the two revolvers, Benee carried the repeating rifle. It -was the fear of spoiling his ammunition that led to his being in this -dreadful fix. But for his cartridges he could have swum the river with -the speed of a gar-fish. - -What a long, long time they stayed, and how very leisurely they munched -and fed! - -A slight sound on his left flank caused Benee to gaze hastily round. To -his horror, he found himself face to face with a puma. - -Here was indeed a dilemma! - -If he fired he would make his presence known, and small mercy could he -expect from the cut-throats. At all hazards he determined to keep still. - -The yellow eyes of this American lion flared and glanced in a streak of -sunshine shot downwards through the bush, and it was this probably which -dimmed his vision, for he made no attempt to spring forward. - -Benee dared scarcely to breathe; he could hear the beating of his own -heart, and could not help wondering if the puma heard it too. - -At last the brute backed slowly astern, with a wriggling motion. - -But Benee gained courage now. - -During the long hours that followed, several great snakes passed him so -closely that he could have touched their scaly backs. Some of these -were lithe and long, others very thick and slow in motion, but nearly -all were beautifully coloured in metallic tints of crimson, orange, -green, and bronze, and all were poisonous. - -The true Bolivian, however, has but little fear of snakes, knowing that -unless trodden upon, or otherwise actively interfered with, they care -not to waste their venom by striking. - -At long, long last the cut-throats got up to leave. They would before -midnight no doubt reach some lonely outpost and demand entertainment at -the point of the knife, and if strange travellers were there, sad indeed -would be their fate. - -Benee now crawled, stiff and cramped, out from his damp and dangerous -hiding-place. He found a ford not far off, and after crossing, he set -off once more at his swinging trot, and was soon supple and happy -enough. - -On and on he went all that day, to make up for lost time, and far into -the starry night. - -The hills were getting higher now, the valleys deeper and damper -between, and stream after stream had to be forded. - -It must have been long past eight o'clock when, just as Benee was -beginning to long for food and rest, his eyes fell on a glimmering light -at the foot of a high and dark precipice. - -He warily ventured forward and found it proceeded from a shepherd's hut; -inside sat the man himself, quietly eating a kind of thick soup, the -basin flanked by a huge flagon of milk, with roasted yams. Great, -indeed, was the innocent fellow's surprise when Benee presented himself -in the doorway. A few words in Bolivian, kindly uttered by our -wayfarer, immediately put the man at ease, however, and before long -Benee was enjoying a hearty supper, followed by a brew of excellent -maté. - -He was a very simple son of the desert, this shepherd, but a desultory -kind of conversation was maintained, nevertheless, until far into the -night. - -For months and months, he told Benee, he had lived all alone with his -sheep in these grassy uplands, having only the companionship of his -half-wild, but faithful dog. But he was contented and happy, and had -plenty to eat and drink. - -It was just sunrise when Benee awoke from a long refreshing sleep on his -bed of skins. There was the odour of smoke all about, and presently the -shepherd himself bustled in and bade him "Good-morning!", or "Heaven's -blessing!" which is much the same. - -A breakfast of rough, black cake, with butter, fried fish, and maté, -made Benee as happy as a king and as fresh as a mountain trout, and soon -after he said farewell and started once more on his weary road. The only -regret he experienced rose from the fact that he had nothing wherewith -to reward this kindly shepherd for his hospitality. - -Much against his will, our wanderer had now to make a long detour, for -not even a goat could have scaled the ramparts of rock in front of him. - -In another week he found himself in one of the bleakest and barrenest -stretches of country that it is possible to imagine. It was a high -plateau, and covered for the most part with stunted bushes and with -crimson heath and heather. - -Benee climbed a high hill that rose near him, and as he stood on the top -thereof, just as the sun in a glory of orange clouds and crimson rose -slowly and majestically over the far-off eastern forest, a scene -presented itself to him that, savage though he was, caused him for a -time to stand mute with admiration and wonder. - -Then he remembered what little Peggy told him once in her sweet and -serious voice: "Always pray at sunrise". - - "Always pray at sunrise, - For 'tis God who makes the day; - When shades of evening gather round - Kneel down again and pray. - And He, who loves His children dear, - Will send some angel bright - To guard you while you're sleeping sound - And watch you all the night." - - -And on this lonely hill-top Benee did kneel down to pray a simple -prayer, while golden clouds were changing to bronze and snowy white, and -far off on the forest lands hazy vapours were still stretched across -glens and valleys. - -As he rose from his knees he could hear, away down beneath him, a wild -shout, and gazing in the direction from which it came, he saw seven -semi-nude savages hurrying towards the mountain with the evident -intention of making him prisoner. - -It was terrible odds; but as there was no escape, Benee determined to -fight. - -As usual, they were armed with bow and arrow and sling. - -Indeed, they commenced throwing stones with great precision before they -reached the hill-foot, and one of these fell at Benee's feet. - -Glad, indeed, was he next minute to find himself in a kind of natural -trench which could have been held by twenty men against a hundred. - -On and up, crawling on hands and knees, came the savages. - -But Benee stood firm, rifle in hand, and waiting his chance. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--BENEE ENTRENCHED--SAVAGE REVELS IN THE FOREST - - -The trench in which he found himself was far higher than was necessary, -and fronted by huge stones. It was evidently the work of human hands, -but by what class of people erected Benee could not imagine. - -He could spare a few boulders anyhow, so, while the enemy was still far -below, he started first one, then another, and still another, on a -cruise down the mountain-side and on a mission of death. - -These boulders broke into scores of large fragments long before they -reached the savages, two of whom were struck, one being killed outright. - -And Benee knew his advantage right well, and, taking careful aim now -with his repeating-rifle--a sixteen-shooter it was,--he fired. - -He saw the bullet raise the dust some yards ahead of the foe, who paused -to gaze upwards in great amazement. - -But next shot went home, for Benee had got the range, and one of the -five threw up his hands with a shriek, and fell on his face, to rise no -more. - -Rendered wild by the loss of their companions, the others drew their -knives and made a brave start for Benee's trench. - -But what could poor savages do against the deadly fire of civilized -warfare. When another of their number paid the penalty of his rashness, -the other three took fright and went racing and tumbling down the hill -so quickly that no more of Benee's shots took effect. - -Roland had given Benee a field-glass before he started, and through this -he watched the flying figures for many a mile, noting exactly the way -they took, and determining in his own mind to choose a somewhat -different route, even though he should have to make a wide detour. - -He started downhill almost immediately, well-knowing that these -dark-skinned devils would return reinforced to seek revenge. - -He knew, moreover, that they could follow up a trail, so he did all in -his power to pick out the hardest parts of this great moorland on which -to walk. - -He came at last to a stream. It was very shallow, and he plunged in at -once. - -This was indeed good luck, and Benee thought now that Peggy's God, who -paints the sky at sunrise, was really looking after him. He could baulk -his pursuers now, or, at least, delay them. For they would not be able -to tell in which direction he had gone. - -So Benee walked in the water for three miles. This walk was really a -leaping run. He would have gone farther, but all at once the stream -became very rapid indeed, and on his ears fell the boom of a waterfall. - -So he got on shore with all haste. - -But for five miles on from the foot of the leaping, dashing, foaming -linn, the stream was flanked by acres of round, smooth boulders. - -These could tell no tale. On these Benee would leave no trail. He -leapt from one to the other, and was rejoiced at last to find that they -led him to a forest. - -This was indeed a grateful surprise, so he entered the shade at once. - -Benee, after his exciting fight and his very long run, greatly needed -rest, so he gathered some splendid fruit and nuts, despite the -chattering and threatened attacks of a whole band of hideous baboons, -and then threw himself down under the shade of a tree in a small glade -and made a hearty meal. - -He felt thirsty now. But as soon as there was silence once more in the -forest, and even the parrots had gone to sleep in the drowsy noontide -heat, he could hear the rush of water some distance ahead. - -He got up immediately and marched in the direction from which the sound -came, and was soon on the pebbled shore of another burn. - -He drank a long, sweet draught of the cool, delicious water, and felt -wondrously refreshed. - -And now a happy thought occurred to him. - -Sooner or later he felt certain the savages would find his trail. They -would track him to this stream and believe he had once again tried to -break the pursuit by wading either up or down stream. - -His plan was, therefore, to go carefully back on his tracks and rest -hidden all day until, foiled in their attempt to make him prisoner, they -should return homeward. - -This plan he carried into immediate execution, and in a thicket, quite -screened from all observation, he laid him down. - -He was soon fast asleep. - -But in probably a couple of hours' time he sat cautiously up, and, -gently lifting a branch, looked forth. - -For voices had fallen on his ear, and next minute there went filing past -on his trail no fewer than fifteen well-armed warriors. - -They stopped dancing and shouting at the tree where Benee had sat down -to feed, then, brandishing their broad knives, dashed forward to the -stream. - -They had evidently gone up the river for miles, but finding no trail on -the other bank returned to search the down-stream. - -In his hiding-place Benee could hear their wild shouts of -vengeance-deferred, and though he feared not death, right well he knew -that neither his rifle nor revolvers could long protect him against such -desperate odds as this. - -There was now peace once more, and the shades of evening--the short -tropical gloaming--were falling when he heard the savages returning. - -He knew their language well. - -It was soon evident that they did not mean to go any farther that night, -for they were quite tired out. - -They were not unprovided with food and drink such as it was, and -evidently meant to make themselves happy. - -A fire was soon lit in the glade, and by its glare poor Benee, lying low -there and hardly daring to move a limb, could see the sort of savages he -would have to deal with if they found him. - -They were fierce-looking beyond conception. Most of them had long -matted hair, and the ears of some carried the hideous pelele. The lobe -of each ear is pierced when the individual is but a boy, and is -gradually stretched until it is a mere strip of skin capable of -supporting a bone or wooden, grooved little wheel twice as large as a -dollar. The stretched lobe of the ear fits round this like the tyre -round a bicycle wheel. - -The faces of these men, although wild-looking, were not positively -ill-favoured, though the mouths were large and sensual. But if ever -devil lurked in human eyes it lurked in theirs. - -They wore blankets, and some had huge chains of gold and silver nuggets -round their necks. - -Their arms were now piled, or, more correctly speaking, they were -trundled down in a heap by the tree. - -While most of them lay with their feet to the now roaring fire, a space -was left for the cook, who cleverly arranged a kind of gipsy -double-trident over the clear embers and commenced to get ready the -meal. - -The uprights carried cross pieces of wood, and on these both fish and -flesh were laid to broil, while large yams and sweet-potatoes were -placed in the ashes to roast. - -By the time dinner was cooked the night was dark enough, but the glimmer -of the firelight lit up the savages' faces and cast Rembrandtesque -shadows far behind. - -It was a weird and terrible scene, but it had little effect on Benee, -who had often witnessed tableaux far more terrifying than this. - -Then the orgie commenced. They helped themselves with their fingers and -tore the fish and flesh off with their splendid teeth. - -Huge chattees of chicaga, a most filthy but intoxicating beer, now made -their appearance. It was evident enough that these men were used to -being on the war-path and hunting-field. - -The wine or beer is made in a very disgusting manner, but its -manufacture, strangely enough, is not confined to Bolivia. I have seen -much the same liquor in tropical Africa, made by the Somali Indians, and -in precisely the same way. - -The old women or hags of the village are assembled at, say, a chief's -house, and large quantities of cocoanuts and various other fruits are -heaped together in the centre of a hut, as well as large, tub-like -vessels and chattees of water. - -Down the old and almost toothless hags squat, and, helping themselves to -lumps of cocoa-nut, &c., they commence to mumble and chew these, now and -then moistening their mouths with a little water, the juice is spit out -into calabashes, and when these are full of the awful mess they are -emptied into the big bin. - -It is a great gala-day with these hideous old hags, a meeting that they -take advantage of not only for making wine but for abusing their -neighbours. - -How they cackle and grin, to be sure, as their mouths work to and fro! -How they talk and chatter, and how they chew! It is chatter and chew, -chew and chatter, all the time, and the din they make with teeth and -tongues would deafen a miller. - -When all is finished, the bins are left to settle and ferment, and in -three days' time, the supernatant liquor is poured off and forms the -wine called chicaga. - -Had anyone doubted the intoxicating power of this vilest of all vile -drinks, a glance at the scene which soon ensued around the fire would -speedily have convinced him. - -Benee lay there watching these fiends as they gradually merged from one -phase of drunkenness to another, and fain would he have sent half a -dozen revolver bullets into the centre of the group, but his life -depended on his keeping still. - -The savages first confined themselves to merry talking, with coarse -jokes and ribaldry, and frequent outbursts of laughter. But when they -had quaffed still more, they must seize their knives and get up to -dance. Round and round the blazing fire they whirled and staggered -through the smoke and through it again, with demoniacal shouts and awful -yells, that awakened echoes among the forest wild beasts far and near. - -Then they pricked their bodies with their knives till the blood ran, and -with this they splashed each other in hideous wantonness till faces and -clothes were smeared in gore. - -All this could but have one ending--a fight. - -Benee saw one savage stabbed to the heart, and then the orgie became a -fierce battle. - -Now was Benee's time to escape. - -Yet well he knew how acute the power of hearing is among the Bolivian -savages. One strange noise, even the crackle of a bush, and the -fighting would end in a hunt, and he would undoubtedly lose his life. - -But he wriggled and crawled like a snake in the grass until twenty yards -away, and now he moved cautiously, slowly off. - -Soon the glare of the fire among the high trees was seen no more, and -the yelling and cries were far behind and getting more and more -indistinct every minute. - -Benee refreshed himself at the stream, pulled some food from his pocket, -and ate it while he ran. - -He knew, however, that after fighting would come drowsiness, and that -his late entertainers would soon be fast asleep, some of their heads -pillowed, perhaps, on the dead body of their murdered comrade. - -If there be in all this world a more demonish wretch than man is in a -state of nature, or when--even among Christians--demoralized by drink, I -wish to get hold of a specimen for my private menagerie. But the -creature should be kept in a cage by itself. I would not insult my -monkeys with the companionship of such a wretch, should it be man or -beast. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE MARCH TO THE LOVELESS LAND - - -On and on hurried Benee now, at his old swinging trot. - -On and on beneath the splendid stars, his only companions, that looked -so calmly sweet and appeared so near. God's angels surely they, -speaking, as they gazed down, words from their home on high, peace and -good-will to men, and happiness to all that lived and breathed. - -On and on over plains, through moor and marsh, by lake and stream, by -forest dark and jungle wild. It was evident that Benee meant to put -leagues between himself and the camp of his recent enemies before each -star grew beautiful and died; before the fiery sun leapt red above the -eastern hills, and turned the darkness into day. - -Benee had come onwards with such a rush that even the slimy alligators, -by pond or brown lake, left their lairs among the tall nodding reeds and -dashed in terror into the water. - -Prowling wild beasts, the jaguar and puma, also hurried off at his -approach, and many a scared bird flew screaming up into the darkling -air. - -But Benee heeded nothing. His way lay yonder. That bright particular -star away down on the southwestern horizon shone over the great -unexplored region of Bolivia. - -Morning after morning it would be higher and higher above him, and when -it shone at an angle of forty-five degrees he would be approaching the -land of the cannibals. - -Yes, but it was still a far cry to that country. By the time the sun -did rise, and the mists gathered themselves off the valleys and glens -that lay low beneath him, Benee felt sadly in want of rest. - -He found a tree that would make him a good sleeping place, for the -country he was now traversing abounded in hideous snakes and gigantic -lizards, and he courted not the companionship of either. - -The tree was an Abies of some undefined species. - -Up and up crawled Benee, somewhat encumbered by his arms. - -He got through a kind of "lubbers' hole" at last, though with much -difficulty, and, safe enough here, he curled up with his face to the -stem, and was soon so fast asleep that cannons could not have awakened -him. - -But satisfied Nature got uneasy at last, and far on towards evening he -opened his eyes and wondered where he was. - -Still only half-awake, he staggered to his feet and made a step forward. -It was only to fall over the end of a huge matted branch, but this -branch lowered him gently on to the one immediately beneath it, and this -down to the next, and so on. A strange mode of progression certainly, -but Benee found himself sitting on the ground at last, as safe and sound -as if he had come down in a parachute. - -Then his recollection came back to him. He sought out some fruit-trees -now and made a hearty meal, quenched his thirst at a spring, and once -more resumed his journey. - -For three days he marched onwards, but always by night. The country was -not safe by day, and he preferred the companionship of wild beasts to -that of wilder men. In this Benee was wise. - -But awaking somewhat earlier one afternoon, he saw far beneath him, a -town, and in Benee's eyes it was a very large one. - -And now a happy idea struck him. He had money, and here was -civilization. By and by he would be in the wilds once more, and among -savages who knew nothing of cash. Why should he not descend, mix with -the giddy throng, and make purchases of red cloth, of curios, and of -beads. He determined to do so. - -But it would not do to go armed. So he hid his rifle and pistols in the -bush, covering them carefully up with dried grass. Then he commenced -the descent. Yes, the little town, the greater part of which was built -of mud hovels, was full, and the streets crowded, many in the throng -being Spaniards, Peruvians, and Portuguese. - -Benee sauntered carelessly on and presently came to the bazaar. - -Many of the police eyed him curiously, and one or two followed him. - -But he had no intention of being baulked in his purpose. - -So he entered a likely shop, and quickly made his purchases. - -Wrapping these carefully up, he slung the bundle over his shoulder and -left. - -He stumbled over a lanky Portuguese policeman a few yards off. - -The man would have fallen had not Benee seized him in his iron grasp and -brought him again to his equilibrium. - -Then he spoke a few words in Bolivian, and made signs that he wished to -eat and drink. - -"Aguardiente!" said the officer, his eyes sparkling with joy. - -He had really harboured some intentions of throwing Benee into the -tumble-down old prison, but a drink would be a far better solution of -the difficulty, and he cheerfully led the way to a sort of hotel. - -And in twenty minutes' time this truly intelligent member of the force -and Benee were lying on skin mats with apparently all the good things in -this life spread out before them. - -The officer was curious, as all such men are, whether heathens or not, -to know all about Benee, and put to him a score of questions at least, -part of which Benee replied to with a delicate and forgivable fib. - -So the policeman was but little wiser at the end of the conversation -than he was at the beginning. - -About half an hour before sunset, Benee was once more far up on the -moorlands, and making straight for the place where he had hidden his -guns and ammunition. - -But he stopped short and stared with astonishment when, before rounding -the corner of the wood, a pistol shot rang out in the quiet air, -followed by the most terrible shrieking and howling he had ever listened -to. - -He hurried on quickly enough now, and as he did so, a whole herd of huge -monkeys, apparently scared out of their senses, rushed madly past him. - -Close to the jungle he found one of his revolvers. One chamber had been -emptied, and not far off lay a baboon in the agonies of death. Benee, -who, savage though he was, evidently felt for the creature, mercifully -expended another shot on it, and placed it beyond the reach of woe. - -He was glad to find his rifle and other revolver intact, but the -cartridges from his belt were scattered about in all directions, and -strenuous efforts had evidently been made to tear open his leathern -ammunition-box. - -It took some time to make everything straight again. - -Now down went the sun, and very soon, after a short twilight, out came -the stars once more. - -Benee now resumed his journey as straight as he could across the -plateau. - -He had not travelled many hours, however, before clouds began to bank up -and obscure the sky, and it became very dark. - -A storm was brewing, and, ushered in by low muttering thunder in the far -distance, it soon came on in earnest. - -As the big drops of rain began to fall, shining in the flashes of the -lightning like a shower of molten gold, Benee sought the shelter of a -rocky cave which was near to him. - -He laid him down on the rough dry grass to wait until the storm should -clear away. - -He felt drowsy, however. Perhaps the unusually good fare he had -partaken of in the village had something to do with this; but of late -his hardships had been very great indeed, so it is no wonder that now -exhausted Nature claimed repose. - -The last thing he was conscious of was a long, low, mournful cry that -seemed to come from the far interior of the cave. - -It was broad daylight when he again awoke, and such an awakening! - -Great snowy-breasted owls sat blinking at the light, but all the rocks -around, or the shelves thereof, were alive with coiling, wriggling -snakes of huge size. - -One had twined round his leg, and he knew that if he but moved a muscle, -it would send its terrible fangs deep into his flesh, and his journey -would be at an end. - -Gradually, however, the awful creature unwound itself and wriggled away. - -The sight of this snake-haunted cave was too much for even Benee's -nerves, and he sprang up and speedily dashed, all intact, into the open -air. - - ---- - -Notwithstanding his extraordinary adventure in the cave of serpents, the -wandering Indian felt in fine form that day. - -The air was now much cooler after the storm, all the more so, no doubt, -that Benee was now travelling on a high table-land which stretched -southwards and west in one long, dreary expanse till bounded on the -horizon by ridges of lofty serrated mountains, in the hollow of which, -high in air, patches of snow rested, and probably had so rested for -millions of years. - -The sky was very bright. The trees at this elevation, as well as the -fruit, the flowers, and stunted shrubs, were just such as one finds at -the Cape of Good Hope and other semi-tropical regions. The ground on -which he walked or trotted along was a mass of beauty and perfume, rich -pink or crimson heaths, heather and geraniums everywhere, with patches -of pine-wood having little or no undergrowth. Many rare and beautiful -birds lilted and sang their songs of love on every side, strange larks -were high in air, some lighting every now and then on the ground, the -music of their voices drawn out as they glided downwards into one long -and beautiful cadence. - -There seemed to be a sadness in these last notes, as if the birds would -fain have warbled for ever and for aye at heaven's high gate, though -duty drew them back to this dull earth of ours. - -But dangers to these feathered wildlings hovered even in the sunlit sky, -and sometimes turned the songs of those speckled-breasted laverocks into -wails of despair. - -Behold yonder hawk silently darting from the pine-wood! High, high he -darts into the air; he has positioned his quarry, and downwards now he -swoops like Indian arrow from a bow, and the lark's bright and happy -song is hushed for ever. His beautiful mate sitting on her cosy nest -with its five brown eggs looks up astonished and frightened. Down fall -a few drops of red blood, as if the sky had wept them. Down flutter a -few feathers, and her dream of happiness is a thing of the past. - -And that poor widowed lark will forsake her eggs now, and wander through -the heath and the scrub till she dies. - - ---- - -Benee had no adventures to-day, but, seeing far off a band of -travellers, he hid himself in the afternoon. For our Indian wanted no -company. - -He watched them as they came rapidly on towards his hiding-place, but -they struck off to the east long before reaching it, and made for the -plains and village far below. - -Then Benee had his dinner and slept soundly enough till moonrise, for -bracing and clear was heaven's ozonic breath in these almost Alpine -regions. - -Only a scimitar of a moon. Not more than three days old was it, yet -somehow it gave hope and heart to the lonely traveller. He remembered -when a boy he had been taught to look upon the moon as a good angel, but -Christianity had banished superstition, and he was indeed a new man. - -After once more refreshing himself, he started on his night march, -hoping to put forty miles behind him ere the sun rose. - -Low lay the white haze over the woods a sheer seven thousand feet -beneath him. - -It looked like snow-drifts on the darkling green. - -Yet here and there, near to places where the river glistened in the -young moon's rays were bunches of lights, and Benee knew he was not far -from towns and civilization. Much too near to be agreeable. - -He knew, however, that a few days more of his long weary march would -bring him far away from these to regions unknown to the pale-face, to a -land on which Christian feet had never trodden, a loveless land, a -country that reeked with murder, a country that seemed unblessed by -heaven, where all was moral darkness, as if indeed it were ruled by -demons and fiends, who rejoiced only in the spilling of blood. - -But, nevertheless, it was Benee's own land, and he could smile while he -gazed upwards at the now descending moon. - -Benee never felt stronger or happier than he did this evening, and he -sang a strange wild song to himself, as he journeyed onwards, a kind of -chant to which he kept step. - -A huge snake, black as a winter's night, uncoiled itself, hissed, and -darted into the heath to hide. Benee heeded it not. A wild beast of -some sort sprang past him with furious growl. Benee never even raised -his rifle. And when he came to the banks of a reed-girt lake, and saw -his chance of shooting a huge cayman, he cared not to draw a bead -thereon. He just went on with his chant and on with his walk. Benee was -truly happy and hopeful for once in his life. - -And amid such scenery, beneath such a galaxy of resplendent stars, who -could have been aught else? - - "How beautiful is night! - A dewy freshness fills the silent air; - No mist obscures, nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, - Breaks the serene of heaven. - In glory yonder moon divine - Rolls through the dark-blue depths, - Beneath her steely ray - The desert circle spreads, - Like the round ocean girdled with the sky. - How beautiful the night!" - - -But almost before he could have believed it possible, so quickly do -health and happiness cause time to fly, a long line of crimson cloud, -high in the east, betokened the return of another day. - -The night-owls and the great flitting vampire bats saw it and retreated -to darksome caves. There was heard no longer far over the plain the -melancholy howl of the tiger-cat or snarl of puma or jaguar. - -Day was coming! - -Day was come! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE HOME OF THE CANNIBAL--BENEE'S ROMANCE - - -Like the bats and the night-birds Benee now crept into concealment. - -He sought once more the shelter of a tall pine-tree of the spruce -species. Here he could be safe and here he could sleep. - -But after a hearty meal he took the precaution to lash himself to the -stem, high, high up. - -His descent from the last tree had been accomplished with safety -certainly, but it was of rather a peculiar nature, and Benee had no -desire to risk his neck again. - -The wind softly sighed in the branches. - -A bird of the thrush species alighted about a yard above him, and burst -into shrill sweet melody to welcome the rising sun. - -With half-closed eyes Benee could see from under the branches a -deep-orange horizon, fading into pure sea-green zenithwards, then to -deepest purple and blue where rested the crimson clouds. - -And now there was a glare of brighter and more silvery light, and the -red streaks were turned into wreaths of snow. - -The sun was up, and Benee slept. But he carried that sweet bird's song -into dreamland. - - ---- - -About three days after this Benee was rejoiced to find himself in a new -land, but it was a land he knew well--too well. - -Though very high above the sea-level it was in reality a - - "Land of the mountain and the flood". - - -Hills on hills rose on all sides of him. There were straths or valleys -of such exceeding beauty that they gladdened the eye to behold. The -grass grew green here by the banks of many a brown roaring stream, and -here, too, cattle roamed wild and free, knee-deep in flowery verdure, -and many a beautiful guanaco and herds of llamas everywhere. The -streams that meandered through these highland straths were sometimes -very tortuous, but perhaps a mile distant they would seem to lose all -control of themselves and go madly rushing over their pebbly beds, till -they dashed over high cliffs at last, forming splendid cascades that -fell into deep, dark, agitated pools, the mist that rose above forming -rainbows which were never absent when the sun shone. - -And the hillsides that bounded these valleys were clad in Alpine -verdure, with Alpine trees and flowers, strangely intermingled with -beautiful heaths, and in the open glades with gorgeous geraniums, and -many a lovely flower never seen even in greenhouses in our "tame -domestic England". - -These were valleys, but there were glens and narrow gorges also, where -dark beetling rocks frowned over the brown waters of streams that rushed -fiercely onwards round rocks and boulders, against which they lashed -themselves into foam. - -On these rocks strange fantastic trees clung, sometimes attached but by -the rootlets, sometimes with their heads hanging almost sheer downwards; -trees that the next storm of wind would hurl, with crash and roar, into -the water far beneath. - -Yet such rivers or big burns were the home _par excellence_ of fish of -the salmon tribe, and gazing below you might see here and there some -huge otter, warily watching to spring on his finny prey. - -Nor were the otters alone on the _qui vive_, for, strange as it may -seem, even pumas and tiger-cats often made a sullen dive into dark-brown -pools, and emerged bearing on high some lordly red-bellied fish. With -this they would "speel" the flowery, ferny rocks, and dart silently away -into the depths of the forest. - -And this wild and beautiful country, at present inhabited by as wild a -race of Indians as ever twanged the bow, but bound at no very distant -date to come under the influence of Christianity and civilization, was -Benee's real home. 'Twas here he roamed when a boy, for he had been a -wanderer all his life, a nomad, and an inhabitant of the woods and -wilds. - -Not a scene was unfamiliar to him. He could name every mountain and -hill he gazed upon in his own strangely musical Indian tongue. Every -bird, every creature that crept, or glided, or walked, all were his old -friends; yes, and every tree and every flower, from the splendid -parasitic plants that wound around the trees wherever the sun shone the -brightest, and draped them in such a wealth of beauty as would have made -all the richness and gaudiness of white kings and queens seem but a -caricature. - -There was something of romance even in Benee. As he stood with folded -arms on the brink of a cliff, and gazed downward into a charming glen, -something very like tears stood in his eyes. - -He loved his country. It was his own, his native land. But the savages -therein he had ceased to love. Because when but a boy--ah, how well he -remembered that day,--he was sent one day by his father and mother to -gather the berries of a deadly kind of thorn-bush, with the juice of -which the flints in the points of the arrows were poisoned. Coming back -to his parents' hut in the evening, as happy as boys only can be, he -found the place in flames, and saw his father, mother, and a sister whom -he loved, being hurried away by the savages, because the queen had need -of them. The lot of death had fallen on them. Their flesh was wanted to -make part of a great feast her majesty was about to give to a -neighbouring potentate. Benee, who had ever been used to hunt for his -food as a boy, or fish in the lakes and the brown roaring streams, that -he and his parents might live, had always abhorred human sacrifice and -human flesh. The latter he had seldom been prevailed upon even to -taste. - -So from that terrible day he resolved to be a wanderer, and he -registered a vow--if I may speak so concerning the thoughts of a poor -boy-Indian--to take revenge when he became a man on this very tribe that -had brought such grief and woe on him and his. - -Benee was still a young man, but little over two-and-twenty, and as he -stood there thoughts came into his mind about a little sweetheart he had -when a boy. - -Wee Weenah was she called; only a child of six when he was good sixteen. -But in all his adventures, in forest or by the streams, Weenah used to -accompany him. They used to be away together all day long, and lived on -the nuts and the wild fruit that grew everywhere so plentifully about -them, on trees, on bushes, or on the flowery banks. - -Where was Weenah now? Dead, perhaps, or taken away to the queen's -blood-stained court. As a child Weenah was very beautiful, for many of -these Indians are very far indeed from being repulsive. - -And Benee used to delight to dress his tiny lady-love in feathers of the -wild birds, crimson and green and blue, and weave her rude garlands of -the gaudiest flowers, to hang around her neck, or entwine in her long -dark hair. - -He had gone to see Weenah--though he was then in grief and tears--after -he had left his father's burnt shealing. He had told her that he was -going away far to the north, that he was to become a hunter of the -wilds, that he might even visit the homes of the white men, but that -some day he would return and Weenah should be his wife. - -So they had parted thus, in childish grief and tears, and he had never -seen her since. - -He might see her nevermore. - -While musing thus to himself, he stretched his weary limbs and body on -the sweet-scented mossy cliff-top. - -It was day certainly, but was he not now at home, in his own, his native -land? - -He seemed to be afraid of nothing, therefore, and so--he fell asleep. - -The bank on which he slept adjoined a darkling forest. - -A forest of strange dark pines, with red-brown stems, which, owing to -the absence of all undergrowth save heather and moss and fern, looked -like the pillars of some vast cavern. - -But there was bird music in this forest, and Benee had gone to sleep -with the flute-like and mellow notes of the soo-soo falling on his ear. - -The soo-soo's song had accompanied him to the land of forgetfulness, and -was mingling even now with his dreams--happy dreams of long ago. - -But list! Was that really the song of the bronze-necked soo-soo? - -He was half-awake now, but apparently dreaming still. - -He thought he was dreaming at all events, and would not have opened his -eyes and so dispelled the dream for all the world. - -It was a sweet girlish voice that seemed to be singing--singing about -him, about Benee the wanderer in sylvan wilds; the man who for long -years had been alone because he loved being alone, whose hand--until he -reached the white man's home--had been against everyone, and against -every beast as well. - -And the song was a kind of sweet little ballad, which I should try in -vain to translate. - -But Benee opened his eyes at last, and his astonishment knew no bounds -as he saw, kneeling by his mossy couch, the self-same Weenah that he had -been thinking and dreaming about. - -Though still a girl in years, being but thirteen, she seemed a woman in -all her sympathies. - -Beautiful? Yes; scarcely changed as to face from the child of six he -used to roam in the woods with in the long, long ago. Her dark hair -hung to her waist and farther in two broad plaits. Her black eyes -brimmed over with joy, and there was a flush of excitement on her -sun-kissed cheeks. - -"Weenah! Oh, Weenah! Can it be you?" he exclaimed in the Indian -tongue. - -"It is your own little child-love, your Weenah; and ah! how I have -longed for you, and searched for you far and near. See, I am clad in -the skins of the puma and the otter; I have killed the jaguar, too, and -I have been far north and fought with terrible men. They fell before the -poison of my arrows. They tried to catch me; but fleet of foot is -Weenah, and they never can see me when I fly. In trees I have slept, on -the open heather, in caves of rocks, and in jungle. But never, never -could I find my Benee. Ah! life of mine, you will never go and leave us -again. - -"Yes," she added, "Mother and Father live, and are well. Our home have -we enlarged. 'Tis big now, and there is room in it for Benee. - -"Come; come--shall we go? But what strange, strange war-weapons you -carry. Ah! they are the fire-spears of the white man." - -"Yes, Weenah mine! and deadly are they as the lightning's bolt that -flashes downward from the storm-sky and lays dead the llama and the ox. - -"See yonder eagle, Weenah? Benee's aim is unerring; his hand is the -hand of the rock, his eye the eye of the kron-dah" (a kind of hawk), -"yet his touch on the trigger light as the moss-flax. Behold!" - -He raised the rifle as he spoke, and without even appearing to take aim -he fired. - -Next moment the bird of Jove turned a somersault. It was a death-spasm. -Down, down he fell earthwards, his breast-feathers following more -slowly, like a shower of snow sparkling in the sunshine. - -Weenah was almost paralysed with terror, but Benee took her gently in -his arms, and, kissing her brow and bonnie raven hair, soothed her and -stilled her alarms. - -Hand in hand now through the forest, as in the days of yore! Both -almost too happy to speak, Benee and his little Indian maiden! Hand in -hand over the plain, through the crimson heath and the heather, heeding -nothing, seeing nothing, knowing nothing save their own great happiness! -Hand in hand until they stood beside Weenah's mother's cottage; and her -parents soon ran out to welcome and to bless them! - -Theirs was no ordinary hut, for the father had been far to the east and -had dwelt among white men on the banks of the rapid-rolling Madeira. - -When he had returned, slaves had come with him--young men whom he had -bought, for the aborigines barter their children for cloth or schnapps. -And these slaves brought with them tools of the white men--axes, saws, -adzes, hammers, spades, and shovels. - -Then Shooks-gee (swift of foot) had cut himself timber from the forest, -and, aided by his slaves, had set to work; and lo! in three moons this -cottage by the wood arose, and the queen of the cannibals herself had -none better. - -But Benee was welcomed and food set before him, milk of the llama, -corn-cakes, and eggs of the heron and treel-ba (a kind of plover). - -Then warm drinks of coca (not cocoa) were given him, and the child -Weenah's eyes were never turned away while he ate and drank. - -He smoked then, the girl sitting close by him on the bench and watching -the strange, curling rings of reek rolling upwards towards the black and -glittering rafters. - -"But," said Weenah's mother, "poor Benee has walked far and is much -tired. Would not Benee like to cover his feet?" - -"Yes, our mother, Benee would sleep." - -"And I will watch and sing," said Weenah. - -"Sing the song of the forest," murmured Benee. - -Then Weenah sang low beside him while Benee slept. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--SHOOKS-GEE'S STORY--A CANNIBAL QUEEN - - -What is called "natural curiosity" in our country, where almost every -man is a Paul Pry, is no trait of the Indian's character. Or if he ever -does feel such an impulse, it is instantly checked. Curiosity is but -the attribute of a squaw, a savage would tell you, but even squaws will -try to prevent such a weed from flourishing in their hearts. - -That was the reason why neither the father nor the mother of Benee's -little lady-love thought of asking him a single question concerning his -adventures until he had eaten a hearty meal and had enjoyed a refreshing -sleep. - -But when Benee sat up at last and quaffed the maté that Weenah had made -haste to get him, and just as the day was beginning to merge into the -twilight of summer, he began to tell his friends and his love some -portion of his wonderful adventures, even from the day when he had -bidden the child Weenah a tearful farewell and betaken himself to a -wandering life in the woods. - -His young life's story was indeed a strange one, - - "Wherein he spake of most disastrous chances, - Of moving accidents by flood and field; - ... of antres vast and deserts idle, - Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven. - - ---- - -The while Weenah - - "... gave him for his pains a world of sighs. - 'T was strange, 't was passing strange, - 'T was pitiful, 't was wondrous pitiful: - She wished she had not heard it; yet she wished - That heaven had made her such a man." - -Then when Benee came down to that portion of his long story when first -he found the children and their mighty wolf-hound lost in the forest, -Weenah and her parents listened with greater interest and intensity than -ever. - -There was a fire on the rude, low hearth--a fire of wood, of peat, and -of moss; for at the great elevation at which this cannibal land is -situated the nights are chilly. - -It was a fire that gave fitful light as well as heat. It fell on the -faces of Benee's listeners, and cast shadows grotesque behind them. It -beautified Weenah's face till Benee thought she looked like one of the -angels that poor Peggy used to tell him about. - -Then he related to them all his suspicions of Peter, but did not -actually accuse him of bringing about the abduction of Peggy, to serve -some vile and unknown purpose of his own. Next he spoke, yet spoke but -lightly, of his long, long march, and the incidents and adventures -therewith connected. - -There was much, therefore, that Benee had to tell, but there was also -much that he had to learn or to be told; and now that he had finished, -it was Shooks-gee's turn to take up the story. - -I wish I could do justice to this man's language, which was grandly -figurative, or to his dramatic way of talking, accompanied as it was -with look and gesture that would have elicited applause on any European -stage. I cannot do so, therefore shall not try; but the following is -the pith of his story. - -This Indian's house was on the very outside and most northerly end of -the great wild plateau which was the home of these savages and -cannibals. - -The queen, a terrible monarch, and bloodthirsty in the extreme, used to -hold her court and lived on a strange mountain or hill, in the very -centre of the rough tree and bush clad plain. - -For many, many a long year she had lived here, and to her court Indians -came from afar to do her homage, bringing with them cloth of crimson, -wine and oil, which they had stolen or captured in warfare from the -white men of Madeira valley. - -When these presents came, the coca which her courtiers used to chew all -day long, and the maté they drank, were for a time--for weeks -indeed--discarded for the wine and fire-water of the pale-face. - -Fearful were the revels then held on that lone mountain. - -The queen was dainty, so too were her fierce courtiers. - -When the revels first began she and they could eat the raw or -half-roasted flesh of calves and baby-llamas, but when their potations -waxed deeper, and appetite began to fail, then the orgies commenced in -earnest. Nothing would her majesty eat now--horrible to say--but -children, and her courtiers, armed to the teeth, would be sent to scour -the plains, to visit the mud huts of her people, and drag therefrom the -most beautiful and plump boys or girls procurable. - -I will not tell of the fearful and awfully unnatural human -sacrifice--the murder of the innocents--that now took place. - -Demons could not have been more revolting in their cruelties than were -those savage courtiers as they obeyed the queen's behests. - -Let me drop the curtain over this portion of the tale. Well, this -particular cottage or hut, being on the confines of the country, had not -been visited by the queen's fearsome soldiers. But even had they come -they would have found that Weenah was far away in the woods, for her -father Shooks-gee loved her much. But one evening there came up out of -the dark pinewood forest, that lay to the north, a great band of -wandering natives. - -They were all armed and under the command of one of her majesty's most -bloodthirsty and daring chiefs. - -Hand to claw this man had fought pumas and jaguars, and slain them, -armed only with his two-edged knife. - -This savage Rob Roy M'Gregor despised both bow-and-arrow and sling. -Only at close quarters would he fight with man or beast, and although he -bore the scars and slashes of many a fearful encounter, he had always -come off victorious. - -Six feet four inches in height was this war-Indian if an inch, and his -dress was a picturesque costume of skins with the tails attached. A -huge mat of hair, his own, with emu's feathers drooping therefrom, was -his only head-gear, but round his neck he wore a chain of polished -pebbles, with heavy gold rings, in many of which rubies and diamonds -sparkled and shone. - -But, ghastly to relate, between each pebble and between the rings of -gold and precious stones, was threaded a tanned human ear. More than -twenty of these were there. - -They had been cut from the heads of white men whom this chief--Kaloomah -was his name--had slain, and the rings had been torn from their dead -fingers. - -This was the band then that had arrived as the sun was going down at the -hut of Shooks-gee, and this was their chief. - -The latter demanded food for his men, and Shooks-gee, with his trembling -wife--Weenah was hidden--made haste to obey, and a great fire was lit -out of doors, and flesh of the llama hung over it to roast. - -But the strangest thing was this. Seated on a hardy little mule was a -sad but beautiful girl--white she was, and unmistakably English. Her -eyes were very large and wistful, and she looked at Kaloomah and his -band in evident fear and dread, starting and shrinking from the chief -whenever he came near her or spoke. - -But the daintiest portion of the food was handed to her, and she ate in -silence, as one will who eats in fear. - -The wild band slept in the bush, a special bed of dry grass being made -for the little white queen, as Kaloomah called her, and a savage set to -watch her while she slept. - -Next morning, when the wild chief and his braves started onwards, -Shooks-gee was obliged to march along with them. - -Kaloomah had need of him. That was all the explanation vouchsafed. - -But this visit to the queen's home had given Weenah's father an insight -into court life and usages that he could not otherwise have possessed. - -Kaloomah's band bore along with them huge bales of cloth and large boxes -of beads. How they had become possessed of these Shooks-gee never knew, -and could not guess. - -The grim and haughty queen, surrounded by her body-guard of grotesque -and hideous warriors with their slashed and fearful faces, and the -peleles hanging in the lobes of their ears, was seated at the farther -end of a great wall, and on a throne covered with the skins of wild -beasts. - -All in front the floor was carpeted with crimson, and her majesty -sparkled with gold ornaments. A tiara of jewels encircled her brow, and -a living snake of immense size, with gray eyes that never closed, formed -a girdle round her waist. - -In her hand she held a poisoned spear, and at her feet crouched a huge -jaguar. - -She was a tyrant queen, reigning over a people who, though savage, and -cannibals to boot, had never dared to gainsay a word or order she -uttered. - -Passionate in the extreme, too, she was, and if a slave or subject dared -to disobey, a prick from the poisoned spear was the reward, and he or -she was dragged out into the bush to writhe and die in terrible agony. - -Probably a more frightful woman never reigned as queen, even in cannibal -lands. - -Kaloomah, on his arrival, bent himself down--nay, but threw himself on -his knees and face abjectly before her, as if he were scarcely worthy to -be her footstool. - -But she greeted his arrival with a smile, and bade him arise. - -"Many presents have we brought," he said in the figurative language of -the Indian. "Many presents to the beautiful mother of the sun. Cloth -of scarlet, of blue, and of green, cloth of rainbow colours, jewels and -beads, and the fire-water of the pale-faces." - -"Produce me the fire-water of the pale-faces," she returned. "I would -drink." - -Her voice was husky, hoarse, and horrible. - -Kaloomah beckoned to a slave, and in a few minutes a cocoa-nut shell, -filled with rum, was held to her lips. - -The queen drank, and seemed happier after this. Kaloomah thought he -might now venture to broach another subject. - -"We have brought your majesty also a little daughter of the pale-faces!" - -Then Peggy--for the reader will have guessed it was she--was led -trembling in before her, and made to kneel. - -But the queen's brows had lowered when she beheld the child's great -beauty. She made her advance, and seizing her by the hand, held her at -arm's-length. - -[Illustration: "SHE ... HELD HER AT ARM'S LENGTH"] - -"Take her away!" she cried. "I can love her not. Put her in prison -below ground!" - -And the beautiful girl was hurried away. - -To be put in prison below the ground meant to be buried alive. But -Kaloomah had no intention of obeying the queen on this occasion, and the -girl pale-face was conducted to a well-lighted bamboo hut and placed in -charge of a woman slave. - -This slave looked a heart-broken creature, but seemed kind and good, and -now made haste to spread the girl's bed of leaves on a bamboo bench, and -to place before her milk of the llama, with much luscious fruit and -nuts. She needed little pressing to eat, or drink, or sleep. The poor -child had almost ceased to wonder, or even to be afraid of anything. - -But now comes the last act in Shooks-gee's strange story. - -Two days after the arrival of the warlike band from the far north, -Kaloomah had once more presented himself before the queen. He came -unannounced this time, and with him were seven fierce-looking soldiers, -armed to the teeth with slings and stones, with bows and arrows, and -with spears. - -The conversation that had ensued was somewhat as follows, being -interpreted into our plain and humdrum English:-- - -_The Queen_. "Why advances my general and slave except on his knees, -even as come the frogs?" - -_Kaloomah_. "My queen will pardon me. I will not so offend again. -Your majesty has reigned long and happily." - -_Q_. "True, slave." - -She seized the poisoned spear as she spoke, and would have used it -freely; but at a word from Kaloomah it was wrenched from her grasp. - -_K_. "Your majesty's reign has ended! The old queen must make room for -the beautiful daughter of the pale-faces. Yet will your beneficence -live in the person of the new queen, and in our hearts--the hearts of -those who have fought for you. For we each and all shall taste of your -roasted flesh!" - -Then, turning quickly to the soldiers, "Seize her and drag her forth!" -he cried, "and do your duty speedily." - -I must not be too graphic in my description of the scene that followed. -But the ex-queen was led to a darksome hut, and there she was speedily -despatched. - -That night high revelry was held in the royal camp of the cannibals. -Many prisoners were killed and roasted, and the feast was a fearful and -awful one. - -But not a chief was there in all that crowd who did not partake of the -flesh of his late queen, while horn trumpets blared and war tom-toms -were wildly beaten. - -A piece of the fearful flesh was even given to the pale-face girl's -attendant, with orders that she must make her charge partake thereof. - -The girl was spared this terrible ordeal, however. - -But long after midnight the revelry and the wild music went on, then -ceased, and all was still. - -The unhappy prisoner lay listening till sleep stole down on a star-ray -and wafted her off to the land of sweet forgetfulness. - - ---- - -Next day, amidst wild unearthly clamour and music, she was led from the -tent and seated on the throne. Garments of otter skins and crimson cloth -were cast on the throne and draped over the beautiful child. She was -encircled with flowers of rarest hue, and emu's feathers were stuck, -plume-like, in her bonnie hair. - -Meanwhile the trumpets blared more loudly, and the tom-toms were struck -with treble force, then all ceased at once, and there was a silence deep -as death, as everyone prostrated himself or herself before the -newly-made young queen. - -Kaloomah rose at last, and advanced with bended back and head towards -her, and with an intuitive sense of her new-born dignity she touched him -gently on the shoulder and bade him stand erect. - -He did so, and then placed in her hand the sceptre of the dead -queen--the poison-tipped spear. - -Whatever might happen now, the girl knew that she was safe for a time, -and her spirits rose in consequence. - -This, then, was the story told by Shooks-gee, the father of Benee's -child-love. - - ---- - -Had Dick Temple himself been there he could no longer have doubted the -fidelity of poor Benee. - -But there was much to be done, and it would need all the tact and skill -of this wily Indian to carry out his plans. - -He could trust his father and mother, as he called Weenah's parents, and -he now told them that he had come, if possible, to deliver Peggy, or if -that were impossible, to hand her a letter that should give her both -comfort and hope. - -Queen Peggy's apartments on the mountain were cannibalistically regal in -their splendour. The principal entrance to her private room was -approached by a long avenue of bamboo rails, completely lined with -skulls and bones, and the door thereof was also surrounded by the same -kind of horrors. - -But every one of her subjects was deferential to her, and appeared -awe-struck with her beauty. - -And now Benee consulted with his parents as to what had best be done. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--ON THE BANKS OF A BEAUTIFUL RIVER - - -They would not allow Benee to harbour for a single moment the idea of -stealing the queen and escaping with her into the forest. - -Two thousand armed men were stationed within a mile of the camp, so -Benee would speedily be killed, and in all likelihood Queen Peggy also. - -No; and he must go no farther into the land of the cannibals. - -But he, Shooks-gee, undertook to give the queen a little note-book, in -which a letter was written from her "brother", stating that all haste -was being made to come to her deliverance. He would receive back the -note-book, and therein would doubtless be written poor Peggy's letter. -Meanwhile Benee must wait. - -Shooks-gee started on his mission next day. - -He was away for a whole week, but it seemed but a few hours to Benee. -He had divested himself of his arms, and given the cloth and beads to -Weenah's mother. Then all the dear old life of his boyhood seemed to be -renewed. Weenah and he wandered wild and free once more in the forest -and over the heath-clad plains; they fished in lake and stream; they ate -and drank together under the shade of the pine-tree, and listened to the -love-song of the sweet soo-soo. - -It was all like a happy, happy dream. And is not the love-life of the -young always a dream of bliss? Ah! but it is one from which there is -ever an awakening. - -And with the return of Shooks-gee, Benee's dream came to an end. - -Peggy had written her long, sad story in the notebook. - -Benee knew it was long, but he could not read it. - -Then farewells were said. - -The child Weenah clung to Benee's neck and wept. She thought she could -not let him go, and at last he had to gently tear himself away and -disappear speedily in the forest. - -Just one glance back at Weenah's sad and wistful face, then the jungle -swallowed him up, and he would be seen by Weenah, mayhap, never again. - - ---- - -It was not without considerable misgivings that Roland and Dick Temple -made a start for the country of the cannibals. - -The relief party consisted but of one hundred white men all told, with -about double that number of carriers. It was, of course, the first real -experience of these boys on the war-path, and difficulty after -difficulty presented itself, but was bravely met and overcome. - -"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." - -Probably the general of an army, be it of what size it may, is more to -be pitied than even a king. The latter has his courtiers and his -parliament to advise him; the general is _princeps_, he is chief, and -has only his own skill and judgment to fall back upon. - -It had been suggested by Burly Bill that instead of journeying overland -as a first start, and having to cross the whirling river Purus and many -lesser streams before striking the Madeira some distance above the -Amazon, they should drop down-stream in steamer-loads, and assemble at -the junction of the former with the latter. - -Neither Roland nor Dick thought well of the plan, and herein lay their -first mistake. Not only was it weeks before they were able to reach the -Madeira, but they had the grief of losing one white man and one Indian -with baggage in the crossing of the Purus. - -We cannot put old heads on young shoulders; nevertheless the wise youth -never fails to profit by the experience of his elders. - -Even when they reached the forest lands on the west side of the Madeira, -another long delay ensued. For here they had to encamp on somewhat damp -and unwholesome ground until Burly Bill should descend the stream to -hire canoes or boats suitable for passing the rapids. - -Don Pedro or Peter was now doing his best to make himself agreeable. He -was laughing and singing all day long, but this fact in no way deceived -Roland, and as a special precaution he told off several white men to act -as detectives and to be near him by day and by night. - -If Peter were really the blood-guilty wretch that Roland, if not Dick, -believed him to be, he made one mistake now. He tried his very utmost -to make friends with Brawn, the great Irish wolf-hound, but was, of -course, unsuccessful. - -"I sha'n't take bite nor sup from that evil man's hand," Brawn seemed to -say to himself. "He looks as if he would poison me. But," he added, -"he shall have my undivided attention at night." - -And so this huge hound guarded Peter, never being ten yards away from -the man's sleeping-skin till up leapt the sun in the gold and crimson -east and shone on the waters of the beautiful river. - -"That dog is getting very fond of you, I think," said Roland one day to -Peter, while Brawn was snuffing his hand. "You see how well he protects -you by night. He will never lie near to either Dick or me." - -Peter replied in words that were hardly audible, but were understood to -mean that he was obliged to Brawn for his condescension. But he -somewhat marred the beauty of his reply by adding a swear-word or two at -the end. - -While they waited in camp here for the return of Bill and his crews, -they went in for sport of several sorts. - -The fish in this river are somewhat remarkable--remarkable alike for -their numbers and for their appearance--but all are not edible. - -"How are we to know, I wonder, which we should cook and which we -shouldn't?" said Roland to his friend, Dick Temple. - -"I think," replied Dick, "that we may safely cook any of them, but, as -to eating, why, I should only eat those that are nice in flavour." - -"That's right. We'll be guided by that rule." - -The boys fished from canoes which they hired or requisitioned from the -Indian natives of the place. Clever these fellows are, and the manner in -which they watch for and harpoon or even spear a huge "boto"--which -looks like a long-snouted porpoise or "sea-pig"--astonished our heroes. - -This fish is killed by whites only for its oil, but the Indians did not -hesitate to cut huge fourteen-pound pieces from the back to take home -for culinary purposes. - -The "piraroocoo" is an immense fellow, and calculated to give good sport -for a long summer day if you do not know how to handle him. - -This "'roocoo", as some of the natives call him, likes to hang around in -the back reaches of the river, and is often found ten feet in length. - -He has the greatest objection in the world to being caught, and to being -killed after being dragged on shore. Moreover, he has a neat and very -expert way of lifting a canoe on his back for a few seconds, and letting -it down bottom-upwards. - -When he does so, you, the sportsman or piscador, find yourself -floundering in the water. You probably gulp down about half a gallon of -river water, but you thank your stars you learned to swim when a boy, -and strike out for the bank. But five to one you have a race to run -with an intelligent 'gator. If he is hungry, you may as well think -about some short prayer to say; if he is not very ravenous, you may win -just by a neck. - -This last was an experience of Dick's one day; when a 'roocoo capsized -his frail canoe and his Indian and he got spilt. - -Luckily Roland was on the beach, and just as a huge 'gator came -ploughing up behind poor Dick, with head and awful jaws above water, -Roland took steady aim and fired. Then the creature turned on his back, -and the river was dyed with blood. - -The natives salt the 'roocoo and eat it. But Roland's Indian carriers -managed to get through as many as could be caught, without any salt -worth speaking about. - -Surely the fish in this beautiful river must have thought it strange, -that so many of their number were constantly disappearing heavenwards at -the end of a line. But it did not trouble them very much after all, and -they learnt no lesson from what they saw, but took the bait as readily -as ever. - -There were very many other species of fish, which not only gave good -sport but made a most delicious _addendum_ to the larder. - -Boats and canoes were now in the river all day long, and with the fish -caught, and the turtle which were found in great abundance, not to -mention the wild animals killed in the woods, Roland managed to feed his -little army well. - -There is one fish in this river which is sometimes called "diabolo". He -is no relation at all, however, to the real octopus or devil-fish, for -this creature is flat. It seems a species of ray, and has an immense -mouthful of the very sharpest of teeth. He is not at all dainty as to -what he eats. He can make a meal off fresh-water shell-fish; he can -swallow his smaller brothers of the deep; take a snack from a dead -'gator, and is quite at home while discussing a nice tender one-pound -steak from a native's leg. - -The young 'gator is neither fish, flesh, nor good red-herring. Yet if -you catch one not over a yard long, and he doesn't catch you--for he has -a wicked way of seizing a man by the hand and holding on till his mother -comes,--his tail, stewed or fried with a morsel of pork, will tide you -over a "hungry hillock" very pleasantly indeed. - -If we turn to the pleasant reaches of the River Madeira, or the quiet -back-waters, and, gun on shoulder, creep warily through the bush and -scrub, we shall be rewarded with a sight that will well repay our -caution. - -Here of an early morning we shall see water-fowl innumerable, and of the -greatest beauty imaginable. - -Hidden from view, one is loth indeed to fire a shot and so disturb -Nature's harmony, but prefers, for a time at all events, to crouch there -quietly and watch the strange antics of the male birds and the meek -docility of the female. - -Here are teal, black ducks, strange wild geese, brown ducks, sheldrakes, -widgeons, and whatnot. - -And yonder on the shore, in all sorts of droll attitudes with their -ridiculously long necks and legs, are storks and herons. I think they -like to perform their toilet close to the calm pellucid water, because -it serves the same purpose to them as a bedroom mirror does to us. - -Young tapirs form a welcome addition to the larder, and the woods all -round abound in game. - -What a paradise! and yet this country is hardly yet known to us young -Britons. We hear of ague. Bah! Regularity of living, and a dust of -quinine, and camping in the open, can keep fever of all sorts at bay. - -Some may be surprised that our heroes should have settled down, as it -were, so enthusiastically to fishing and sporting, although uncertain -all the while as to the fate of poor kidnapped Peggy. - -True, but we must remember that activity and constant employment are the -only cure for grief. So long, then, as Roland and Dick were busy with -gun or fishing-rod, they were free from thought and care. - -But after sunset, when the long dark night closed over the camp; when -the fire-flies danced from bush to bush, and all was still save the wind -that sighed among the trees, or the voices of night-birds and prowling -beasts, and the rush of the river fell on the ear in drowsy, dreamy -monotone, then the boys felt their anxiety acutely enough, but bravely -tried to give each other courage, and their conversation, oft-repeated, -was somewhat as follows:-- - -_Roland_. "You're a bit gloomy to-night, Dick, I think?" - -_Dick_. "Well, Roll, the night is so pitchy dark, never a moon, and -only a star peeping out now and then. Besides I am thinking of--" - -_Roland_. "Hush! hush! aren't we both always thinking about her? -Though I won't hesitate to say it is wrong not to be hopeful and -cheerful." - -_Dick_. "But do you believe--" - -_Roland_. "I believe this, Dick, that if those kidnapping revengeful -Indians had meant murder they would have slain the dear child in bed and -not have resorted to all that horrible trickery--instigated without -doubt by somebody. She has been taken to the country of the cannibals, -but not to be tortured. She is a slave, let us hope, to some Indian -princess, and well-guarded too. What we have got to do is to trust in -God. I'm no preacher, but that is so. And we've got to do our duty and -rescue Peggy." - -_Dick_. "Dead or alive, Roland." - -_Roland_. "Dead or alive, Dick. But Heaven have mercy on the souls of -those who harm a hair of her head!" - - ---- - -Dick did his best to trust in Providence, but often in the middle -watches of the night he would lie in his tent thinking, thinking, and -unable to sleep; then, after perhaps an uneasy slumber towards morning, -awake somewhat wearily to resume the duties of the day. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--BILL AND HIS BOATS - - -Roland, young and inexperienced as he was, proved himself a fairly good -general. - -He certainly had not forgotten the salt, nor anything else that was -likely to add to the comfort of his people in this very long cruise by -river and by land. - -They knew not what was before them, nor what trouble or dangers they -might have to encounter, so our young heroes were pretty well prepared -to fight or to rough it in every way. - -Independent of very large quantities of ammunition for rifles and -revolvers, Roland had prepared a quantity of war-rockets, for nothing -strikes greater terror into the breasts of the ordinary savage than -these fire-devils, as they term them. - -Roland, Dick, and Bill each had shot-guns, with sheath-knives, and a -sort of a portable bill-hook, which many of the men carried also, and -found extremely handy for making a clearance among reeds, rushes, or -lighter bush. - -We have already seen that they had plenty of fishing-tackle. - -Oil and pumice-stone were not forgotten, and Roland had a regular -inspection of his men every day, to make certain that their rifles and -revolvers were clean. - -But this was not all, for, to the best of their ability, both Roland and -Dick drilled their men to the use of their arms at short and long -distances, and taught them to advance and retire in skirmishing order, -taking advantage of every morsel of cover which the ground might afford. - -Plenty of maize and corn-flour were carried, and quite a large supply of -tinned provisions, from the plantation and from Burnley Hall. These -included canned meat, sardines, and salmon. - -Extra clothing was duly arranged for, because from the plains they would -have to ascend quite into the regions of cloud and storm, if not snow. - -Medicine, too, but only a very little of this, Roland thought, would be -needed, although, on the other hand, he stowed away lint and bandages in -abundance, with a few surgical instruments. - -Medical comforts? Yes, and these were not to be considered as luxuries, -though they took the form of brandy and good wine. - -Good tea, coffee, cocoa, and coca were, of course, carried, with sugar -to sweeten these luxuries. - -But a small cask of fire-water--arrack--was included among the stores, -and this was meant as a treat for native Indians, if they should happen -to meet any civil and obliging enough to hobnob. - -Money would be of no use in the extreme wilds. Salt, and cloth of gaudy -colours, to say nothing of beads, would be bartered for articles of -necessity. - - ---- - -Everything was ready for the start, but still there were no signs of -Bill and the boats. - -It was the first question Roland asked Dick of a morning, or Dick asked -Roland, according to who happened to be first up: - -"Any signs of Bill and the boats?" - -"None!" - -On the top of a cliff at the bend of the beautiful river stood a very -tall tree, and right on top of this was an outlook--an Indian boy, who -stayed two hours on watch, and was then relieved. - -He could command quite an extensive view downstream, and was frequently -hailed during the day and asked about Bill and his boats, but the answer -would come somewhat dolefully: - -"Plenty boat, sah, but no Beel." - -Yes, there were boats of many kinds, and a few steamers now and then -also, but Roland held no intercourse with any of these. His little army -was encamped on an open clearing well back in the forest. He did not -wish to know anyone's business, and he determined that his own should -not leak out. - -But although Roland and Dick had plenty to do, and there was sport -enough to be had, still the time began to drag wearily on day by day, -and both young fellows were burning for action and movement and "go". - -Peter, _alias_ Don Pedro, seemed as anxious as anyone else to get -forward. - -He was most quiet and affable to everyone, although apt to drop into -dejected moods at times. - -He saw that he was not wholly in bad favour with Dick Temple. - -One day, when Roland was at the other side of the river, after smoking -in silence for some time by the banks of the stream, where, in company -with Dick and Brawn, he was sitting, a down-steamer hove in sight at the -bend of the river, and both waved their caps to those on board, a salute -which was cheerfully returned. - -The vessel was some distance out in the broad river, but presently Dick -could see a huge black-board held over the port-quarter. There was -writing in chalk on it, and Dick speedily put his lorgnettes up, and -read as follows:-- - - IF GOING UP RIVER--BEWARE! - - KARAPOONA SAVAGES ON WAR-PATH--TREACHERY! - - -"Forewarned is forearmed!" said Dick. - -"What was the legend exposed to view on the telegraph board?" asked -Peter languidly. - -"The Karapoona savages on the war-path," replied Dick. - -"What! The Karapoonas! A fearful race, and cannibals to boot--" - -"You know them then?" - -"What, I? I--I--no--no, only what I have heard." - -He took three or four whiffs of his cigarette in quick succession, as if -afraid of its going dead. - -But Dick's eye was on him all the time. - -He seemed not to care to meet it. - -"Bound for Pará, no doubt," he said at last. "I do wish I were on -board." - -"No doubt, Mr. Peter, and really we seem to be taking you on this -expedition somewhat against your will?" - -"True; and I am a man of the world, and have not failed to notice that I -am in some measure under the ban of suspicion. - -"Yet, I think you are not unfriendly to me," he added. - -"No, Mr. Peter, I am unfriendly to no one." - -"Then, might you not use your influence with your friend, Mr. St. Clair, -to let me catch the first boat back to Pará?" - -"I cannot interfere with Mr. Roland St. Clair's private concerns. If he -suspects you of anything in the shape of duplicity or treachery and you -are innocent, you have really nothing to fear. As to letting you off -your engagement, that is his business. I can only say that the tenure -of your office is not yet complete, and that you are his head-clerk for -still another year." - -"True, true, but I came as governor of the estate, and not to accompany -a mad-cap expedition like this. Besides, Mr. Temple, I am far from -strong. I am a man of peace, too, and have hardly ever fired a revolver -in my life. - -"But I have another very urgent reason for getting back to England--" - -"No doubt, Mr. Peter!" - -This was almost a sneer. - -"No doubt--but I interrupt you." - -"My other reason may appeal to you in more ways than one. I am in love, -Mr. Temple--" - -"You!" - -"I am in love, and engaged to be married to one of the sweetest girls in -Cornwall. If I am detained here, and unable to write, she may think me -dead--and--and--well, anything might happen." - -"Pah, Mr. Peter! I won't say I don't believe you, but instead of your -little romance appealing to me, it simply disgusts me. I tell you -straight, sir, you don't look like a man to fall in love with anything -except gold; but if the young lady is really fond of you, she will lose -neither hope nor heart, even if she does not hear of you or from you for -a year or more." - -Then, seeing that he seemed to wound this strange man's feelings: - -"Pardon my brusqueness, Mr. Peter," he added more kindly. "I really do -not mean to hurt you. Come, cheer up, and if I can help you--I will." - -Peter held out his hand. - -Dick simply touched it. - -He could not get himself even to like the man. - - ---- - -The signal-tree was but a few yards distant from the spot where they -sat. - -And now there came a wild, excited hail therefrom. - -"Golly foh true, Massa Dick!" - -Brawn jumped up, and barked wildly. - -His echo came from beyond the stream, and he barked still more wildly at -that. - -"Well, boy," shouted Dick, "do you see anything?" - -"Plenty moochee see. Beel come. Not very far off. Beel and de boats!" - -This was indeed joyful news for Dick. He happened to glance at Peter -for a moment, however, and could not help being struck with the change -that seemed to have come over him. He appeared to have aged suddenly. -His face was gray, his lips compressed, his brows lowered and stern. - -Dick never forgot that look. - -Dick Temple was really good-hearted, and he felt for this man, and -something kept telling him he was innocent and wronged. - -But he had nothing to fear if innocent. He would certainly be put to -inconvenience, but for that, if all went well, Roland would not fail to -recompense him handsomely, and he--Dick--had a duty to perform to his -friend. So now in the bustle that followed--if Peter wanted to make a -rush for the woods--he might try. - -Roland had heard the hail, and his canoe was now coming swiftly on -towards the bank. Dick ran to meet him. - -When he half-pulled his friend on shore and turned back with him, -behold! Peter was gone. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--AS IF STRUCK BY A DUM-DUM BULLET - - -Roland and Dick walked quickly towards the camp. - -It was all a scene of bustle and stir indescribable, for good news as -well as bad travels apace. - -"Bill and the boats are coming!" Englishmen were shouting. - -"Beel and de boats!" chorused the Indians. - -But on the approach of "the young captains", as the boys were called, -comparative peace was restored. - -"Had anyone seen Mr. Peter?" was the first question put by our heroes to -their white officers. "No," from all. - -"He had disappeared for a few moments in his tent," said an Indian, -"then der was no more Massa Peter." - -Scouts and armed runners were now speedily got together, and Roland gave -them orders. They were to search the bush and forest, making a long -detour or outflanking movement, then closing round a centre, as if in -battue, to allow not a tree to go unexamined. - -This was all that could be done. - -So our heroes retraced their steps towards the river bank, where, lo! -they beheld a whole fleet of strange canoes, big and small, being rowed -swiftly towards them. - -In the bows of the biggest--a twelve-tonner--stood Burly Bill himself. - -He was blacker with the sun than ever, and wildly waving the broadest -kind of Panama hat ever seen on the Madeira. But in his left hand he -clutched his meerschaum, and such clouds was he blowing that one might -have mistaken the great canoe for a steam-launch. - -He jumped on shore as soon as the prow touched the bank--the water here -being deep. - -Black though Burly Bill was, his smile was so pleasant, and his face so -good-natured, that everybody who looked at him felt at once on excellent -terms with himself and with all created things. - -"I suppose I ought to apologize, Mr. Roland, for the delay--I--" - -"And I suppose," interrupted Roland, "you ought to do nothing of the -kind. Dinner is all ready, Bill; come and eat first. Put guards in -your boats, and march along. Your boys will be fed immediately." - -It was a splendid dinner. - -Burly Bill, who was more emphatic than choice in English, called it a -tiptopper, and all hands in Roland's spacious tent did ample justice to -it. - -Roland even spliced the main-brace, as far as Bill was concerned, by -opening a bottle of choice port. - -The boys themselves merely sipped a little. What need have lads under -twenty for vinous stimulants? - -Bill's story was a long one, but I shall not repeat it. He had -encountered the greatest difficulty imaginable in procuring the sort of -boats he needed. - -"But," he added, "all's well that end's well, I guess, and we'll start -soon now, I suppose, for the rapids of Antonio." - -"Yes," said Roland, "we'll strike camp possibly to-morrow; but we must -do as much loading up as possible to-night." - -"That's the style," said Bill. "We've got to make haste. Only we've -got to think! 'Haste but not hurry', that's my motto. - -"But I say," he continued, "I miss two friends--where is Mr. Peter and -where is Brawn?" - -"Peter has taken French leave, I fear, and Brawn, where is Brawn, Dick?" - -"I really did not miss either till now," answered Dick, "but let us -continue to be fair to Mr. Peter-- Listen!" - -At that moment shouting was heard far down the forest. - -The noise came nearer and nearer, and our heroes waited patiently. - -In five minutes' time into the tent bounded the great wolf-hound, -gasping but laughing all down both sides, and with about a foot of pink -tongue--more or less--hanging out at one side, over his alabaster teeth. - -He quickly licked Roland's ears and Dick's, then uttered one joyous bark -and made straight for Burly Bill. - -Yes, Bill was burly, but Brawn fairly rolled him over and nearly -smothered him with canine caresses. Then he took a leap back to the boys -as much as to say: - -"Why don't you rejoice too? Wouff--wouff! Aren't you glad that Bill -has returned? Wouff! What would life be worth anyhow without Bill? -Wouff--wouff--wow!" - -But the last wow ended in a low growl, as Peter himself stood smiling at -the opening. - -"Why, Mr. Peter, we thought you were lost!" cried Dick. - -Mr. Peter walked up to Bill and shook hands. - -"Glad indeed to see you back," he said nonchalantly, "and you're not -looking a bit paler. Any chance of a morsel to eat?" - -"Sit down," cried Dick. "Steward!" - -"Yes, sah; to be surely, sah. Dinner foh Massa Peter? One moment, -sah." - -Mr. Peter was laughing now, but he had seated himself on the withered -grass as far as possible from Brawn. - -"I must say that three hours in a tree-top gives one the devil's own -appetite," he began. "I had gone to take a stroll in the forest, you -know--" - -"Yes," said Roland, "we do know." - -Mr. Peter looked a little crestfallen, but said pointedly enough: "If -you do know, there is no need for me to tell you." - -"Oh, yes, go on!" cried Dick. - -"Well then, I had not gone half a mile, and was just lighting up a -cigarette, when Brawn came down on me, and I had barely time to spring -into the tree before he reached the foot of it. There I waited as -patiently as Job would have done--thank you, steward, what a splendid -Irish stew!--till by and by--a precious long by and by--your boys came -to look for Brawn, and in finding Brawn they found poor famishing me. -Thank you, Bill, I'll be glad of a little wine." - -"Looking for Brawn, they found you, eh!" said Roland. "I should have -put it differ--" - -But Dick punched Roland's leg, and Roland laughed and said no more. - - ---- - -Two days after the arrival of Burly Bill an order was given for general -embarkation. All under their several officers were inspected on the -river bank, and to each group was allotted a station in boat or canoe. - -The head men or captains from whom Bill had hired the transport were in -every instance retained, but a large number of Roland's own Indians were -most expert rowers, and therefore to take others would only serve to -load the vessels uncomfortably, not to say dangerously. - -But peons or paddlers to the number of two or four to each large canoe -their several captains insisted on having. - -The inspection on the bank was a kind of "muster by open list", and -Roland was exceedingly pleased with the result, for not a man or boy was -missing. - -It was a delightful day when the expedition was at last got under way. - -Roland and Dick, with Peter, to say nothing of Brawn, occupied the -after-cabin in a canoe of very light draught, but really a -twelve-tonner. The cabin was, of course, both dining-room and sleeping -berth--the lounges being skins of buffaloes and of wild beasts, but all -clean and sweet. - -The cabin itself was built of bamboo and bamboo leaves lined with very -light skins, so overlapping as to make the cabin perfectly dry. - -Our heroes had arranged about light, and candles were brought out as -soon as daylight began to fade. - -Then the canoes were paddled towards the bank or into some beautiful -reach or back-water, and there made fast for the night with padlock and -chain. - -Roland and Dick had their own reasons for taking such strict -precautions. - -The first day passed without a single adventure worth relating. - -The paddlers or peons, of whom there were seven on each side of our -hero's huge canoe, worked together well. They oftentimes sang or -chanted a wild indescribable kind of boat-lilt, to which the sound of -the paddles was an excellent accompaniment, but now and then the captain -would shout: "Choorka--choorka!" which, from the excitement the words -caused, evidently meant "Sweep her up!" and then the vessel seemed to -fly over the water and dance in the air. - -Other canoe captains would take up the cry, and "Choorka--Choorka!" -would resound from every side. - -A sort of race was on at such times, but the _Burnley Hall_, as Roland's -boat was called, nearly always left the others astern. - -Dinner was cooked on shore, and nearly everyone landed at night. Only -our heroes stuck to their boat. - -There were moon and stars at present, and very pleasant it was to sit, -or rather lie, at their open-sided cabin, and to watch these mirrored in -the calm water, while fire-flies danced and flitted from bush to bush. - -But there was always the sorrow and the weight of grief lying deep down -in the hearts of both Roland and Dick; the ever-abiding anxiety, the one -question they kept asking themselves constantly, and which could not be -answered, "Shall we be in time to save poor Peggy?" - -Mr. Peter slept on shore. - -Brawn kept him company. Kept untiring watch over him. And two faithful -and well-armed Indians lay in the bush at a convenient distance. - -In a previous chapter I have mentioned an ex-cannibal Bolivian, whom -Roland had made up his mind to take with him as a guide in the absence -of, or in addition to, faithful Benee. - -He was called Charlie by the whites. - -Charlie was as true to his master as the needle to the pole. - -On the third evening of the voyage, just as Roland and Dick, with Bill, -were enjoying an after-dinner lounge in an open glade not far from the -river brink, the moon shining so brightly that the smallest of type -could easily have been read by young eyes, he suddenly appeared in their -midst. - -"What cheer, Charlie?" said Roland kindly. "Come, squat thee down, and -we will give you a tiny toothful of aguardiente." - -"Touchee me he, no, no!" was the reply. "He catchee de bref too muchee. -Smokee me, notwidstanding," he added. - -It was one of Charlie's peculiarities that if he could once get hold of -a big word or two, he planted them in his conversation whenever he -thought he had a favourable opening. - -An ex-cannibal Charlie was, and he came from the great western -unexplored district of Bolivia. - -He confessed that although fond of "de pig ob de forest (tapir), de tail -ob de 'gator, and de big haboo-snake when roast," there was nothing in -all the world so satisfactory as "de fles' ob a small boy. Yum, yum! it -was goodee, goodee notwidstanding, and make bof him ear crack and him -'tumack feel wa'm." - -Charlie lit up his cigarette, and then commenced to explain the reason -of his visit. - -"What you callee dat?" he said, handing Burly Bill a few large purple -berries of a species of thorny laurel. - -"Why," said Bill, "these are the fruit of the lanton-tree, used for -poisoning arrow-tips." - -"And dis, sah. What you callee he? Mind, mind, no touchee de point! -He poison, notwidstanding." - -It was a thin bamboo cane tipped with a fine-pointed nail. - -Bill waited for him to explain. - -He condescended to do so at last. - -"Long time ago I runee away from de cannibal Indians notwidstanding. I -young den, I fat, I sweet in flesh. Sometime my leg look so nice, I -like to eat one little piecee ob myse'f. But no. Charlie not one big -fool. But de chief tink he like me. He take me to him tent one day, -den all muchee quickee he slaves run in and take up knife. Ha, ha! I -catchee knife too, notwidstanding. Charlie young and goodee and plenty -mooch blood fly. - -"I killee dat chief, and killee bof slaves. Den I runned away. - -"Long time I wander in de bush, but one day I come to de tents ob de -white men. Dey kind to poh Charlie, and gib me work. I lub de white -man; all same, I no lub Massa Peter." - -He paused to puff at a fresh cigarette. - -"And," he added, "I fine dat poison berry and dat leetle poison spear in -place where Massa Peter sleep." - -"Ho, ho!" said Bill. - -Charlie grew a little more excited as he continued: "As shuah as God -madee me, de debbil hisself makee dat bad man Peter. He wantee killee -poh Brawn. Dat what for, notwidstanding." - -Now although there be some human beings--they are really not worth the -name--who hate dogs, every good-hearted man or woman in the world loves -those noble animals who are, next to man, the best and bravest that God -has created. - -But there are degrees in the love people bear for their pets. If a -faithful dog like Brawn is constantly with one, he so wins one's -affection that death alone can sever the tie. - -Not only Roland, but Dick also, dearly loved Brawn, and the bare idea -that he was in danger of his life so angered both that, had Mr. Peter -been present when honest Charlie the Indian made his communication, one -of them would most certainly have gone for him in true Etonian style, -and the man would have been hardly presentable at court for a fortnight -after at the least. - -"Dick," said Roland, the red blood mounting to his brow, the fire -seeming to scintillate from his eyes. "Dick, old man, what do you -advise?" - -"I know what I should like to do," answered Dick, with clenched fist and -lowered brows. - -"So do I, Dick; but that might only make matters worse. - -"But Heaven keep me calm, old man," he continued, "for now I shall send -for Peter and have it out with him. Not at present, you say? But, -Dick, I am all on fire. I must, I shall speak to him. Charlie, retire; -I would not have Mr. Peter taking revenge on so good a fellow as you." - -At Dick's earnest request Roland waited for half an hour before he sent -for Peter. - -This gentleman advanced from the camp fire humming an operatic air, and -with a cigar in hand. - -"Oh, Mr. Peter," said Roland, "I was walking near your sleeping place of -last night and picked this up." - -He held up the little bamboo spear. - -"What is it?" said Peter. "An arrow? I suppose some of the Indians -dropped it. I never saw it before. It seems of little consequence," he -continued, "though I dare say it would suffice to pink a rat with." - -He laughed lightly as he spoke. "Was this all you wanted me for, Mr. -St. Clair?" - -He was handling the little spear as he spoke. Next moment: - -"Merciful Father!" he suddenly screamed, "I have pricked myself! I am -poisoned! I am a dead man! Brandy-- Oh, quick-- Oh--!" - -He said never a word more, but dropped on the moss as if struck by a -dum-dum bullet. - -And there he lay, writhing in torture, foaming at the mouth, from which -blood issued from a bitten tongue. - -It was a ghastly and horrible sight. Roland looked at Dick. - -"Dick," he said, "the man knew it was poisoned." - -"Better he should die than Brawn." - -"Infinitely," said Roland. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--STRUGGLING ONWARDS UP-STREAM - - -"But," said Roland, "it would be a pity to let even Peter die, as we may -have need of him. Let us send for Charlie at once. Perhaps he can tell -us of an antidote." - -The Indian was not far off. - -"Fire-water", was his reply to Dick's question, "and dis." - -"Dis" was the contents of a tiny bottle, which he speedily rubbed into -the wound in Peter's hand. - -The steward, as one of the men was called, quickly brought a whole -bottle of rum, the poisoned man's jaws were forced open, and he was -literally drenched with the hot and fiery spirit. - -But spasm after spasm took place after this, and while the body was -drawn up with cramp, and the muscles knotted and hard, the features were -fearfully contorted. - -By Roland's directions chloroform was now poured on a handkerchief, and -after this was breathed by the sufferer for a few minutes the muscles -became relaxed, and the face, though still pale as death, became more -sightly. - -More rum and more rubbing with the antidote, and Mr. Peter slept in -peace. - -About sunrise he awoke, cold and shivering, but sensible. - -After a little more stimulant he began to talk. - -"Bitten by a snake, have I not been?" - -"Mr. Peter," said Roland sternly, "you have narrowly escaped the death -you would have meted out to poor Brawn with your cruel and accursed -arrow. - -"You may not love the dog. He certainly does not love you, and dogs are -good judges of character. He tree'd you, and you sought revenge. You -doubtless have other reasons to hate Brawn, but his life is far more to -us than yours. Now confess you meant to do for him, and then to make -your way down-stream by stealing a canoe." - -"I do not, will not confess," cried Peter. "It is a lie. I am here -against my will. I am kidnapped. I am a prisoner. The laws of even -this country--and sorry I am ever I saw it--will and shall protect me." - -Roland was very calm, even to seeming carelessness. - -"We are on the war-path at present, my friend," he said very quietly. -"You are suspected of one of the most horrible crimes that felon ever -perpetrated, that of procuring the abduction of Miss St. Clair and -handing her over to savages." - -"As Heaven is above us," cried Peter, "I am guiltless of that!" - -"Hush!" roared Roland, "why take the sacred name of Heaven within your -vile lips. Were you not about to die, I would strike you where you -stand." - -"To die, Mr. Roland? You--you--you surely don't mean--" - -Roland placed a whistle to his lips, and its sound brought six stern men -to his side. - -"Bind that man's hands behind his back and hang him to yonder tree," was -the order. - -In two minutes' time the man was pinioned and the noose dangling over -his head. - -As he stood there, arrayed but in shirt and trousers, pale and -trembling, with the cold sweat on his brow, it would have been difficult -even to imagine a more distressing and pitiable sight. - -His teeth chattered in his head, and he swayed about as if every moment -about to fall. - -A man advanced, and was about to place the noose around his neck when: - -"A moment, one little moment!" cried Peter. "Sir--Mr. St. Clair--I did -mean to take your favourite dog's life." - -"And Miss St. Clair?" - -"I am innocent. If--I am to be lynched--for--that--you have the blood -of a guiltless man on your head." - -Dick Temple had seen enough. He advanced now to Peter's side. - -"Your crime deserves lynching," he said, "but I will intercede for you -if you promise me sacredly you will never attempt revenge again. If you -do, as sure as fate you shall swing." - -"I promise--Oh--I promise!" - -Dick retired, and after a few minutes' conversation with Roland, the -wretched man was set free. - -_Entre nous_, reader, Roland had never really meant to lynch the man. -But so utterly nerveless and broken-down was Mr. Peter now, that as soon -as he was released he threw himself on the ground, crying like a child. - -Even Brawn pitied him, and ran forward and actually licked the hands of -the man who would have cruelly done him to death. - -So noble is the nature of our friend the dog. - - ---- - -The voyage up-stream was now continued. But the progress of so many -boats and men was necessarily slow, for all had to be provided for, and -this meant spending about every alternate day in shooting, fishing, and -collecting fruit and nuts. - -The farther up-stream they got, however, the more lightsome and cheerful -became the hearts of our heroes. - -They began to look upon Peggy as already safe in their camp. - -"I say, you know," said Dick one day, "our passage up is all toil and -trouble, but won't it be delightful coming back." - -"Yes, indeed," said Roland, smiling. - -"We sha'n't hurry, shall we?" - -"Oh, no! poor Peggy's health must need renovating, and we must let her -see all that is to be seen." - -"Ye--es, of course! Certainly, Roll, and it will be all just too lovely -for anything, all one deliciously delicious picnic." - -"I hope so." - -"Don't look quite so gloomy, Roland, old man. I tell you it is all -plain sailing now. We have only to meet Benee when we get as far as the -rendezvous, then strike across country, and off and away to the land of -the cannibals and give them fits." - -"Oh, I'm not gloomy, you know, Dick, though not quite so hopeful as you! -We have many difficulties to encounter, and there may be a lot of -fighting after we get there; and, mind you, that game of giving fits is -one that two can play at." - -"Choorka! Choorka!" shouted the captain of the leading boat, a swarthy -son of the river. - -As he spoke, he pointed towards the western bank, and thither as quickly -as paddles could send him his boat was hurried. For they had been well -out in the centre of the river, and had reached a place where the -current was strong and swift. - -But closer to the bank it was more easy to row. - -Nevertheless, two of the canoes ran foul of a snag. One was capsized at -once, and the other stuck on top. - -The 'gators here were in dozens apparently, and before the canoe could -be righted two men had been dragged below, the brown stream being tinged -with their gushing blood. - -Both were Indians, but nevertheless their sad death cast a gloom over -the hearts of everyone, which was not easily dispelled. - -On again once more, still hugging the shore; but after dinner it was -determined to stay where they were for the night. - -They luckily found a fine open back-water, and this they entered and -were soon snug enough. - -They could not be idle, however. Food must be collected, and -everything--Roland determined--must go on like clock-work, without hurry -or bustle. - -Soon, therefore, after the canoes were made fast, both Indians and -whites were scattered far and near in the forest, on the rocks and -hills, and on the rivers. - -I believe that all loved the "boys", as Roland and Dick were called by -the white men, and so all worked right cheerfully, laughing and singing -as they did so. - -Ten men besides our heroes and Burly Bill had remained behind to get the -tents up and to prepare the evening meal, for everybody would return as -hungry as alligators, and these gentry seem to have a most insatiable -appetite. - -Just before sunset on this particular evening Roland and Dick had -another interview with Mr. Peter. - -"I should be a fool and a fraud, Mr. Peter," said the former, "were I to -mince matters. Besides, it is not my way. I tell you, then, that -during our journey you will have yonder little tent to yourself to eat -and to sleep in. I tell you, too, that despite your declarations of -innocence I still suspect you, that nevertheless no one will be more -happy than Mr. Temple here and myself if you are found not guilty. But -you must face the music now. You must be guarded, strictly guarded, and -I wish you to know that you are. I wish to impress upon you also that -your sentries have strict orders to shoot you if you are found making -any insane attempt to escape. In all other respects you are a free man, -and I should be very sorry indeed to rope or tie you. Now you may go." - -"My time will come," said Mr. Peter meaningly. - -His face was set and determined. - -"Is this a threat?" cried Roland, fingering his revolver. - -But Peter's dark countenance relaxed at once. - -"A threat!" he said. "No, no, Mr. Roland. I am an unarmed man, you are -armed, and everyone is on your side. But I repeat, my time will come to -clear my character; that is all. - -"So be it, Mr. Peter." - -And the man retired to his tent breathing black curses deep though not -aloud. - -"I've had enough of this," he told himself. "And escape that young -cub's tyranny I must and shall, even should I die in my tracks. Curse -them all!" - - ---- - -Next day a deal of towing was required, for the river was running fierce -and strong, and swirling in angry eddies and dangerous maelstroms even -close to the bank. - -This towing was tiresome work, and although all hands bent to it, half a -mile an hour was their highest record. - -But now they neared the terrible rapids of Antonio, and once more a halt -was called for the night, in order that all might be fresh and strong to -negotiate these torrents. - -Next day they set to work. - -All the cargo had to be got on shore, and a few armed men were left to -guard it. Then the empty boats were towed up. - -For three or four miles the river dashed onward here over its rocky bed, -with a noise like distant thunder, a chafing, boiling, angry stream, -which but to look at caused the eyes to swim and the senses to reel. - -There are stretches of comparatively calm water between the rapids, and -glad indeed were Roland's brave fellows to reach these for a -breathing-spell. - -In the afternoon, before they were half-way through these torrents, a -halt was called for the night in a little bay, and the baggage was -brought up. - -They fell asleep that night with the roar of the rapids in their ears, -and the dreams of many of them were far indeed from pleasant. - -Morning brought renewal of toil and struggle. But "stout hearts to stey -braes" is an excellent old Scottish motto. It was acted on by this -gallant expedition, and so in a day or two they found themselves in a -fresh turmoil of water beneath the splendid waterfalls of Theotonia. - -The river was low, and in consequence the cataract was seen at its best, -though not its maddest. Fancy, if you can, paddling to keep your -way--not to advance--face to face with a waterfall a mile at least in -breadth, and probably forty feet in height, divided into three by rocky -little islands, pouring in white-brown sheets sheer down over the rock, -and falling with a steady roar into the awful cauldrons beneath. It is -like a small Niagara, but, with the hills and rocks and stately woods, -and the knowledge that one is in an uncivilized land, among wild beasts -and wilder men, far more impressive. - -Our young heroes were astonished to note the multitudes of fish of -various kinds on all sides of them. The pools were full. - -The larger could be easily speared, but bait of any kind they did not -seem to fancy. They were troubled and excited, for up the great stream -and through the wild rapids they had made their way in order to spawn in -the head-waters of the Madeira and its tributaries. But Nature here had -erected a barrier. - -Yet wild were their attempts to fling themselves over. Many succeeded. -The fittest would survive. Others missed, or, gaining but the rim of the -cataract, were hurled back, many being killed. - -Another halt, another night of dreaming of all kinds of wild adventures. -The Indians had told the whites, the evening before, strange legends -about the deep, almost bottomless, pools beneath the falls. - -Down there, according to them, devils dwell, and hold high revelry every -time the moon is full. Dark? No it is not dark at the bottom, for -Indians who have been dragged down there and afterwards escaped, have -related their adventures, and spoken of the splendid caverns lit up by -crimson fire, whose mouths open into the water. Caverns more gorgeous -and beautiful than eyes of men ever alight upon above-ground. Caverns of -crystal, of jasper, onyx, and ruby; caverns around whose stalactites -demons, in the form of six-legged snakes, writhe and crawl, but are -nevertheless possessed of the power to change their shapes in the -twinkling of an eye from the horrible and grotesque to the beautiful. - -Prisoners from the upper world are tortured here, whether men, women, or -children, and the awful rites performed are too fearful--so say the -Indians--to be even hinted at. - -The cargo first and the empty canoes next had to be portaged half a mile -on shore and above the lovely linn. This was extremely hard work, but -it was safely accomplished at last. - -Roland was not only a born general, but a kind-hearted and excellent -master. He never lost his temper, nor uttered a bad or impatient word, -and thus there was not an Indian there who would not have died for him -and his companion Dick. - -Moreover, the officer-Indians found that kind words were more effectual -than cuts with the bark whips they carried, or blows with the hand on -naked shoulders. - -And so the march and voyage was one of peace and comfort. - -Accidents, however, were by no means rare, for there were snags and -sunken rocks to be guarded against, and more than one of the small -canoes were stove and sunk, with the loss of precious lives. - - ---- - -Roland determined not to overwork his crew. This might spoil -everything, for many of the swamps in the neighbourhood of which they -bivouacked are pestilential in the extreme. - -Mosquitoes were found rather a plague at first, but our boys had come -prepared. - -They carried sheets of fine muslin--the ordinary mosquito-nets are -useless--for if a "squeeter" gets one leg through, his body very soon -wriggles after, and then he begins to sing a song of thanksgiving before -piercing the skin of the sleeper with his poison-laden proboscis. But -mosquitoes cannot get through the muslin, and have to sing to themselves -on the other side. - -After a time, however, the muslin was not thought about, for all hands -had received their baptism of blood, and bites were hardly felt. - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE PAGAN PAYNEES WERE THIRSTING FOR BLOOD - - -A glance at any good map will show the reader the bearings and flow of -this romantic and beautiful river, the Madeira. It will show him -something else--the suggestive names of some of the cataracts or rapids -that have to be negotiated by the enterprising sportsman or traveller in -this wild land. - -The Misericordia Rapids and the Calderano de Inferno speak for -themselves. The latter signifies Hell's Cauldron, and the former speaks -to us of many a terrible accident that has occurred here--boats upset, -bodies washed away in the torrent, or men seized and dragged below by -voracious alligators before the very eyes of despairing friends. - -The Cauldron of Hell is a terrible place, and consists of a whole series -of rapids each more fierce than the other. To attempt to stem currents -like these would of course be madness. There is nothing for it but -portage for a whole mile and more, and it can easily be guessed that -this is slow and toilsome work indeed. Nor was the weather always -propitious. Sometimes storms raged through the woods, with thunder, -lightning, and drenching rain; or even on the brightest of days, down -might sweep a whirlwind, utterly wrecking acres and acres of forest, -tearing gigantic trees up by the roots, twisting them as if they were -ropes, or tossing them high in air, and after cutting immense gaps -through the jungle, retire, as if satisfied with the chaos and -devastation worked, to the far-off mountain lands. - -Once when, with their rifles in hand, Roland and Dick were watching a -small flock of tapirs at a pond of water, which formed the centre of a -green oasis in the dark forest, they noticed a balloon-shaped cloud in -the south. It got larger and larger as it advanced towards them, its -great twisted tail seeming to trail along the earth. - -Lightning played incessantly around it, and as it got nearer loud peals -of thunder were heard. - -This startled the tapirs. They held their heads aloft and snorted with -terror, running a little this way and that, but huddling together at -last in a timid crowd. - -Down came the awful whirlwind and dashed upon them. - -Roland and Dick threw themselves on the ground, face downwards, -expecting death every moment. - -The din, the dust, the crashing and roaring, were terrific! - -When the storm had passed not a bush or leaf of the wood in which our -heroes lay had been stirred. But the glade was now a strange sight. - -The waters of the pool had been taken up. The pond was dry. Only -half-dead alligators lay there, writhing in agony, but every tapir had -been not only killed but broken up, and mingled with twisted trees, -pieces of rock, and hillocks of sand. - -Truly, although Nature in these regions may very often be seen in her -most beautiful aspects, fearful indeed is she when in wrath and rage she -comes riding in storms and whirlwinds from off the great table-lands, -bent on ravaging the country beneath. - -"What a merciful escape!" said Roland, as he sat by Dick gazing on the -destruction but a few yards farther off. - -"I could not have believed it," returned Dick. "Fancy a whirlwind like -that sweeping over our camp, Roland?" - -"Yes, Dick, or over our boats on the river; but we must trust in -Providence." - -Roland now blew his whistle, and a party of his own Indians soon -appeared, headed by a few white men. - -"Boys," said Roland smiling, "my friend and I came out to shoot young -tapir for you. Behold! Dame Nature has saved us the trouble, and flesh -is scattered about in all directions." - -The Indians soon selected the choicest, and departed, singing their -strange, monotonous chant. - -Presently Burly Bill himself appeared. - -He stood there amazed and astonished for fully half a minute before he -could speak, and when he did it was to revert to his good old-fashioned -Berkshire dialect. - -"My eye and Elizabeth Martin!" he exclaimed. "What be all that? Well, I -never! 'Ad an 'urricane, then?" - -"It looks a trifle like it, Bill; but sit you down. Got your -meerschaum?" - -"I've got him right enough." - -And it was not long before he began to blow a kind of hurricane cloud. -For when Bill smoked furnaces weren't in it. - -"Do you think we have many more rapids to get past, Bill?" - -"A main lot on 'em, Master Roland. But we've got to do 'em. We haven't -got to funk, has we?" - -"Oh no, Bill! but don't you think that we might have done better to have -kept to the land altogether?" - -"No," said Bill bluntly, "I do not. We never could have got along, lad. -Rivers to cross by fords that we might have had to travel leagues and -leagues to find, lakes to bend round, marshes and swamps, where lurks a -worse foe than your respectable and gentlemanly 'gators." - -"What, snakes?" - -"Oh, plenty of them! But I was a-loodin' to fever, what the doctors -calls malarial fever, boys. - -"No, no," he added, "we'll go on now until we meet poor Benee, if he is -still alive. If anything has happened to him--" - -"Or if he is false," interrupted Dick; "false as Peter would have us -believe--" - -"Never mind wot Mr. Bloomin' Peter says! I swears by Benee, and nothing -less than death can prevent his meeting us somewhere about the mouth of -the Maya-tata River. You can bet your bottom dollar on that, lads." - -"Well, that is the rendezvous anyhow." - -"Oh," cried Dick, "sha'n't we be all rejoiced to see Benee once more!" - -"God grant," said Roland, "he may bring us good news." - -"He is a good man and will bring good tidings," ventured Burly Bill. - -Then he went on blowing his cloud, and the boys relapsed into silence. - -Each was thinking his own thoughts. But they started up at last. - -"I've managed to secure a grand healthy appetite!" cried Roland. - -"And so has this pale-faced boy," said Bill, shoving his great thumb as -usual into the bowl of his meerschaum. - -So back to camp they started. - -Brawn had been on duty not far from Mr. Peter's tent, but he bounded up -now with a joyful bark, and rushed forward to meet them. - -He displayed as much love and joy as if he had not seen them for a whole -month. - -For ten days longer the expedition struggled onwards. - -The work was hard enough, but it really strengthened their hearts and -increased the size of their muscles, till both their calves and biceps -were as hard and tough as the stays of a battle-ship. - -Some people might think it strange, but it is a fact nevertheless, that -the stronger they grew the happier and more hopeful were they. We may -try to account for this physiologically or psychologically as we choose, -but the great truth remains. - - ---- - -One or two of the men were struck down with ague-fever, but Roland made -them rest while on shore and lie down while on board. - -Meanwhile he doctored them with soup made from the choicest morsels of -young tapir, with green fresh vegetable mixed therein, and for medicine -they had rum and quinine, or rather, quinine in rum. - -The men liked their soup, but they liked their physic better. - -Between the rapids of Arara and the falls of Madeira was a beautiful -sheet of water, and, being afraid of snags or submerged rocks, the -canoes were kept well out into the stream. - -They made great progress here. The day was unusually fine. Hot the sun -was certainly, but the men wore broad straw sombreros, and, seated in -the shadow of their bamboo cabin, our heroes were cool and happy enough. - -The luscious acid fruits and fruit-drinks they partook of contributed -largely to their comfort. - -Dick started a song, a river song he had learned on his uncle's -plantation, and as Burly Bill's great canoe was not far off, he got a -splendid bass. - -The scenery on each bank was very beautiful; rocks, and hills covered -with great trees, the branches of which near to the stream with their -wealth of foliage and climbing flowers, bent low to kiss the placid -waters that went gliding, lapping, and purling onwards. - -Who could have believed that aught of danger to our heroes and their -people could lurk anywhere beneath these sun-gilt trees? - -But even as they sang, fierce eyes were jealously watching them from the -western bank. - -Presently first one arrow, and anon a whole shower of these deadly -missiles, whizzed over them. - -One struck the cabin roof right above Dick's head, and another tore -through the hat of the captain himself. - -But rifles were carried loaded, and Roland was ready. - -"Lay in your oars, men! Up, guns! Let them have a volley! Straight at -yonder bush! Fire low, lads! See, yonder is a savage!" - -Dick took aim at a dark-skinned native who stood well out from the wood, -and fired. He was close to the stream and had been about to shoot, but -Dick's rifle took away his breath, and with an agonized scream he threw -up his arms and fell headlong into the water. - -Volley after volley rang out now on the still air, and soon it was -evident that the woods were cleared. - -"Those are the Paynee Indians without a doubt," said Dick; "the same -sable devils that the skipper of that steamer warned us about." - -They saw no more of the enemy then, however, and the afternoon passed in -peace. - -An hour and a half before sunset they landed at the mouth of a small but -clear river, about ten miles to the north of the Falls of Woe. - -Close to the Madeira itself this lovely stream was thickly banked by -forest, but the boats were taken higher up, and here excellent -camping-ground was found in a country sparsely wooded. - -Far away to the west rose the everlasting hills, and our heroes thought -they could perceive snow in the chasms between the rocks. - -Roland had not forgotten the adventure with the Indians, so scouts were -sent out at once to scour the woods. They returned shortly before -sunset, having seen no one. - -Both Roland and Dick were somewhat uneasy in their minds, nevertheless, -and after dinner, in the wan and uncertain light of a half-moon, a -double row of sentries was posted, and orders were given that they -should be relieved every two hours, for the night was close and sultry, -just such a night as causes restless somnolence. At such times a sentry -may drop to sleep leaning on his gun or against a tree. He may slumber -for an hour and not be aware he has even closed an eye. - -The boys themselves felt a strange drowsiness stealing away their -senses. They would have rolled themselves up in their rugs and sought -repose at once, but this would have made the night irksomely long. - -So they chatted, and even sang, till their usual hour. - -When they turned in, instead of dressing in a pyjama suit, they retained -the clothes they had worn all day. - -Dick noticed that Roland was doing so, and followed his example. No -reason was given by his friend, but Dick could guess it. Guess also -what he meant by placing a rifle close beside him and looking to his -revolvers before he lay down. - -Everyone in camp, except those on duty, was by this time sound asleep. -Lights and fires were out, and the stillness was almost painful. - -Roland would have preferred hearing the wind sighing among the forest -trees, the murmur of the river, or even the mournful wailing of the -great blue owl. - -But never a leaf stirred, and as the moon sank lower and lower towards -those strangely rugged and serrated mountains of the west, the boys -themselves joined the sleepers, and all their care and anxiety was for -the time being forgotten. - -The night waned and waned. The sentries had been changed, and it was -now nearly one o'clock. - -There was a lake about a mile above the camp, that is, a mile farther -westwards. It was surrounded by tall waving reeds, at least an acre -wide all round. - -The home _par excellence_ of the dreaded 'gator was this dark and sombre -sheet of water, for to it almost nightly came the tapirs to quench their -thirst and to bathe. - -Silently a troop of these wonderful creatures came up out of the forest -to-night, all in a string, with the largest and oldest a little way in -front. - -Every now and then these pioneers would pause to listen. They knew the -wiliness of the enemy that might be lying in wait for them. So acute in -hearing are they said to be that they can distinguish the sound of a -snake gliding over withered leaves at a distance of a hundred yards. -But their sight also is a great protection to them. No 'gator can move -among the reeds without bending them, move he never so warily. Above -all this, the tapir's sense of smell is truly marvellous. - -To-night the old tapirs that led the van seemed particularly suspicious -and cautious. Their signal for silence was a kind of snort or cough, -and this was now ofttimes repeated. - -Suddenly the foremost tapir stamped his foot, and at once the whole -drove turned or wheeled and glided back as silently as they had come, -until the shadows of the great forest swallowed them up. - -What had they seen or heard? They had seen tall, dark human -figures--one, two, three--a score and over, suddenly raise their heads -and shoulders above the reeds, and after standing for a moment so still -that they seemed part and parcel of the solemn scene, move out from the -jungle and take their way towards the slumbering camp. - -Savages all, and on a mission of death. - -Nobody's dreams could have been a bit more happy than those of Dick -Temple just at this moment. - -He was sitting once more on the deck of the great raft, which was slowly -gliding down the sunlit sea-like Amazon. The near bank was tree-clad, -and every branch was garlanded with flowers of rainbow hues. - -But Dick looked not on the trees nor the flowers, nor the waving -undulating forest itself--looked not on the sun-kissed river. His eyes -were fixed on a brightly-beautiful and happy face. It was Peggy who sat -beside him, Peggy to whom he was breathing words of affection and love, -Peggy with shy, half-flushed face and slightly averted head. - -But suddenly this scene was changed, and he awoke with a start to grasp -his rifle. A shrill quavering yell rang through the camp, and awakened -every echo in the forest. - -The Indians--the dreaded Paynee tribe of cannibals--were on them. That -yell was a war-cry. These pagan Paynees were thirsting for blood. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--THE FOREST IS SHEETED IN FLAMES - - -For just a few moments Roland was taken aback. Then, in a steady manly -voice that could be heard all over the camp, he gave the order. - -"All men down! The Indians are approaching from the west. Fire low, -lads--between you and the light. - -"Don't waste a shot!" he added. - -[Illustration: "FIRE LOW, LADS.... DON'T WASTE A SHOT!"] - -Three Indians bit the dust at the first volley, and though the rest -struggled on to the attack, it was only to be quickly repulsed. - -In ten minutes' time all had fled, and the great forest and woodland was -as silent as before. - -It was Roland's voice that again broke the stillness. - -"Rally round, boys," he shouted, "and let me know the worst." - -The sacrifice of life, however, was confined to three poor fellows, one -white man and two peons; and no one was wounded. - -Nobody thought of going to sleep again on this sad night, and when red -clouds were at last seen over the green-wooded horizon, heralding the -approach of day, a general sense of relief was felt by all in the little -camp. - -Soon after sunrise breakfast was served, and eaten with avidity by all -hands now in camp, for scouts were out, and Dick and Roland awaited the -news they would bring with some degree of impatience. - -The scouting was really a sort of reconnaisance in force, by picked -Indians and whites under the command of the redoubtable Burly Bill. - -Suddenly Brawn raised his head and gave vent to an angry "wouff!" and -almost at the same time the sound of distant rifle-firing fell on the -ears of the little army. - -Half an hour after this, Bill and two men stepped out from the bush and -advanced. - -His brow was bound with a blood-stained handkerchief. - -It was a spear wound, but he would not hear of it being dressed at -present. - -"What cheer then, Bill?" - -"Not much of that," he answered, throwing himself down and lighting that -marvellous meerschaum, from which he appeared to get so much -consolation. - -"Not a vast deal of cheer. Yes, I'll eat after I gets a bit cooler -like." - -"Ay, we'll have to fight the Dun-skins. They swarm in the forest -between us and the Madeira, and they are about as far from bein' angels -as any durned nigger could be." - -"And what do you advise, Bill?" - -"Well," was the reply, "as soon as your boys get their nose-bags off, my -advice is to set to work with spade and shovel and transform this 'ere -camp into a fortress. - -"Ay, and it is one we won't be able to abandon for days and days to -come," he added. - -The men were now speedily told off to duty, and in a very short time had -made the camp all but impregnable, and quite strong enough to give an -excellent account of any number of Dun-skins. - -The Paynee Indians are a semi-nomadic tribe of most implacable savages, -who roam over hill and dell and upland, hunting or fighting as the case -may be, but who have nevertheless a home in the dark mountain fastnesses -of the far interior. - -They are cannibals, though once, long, long ago, a band of Jesuits -attempted their reclamation. - -These brave missionaries numbered in all but one hundred and twenty men, -and they went among the terrible natives with, figuratively speaking, -their prayer-books in one hand, their lives in the other. - -All went well for a time. They succeeded in winning the affections of -the savages. They erected rude churches, and even to this day crosses -of stone are to be found in this wild land, half-buried among the rank -vegetation. - -But there came a day, and a sad one it was, when the cannibals were -attacked by a wild hill-tribe. These highlanders had heard that, owing -to the new religion, their ancient enemies had degenerated into old -wives and squaws. - -A terrible battle ensued, during which the men from the uplands found -out their mistake, for they were repulsed with fearful slaughter. - -All might have gone well with the Jesuits even yet but for one -_contretemps_. - -At the very moment when the savages returned wildly exultant from the -hills, bearing, horrible to relate, joints of human flesh on their -spears, there came from the east a party of men who had been down to the -banks of the Madeira, and had attacked and looted a small steamer that -among other things had much fire-water on board. - -Oh, that accursed fire-water, how terrible its results wherever on earth -it gains ascendancy! - -All the fearful passions of these savages were soon let loose. The -scene was like pandemonium. - -The poor Jesuits hid themselves in their little church, barricading the -door, and devoting the first part of the night to prayer and song. But -at midnight the awful howling of the cannibals coming nearer and nearer -told them that they had been missed, and that their doom was now sealed. - -Only one man escaped to tell the terrible tale. - -And these, or rather their descendants, were the very cannibals that -Roland's little army had now to do battle with. - -Both he and Dick, however, kept up a good heart. - -There was ammunition enough to last for months of desultory firing, if -necessary, and when the attack was made at last, after Bill's scouts had -been driven in, the savages learned a lesson they were never likely to -forget. - -Brave indeed they were, and over and over again they charged, spear in -hand, almost into the trenches. But only to be thrust back wounded, or -to die where they stood, beneath a steady revolver fire. - -But they retreated almost as quickly as they had come, and once more -sought the shelter of bush and jungle. - -Not for very long, however. They were evidently determined that the -little garrison should enjoy no peace. - -They had changed their tactics now, and instead of making wild rushes -towards the ramparts, they commenced to bombard the fort with large -stones. - -With their slings the Bolivian Indians can aim with great precision, for -they learn the art when they are mere infants. - -As no one showed above the ramparts, there was in this case no human -target for the missiles, but use was made of larger stones, and these -kept falling into the trenches in all directions, so that much mischief -was done and many men were hurt. - -A terrible rifle fire was now opened upon that part of the bush in which -the cannibal savages were supposed to be in force, and from the howling -and shrieking that immediately followed, it was evident that many -bullets were finding their billets. - -But soon even these sounds died away, and it was evident enough that the -enemy had retired, no doubt with the intention of inventing some new -form of attack. There was peace now for many hours, and Roland took -advantage of this to order dinner to be got ready. No men, unless it be -the Scotch, can fight well on empty stomachs. - -The wounded were attended to and made as comfortable as possible, and -after this there was apparently very little to do except to wait and -watch. - -Burly Bill brought out his consolatory meerschaum. But while he puffed -away, he was not idle. He was thinking. - -Now thinking was not very much in this honest fellow's line. Action was -more his _forte_. But the present occasion demanded thought. - -The afternoon was already far spent. The sentries--lynx-eyed Indians, -rifles in hand--were watching the bush, and longing for a shot. Roland -and Dick, with Bill and big Brawn, were seated in the shade of a green -and spreading tree, and all had been silent for some considerable time. - -"I say, young fellows!" said Bill at last, "this kind of lounging -doesn't suit me. What say you to a council of war?" - -"Well, you've been thinking, Bill?" - -"Ay, I've been doin' a smart bit o' that. Let us consult Charlie." - -Charlie the ex-cannibal was now brought forward and seated on the grass. - -There was a deal of practical knowledge in this Indian's head. His had -been a very long experience of savage warfare and wandering in forests -and wilds; and he was proud now to be consulted. - -"Charlie," said Bill, "what do you think of the situation?" - -"De sit-uation?" was the reply. "Me not likee he. Me tinkee we sitee -too much. Byme by, de cannibal he come much quick. Ah! dere will soon -be muchee much too much sabage cannibal! Fust de killee you and den de -eatee you, and make fine bobbery. Ha! ha!" - -"Well, Charlie, I don't think that there is a deal to laugh at. -Howsomever, we've got to do something soon." - -"So, so," said Charlie, "notwidstanding." - -"Well, I've been thinking that we should make tracks for the other side -of the river. You see these savage rapscallions have no canoes, and -they seem to have no food. They are not herons or storks, and can't -wade through deep water." - -"Foh true, sah. Dey am not stohks and dey am not herons notwidstanding, -but see, sah, ebery man he am his own canoe! No stohks, but all same -one frog, notwidstanding foh true!" - -"And you think they would follow us?" - -"All same's one eel--two hundred eel. Dey swim wid spears in mouf, and -bow and arrow held high. Ha! ha! good soldier, ebery modder's son!" - -"I'll tell you my plan," said Dick Temple. "Just loose off the boats, -and make one bold dash for liberty." - -"Ha! ha! sah!" cried Charlie. "I takes de liberty to laugh -notwidstanding, foh true. You plenty much all dead men 'fore you get -into de big ribber!" - -"Well, hang it!" said Dick, "we're not going to stay here with the -pretty prospect before us of being all scuppered and eaten. What say -you, Roll?" - -"I think," said Roland quietly, "that Charlie there has come prepared to -speak, for his face is just beaming." - -"See, sah," cried Charlie, evidently pleased, "you trust all to Charlie. -He makee you free after dark. Down in de fo'est yondah dere am mebbe -two, mebbee free hunder' sabages. Now dey not want to fight till de -dark. Dey will fight all de same when de moon rise, and de rifle not -muchee good. No hit in de dark, on'y jes' puff, puff. - -"See," he continued, "de wind begin to blow a leetle. De wind get high -byme by, den de sun go out, and Charlie he fiah de forest." - -"Fire the forest, Charlie?" - -"Notwidstanding," said Charlie grimly. - -"When," he added, "you see de flame curl up, be all ready. Soon de -flame he bus' highah and highah, and all by de ribber bank one big -blaze." - -"Charlie," cried Bill, "you're a brick! Give us a shake of your yellow -hand. Hurrah! boys, Charlie's going to do it!" - -Never perhaps was sunset waited for with more impatience. - -The great and unanswerable question was this: Would these savages attack -immediately after darkness fell, or would they take some time to -deliberate? - -But behind the rugged mountains down sank the sun at last, and after a -brief twilight the stars shone out. - -Charlie was not going alone. He had asked for the assistance of many -Indians, and in a whisper he gave them their orders. - -Our heroes did not interfere in any way, for fear of confusing the good -fellow's plans. But they soon noted that while Charlie himself and two -Indians left in one of the smallest canoes, the others disappeared like -snakes in the grass, creeping northwards over the plain. - -And now there was silence, for the wind was hushed; silence everywhere, -that deep, indescribable silence which nightfall ever brings to a wild -and savage land, in which even the beasts are still and listening in -forest and dell, not knowing from which direction danger may spring. - -Within the little camp nothing could be done but lie still, every man -holding his breath with suspense. Nothing could be done save watch, -wait, count the weary minutes, and marvel at their length. - -Suddenly, however, the deep silence was broken by a mournful cry that -came from riverwards. It was apparently that of an owl seeking for its -mate, but it was taken up and repeated northwards all over the plain -twixt camp and forest, and almost at the same time tiny tongues of fire -sprang up here and there and everywhere. - -Higher and higher they leapt, along the ground they ran, meeting in all -directions down the dark river and across the wild moor by the edge of -the woodland. The undergrowth was dry, the grass was withered, and in -an amazingly short time the whole forest by the banks of the Madeira was -sheeted in devastating flames. - -The savages had been massed in the centre of the jungle, and just -preparing to issue forth and carry death into the camp of our heroes, -when suddenly the crackling of the flames fell on their ears, and they -knew they were caught in a fire-trap, with scarcely any means of escape. - -Charlie had been terribly in earnest, and, hurrying on in his canoe -towards the Madeira, he lit the bank all along, and even down the side -of the great stream itself. - -It was evidently his savage intention to roast these poor cannibals -alive. - -As it was, the only outlet towards salvation that remained for them was -the Madeira's dark brink. - -"Now, boys, now!" shouted Roland, when he saw that the fire had gained -entire mastery, and, making its own wind, was sweeping onwards, licking -up everything in its way. - -"Now, lads, on board! Let us get off down stream in all haste. -Hurrah!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--EVENINGS BY THE CAMP FIRE - - -The moorings were speedily slipped, and by the light of the blazing -forest the peons bent sturdily to their paddles, and the canoe went -dancing down stream. - -They had already taken on board the Indians who had assisted Charlie, -and before long his own boat hove in sight, and was soon taken in tow by -the largest canoe. - -That burning forest formed a scene which never could be forgotten. From -the south side, where the boats were speedily rushing down the stream on -their way to the Madeira, and from which came the light wind that was -now blowing, the flames leaned over as it were, instead of ascending -high in air, and the smoke and sparks took the same direction. - -The sparks were as thick as snow-flakes in a snow-storm, and the lurid -tongues of fire darted high as the zenith, playing with the clouds of -smoke or licking them up. - -The noise was indescribable, yet above the roaring and the crackling -could be heard the shouts of the maddened savages, as they sought exit -from the hell around them. - -There was no escape except by the Madeira's bank, and to get even at -this they had to dash through the burning bushes. - -Alas! Charlie and his assistants had done their work all too well, and -I fear that one-half of the cannibals were smothered, dragged down by -alligators, or found a watery grave. - -As the canoes shot past, the heat was terrible, and next morning at -daybreak, when they were far up the river, towards the falls, Roland and -his friend were surprised to notice that the palm-leaves which covered -the cabin were brown and scorched. - -On the whole the experience they had gained of the ferocity and fighting -abilities of these Paynee cannibals was such as they were not likely to -forget. - - ---- - -During all this period of excitement the suspect Peter had remained -perfectly quiescent. Indeed he seemed now quite apathetic, taking very -little notice of anything around him, and eating the food placed before -him in a way that was almost mechanical. Neither Roland nor Dick had -taken much heed of him till now. When, however, they observed his -strange demeanour they took council together and determined that the -watch over him should be made extra strict, lest he should spring -overboard and be drowned. - -Roland may seem to have been harsh with Mr. Peter. But he only took -proper precautions, and more than once he assured Dick that if the man's -innocence were proved he would recompense him a hundred-fold. - -"But," added Dick meaningly, "if he is really guilty of the terrible -crime we impute to him, he cannot be punished too severely." - -The expedition had that afternoon to land their stores once more to -avoid rapids, and a little before sunset they encamped near to the edge -of a beautiful wood well back from the banks of the Madeira. - -The night passed without adventure of any kind, and everyone awoke as -fresh and full of life and go as the larks that climb the sky to meet -the morning sun. - -Another hard day's paddling and towing and portage, and they found -themselves high above the Madeira Falls in smooth water, and at the -entrance to a kind of bay which formed the mouth or confluence of the -two rivers, called Beni and Madro de Dios. This last is called the -Maya-tata by the Bolivians. - -It is a beautiful stream, overhung by hill and forest, and rises fully -two hundred miles southward and west from a thousand little rivulets -that drain the marvellous mountains of Karavaya. - -The Beni joins this river about ten or twelve miles above the banks of -the Madeira. It lies farther to the south and the east, and may be said -to rise in the La Paz district itself, where it is called the Rio de la -Paz. - -To the north-west of both these big rivers lies the great unexplored -region, the land of the Bolivian and Peruvian cannibals. - -Small need have we to continue to hunt and shoot in Africa, wildly -interesting though the country is, when such a marvellous tract of tens -of thousands of square miles is hidden here, all unvisited as yet by a -single British explorer. - -And what splendid possibilities for travel and adventure are here! A -land larger than Great Britain, France, and Ireland thrown together, -which no one knows anything about; a land rich in forest and prairie; a -land the mineral wealth of which is virtually inexhaustible; a land of -beauty; a land of lake and stream, of hills and rocks and verdant -prairie, and a veritable land of flowers! - -A land, it is true, where wild beasts lurk and prowl, and where unknown -tribes of savages wander hither and thither and hunt and fight, but all -as free as the wind that wantons through their forest trees. - - ---- - -The boats were paddled several miles up-stream to a place where the -scenery was more open. - -At every bend and reach of the river Roland expected to find Benee -waiting for them. Perhaps he had built a hut and was living by -fishing-rod and gun. - -But no Benee was visible and no hut. - -Together the two friends, Roland and Dick, accompanied by Charlie and -Brawn, took their way across the plain and through the scrub, towards a -lofty, cone-shaped hill that seemed to dominate all the scenery in its -immediate neighbourhood. - -To the very top of this mountain they climbed, agreed between themselves -not to look back until they had reached the summit, in order that the -wild beauty of this lone lorn land should burst upon them in all its -glory, and at once. - -They kept to their resolution, and were amply rewarded. - -As far as eye could reach in any direction was a vast panorama of -mountain, forest, and stream, with many a beautiful lake glittering -silvery in the sunshine. - -But no smoke, no indication of inhabitants anywhere. - -"It seems to be quite an untenanted country we have struck," said Dick. - -"All the better for us, perhaps, Dick," said Roland, "for farther we -cannot proceed until poor Benee comes. He ought to have been here before -now. But what adventures and dangers he may have had to pass through -Heaven and himself only know." - -"Charlie," he continued, "in the event of Benee not turning up within -the next week or two, remember the task of guiding us to the very palace -gates of the cannibal king devolves upon you." - -"You speakee me too muchee fly-high Englese," said Charlie. "But -Charlie he thinkee he understand. You wantee me takee you to de king's -gate. I can do." - -"That is enough, Charlie, and we can trust you. You have hitherto been -very faithful, and what we should do without you I know not." - -"Now, Dick, I guess we'll get down a little more speedily than we came -up." - -"We'll try, Roland, old man." - -All preparations were now made to camp near to the river, where the -canoes were moored. - -They did not expect any attack by armed Indians, nevertheless it was -deemed well to be on the safe side. - -Spades and shovels were accordingly brought into use, and even before -sunset a deep trench and embankment were thrown up around the tents, and -at nightfall sentries were posted at each corner. - -For a few days the weather was so cold and stormy that there was little -comfort in either shooting or fishing. It cleared up after this, -however, and at noon the sun was almost too hot. - -They found caves in the rocks by the river-side in which were springs -bursting and bubbling up through limestone rocks, and quartz as white as -the driven snow. The water was exquisitely cool and refreshing. - -The days were spent in exploring the country all around and in shooting, -principally for the purpose of keeping the larder well supplied. - -Luckily the Indians were very easy to please in the matter of food, -though their captains liked a little more luxury. - -But this land was full of game of every sort, and the river was alive -with fish, and so unsophisticated were these that they sprang at a hook -if it were baited only with a morsel of glittering mica picked off a -rock. - -What with fish and fowl and flesh of small deer, little wild pigs and -the young of the tapir, there would be very little fear of starvation -should they remain here for a hundred years. - -Far up the Maya-tata canoe excursions were made, and at every bend of -this strange river the scenery seemed more delightfully wild, silent, -and beautiful. - -"Heigh-ho!" said Dick one day. "I think I should not mind living here -for years and years, did I but know that poor Peggy was safe and well." - -"Ah! yes, that is the ever-abiding anxiety, but we are not to lose -heart, are we?" - -"No," said Dick emphatically. "If the worst should come to the worst, -let us try to look fate fearlessly in the face, as men should." - -"Bravo, Dick!" - -The evenings closed in at an unconscionably early hour, as they always -do in these regions, and at times the long forenights were somewhat -irksome. - -I have not said much about the captains of the great canoes. With one -exception, these were half-castes, and spoke but little. - -The exception was Don Rodrigo, who in his time had been a great -traveller. - -He was a man of about fifty, strongly built, but as wiry withal as an -Arab of the desert. - -Genial was he too, and while yarning or playing cards--the cigarette for -ever in his mouth, sometimes even two--there was always a pleasant smile -playing around his mouth and eyes. - -He liked our young heroes, and they trusted him. Indeed, Brawn had taken -to the man, and often as he squatted in the large tent of an evening, -playing cards or dominoes with the boys, big Brawn would lay his honest -head down on Rodrigo's knee with a sigh of satisfaction and go off to -sleep. - -Rodrigo could sing a good Spanish song, and had a sweet melodious voice -that would have gone excellently well with a guitar accompaniment; but -guitar there was none. - -Versatile and clever, nevertheless, was Rodrigo, and he had manufactured -a kind of musical instrument composed of pieces of glass and hard wood -hung on tape bands across a board. While he sang, Rodrigo used to beat -a charming accompaniment with little pith hammers. - -Some of his songs were very merry indeed and very droll, and all hands -used to join in the chorus, even the white men and Indians outside. - -So the boys' days were for the time being somewhat of the nature of a -long picnic or holiday. - -The story-telling of an evening helped greatly to wile the time away. - -Neither Dick nor Roland had any yarns to spin, but Charlie had stories -of his wild and adventurous life in the bush, which were listened to -with much pleasure. On the other hand, Rodrigo had been everywhere -apparently, and done everything, so that he was the chief story-teller. - -The man's English was fairly good, with just a little of the Peruvian -labial accent, which really added to its attractiveness, while at times -he affected the Mexican drawl. - -Around the camp-fire I have seldom or never known what may be called -systematic yarn-spinning. Everything comes spontaneously, one simple -yarn or wild adventure leading up to the other. If now and then a song -intervenes, all the better, and all the more likely is one to spend a -pleasant evening either in camp or in galley on board ship. - -Don Rodrigo did at times let our heroes have some tales that made their -scalps creep, but they liked him best when he was giving them simple -narratives of travel, and for this reason: they wanted to learn all they -could about the country in which they now were. - -And Rodrigo knew it well, even from Arauco on the western shore to the -great marsh-lands of the Paraguay or the mountain fastnesses of -Albuquerque on the east. - -But the range of Rodrigo's travels was not bounded by Brazil, or the -great Pacific Ocean itself. He had been a cow-boy in Mexico; he had -bolo'd guanacos on the Pampas; he had wandered among the Patagonians, or -on fleet horses scoured their wondrous plains; he had dwelt in the -cities, or call them "towns", if so minded, that border the northern -shores of the Straits of Magellan; he had even visited Tierra del -Fuego--the land of fire--and from the black boats of savages had helped -to spear the silken-coated otters of those wild and stormy seas; and he -had sailed for years among the glorious sunlit islands of the Southern -Pacific. - -"As to far Bolivia," he said one evening, while his eyes followed the -rings of pale-blue smoke he emitted as they rose to the tent-roof. "As -to far Bolivia, dear boys, well, you've seen a good slice of the wilder -regions of it, but it is to La Paz you must some day go, and to the -splendid fresh-water ocean called the Titicaca. - -"Lads, I never measured it, but, roughly guessing, I should say that it -is over one hundred miles in length, and in some places fifty wide." - -"Wait one moment," said Burly Bill, "this is getting interesting, but my -meerschaum wants to be loaded." - -"Now," he added, a few minutes after, "just fire away, my friend." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--A MARVELLOUS LAKE IN A MARVELLOUS LAND--LA PAZ - - -"Mebbe," said Rodrigo, "if you knew the down-south Bolivians as well as -I do, you would not respect them a great deal. Fact is, boys, there is -little to respect them for. - -"Brave? Well, if you can call slaves brave, then they're about as -bully's they make 'em. - -"I have mentioned the inland sea called Lake Titicaca. Ah, boys, you -must see this fresh-water ocean for yourselves! and if ever you get -married, why, take my advice and go and spend your honeymoon there. - -"Me married, did you say, Mr. Bill? It strikes me, sir, I know a trick -worth several of that. Been in love as often as I've got toes and -fingers, and mebbe teeth, but no tying up for life, I'm too old a -starling to be tamed. - -"But think, _amigo mio_, of a lake situated in a grand mountain-land, -the level of its waters just thirteen thousand feet above the blue -Pacific. - -"Surrounded by the wildest scenery you can imagine. The wildest, ay, -boys, and the most romantic. - -"You have one beautiful lake or loch in your Britain--and I have -travelled all over that land of the free,--I mean Loch Ness, and the -surrounding mountains and glens are magnificent; but, bless my buttons, -boys, you wouldn't have room in Britain for such a lake as the mighty -Titicaca. It would occupy all your English Midlands, and you'd have to -give the farmers a free passage to Australia." - -"How do you travel on this lake?" said Dick Temple. - -"Ah!" continued Rodrigo, "I can answer that; and here lies another -marvel. For at this enormous height above the ocean-level, steamboats, -ply up and down. No, not built there, but in sections sent from America, -and I believe even from England. The labour of dragging these sections -over the mountain-chains may easily be guessed. - -"The steamers are neither so large nor so fine as your Clyde boats, but -there is a lot of honest comfort in them after all. - -"And terrible storms sometimes sweep down from the lofty Cordilleras, -and then the lake is all a chaos of broken water and waves even houses -high. If caught in such storms, ordinary boats are speedily sunk, and -lucky are even the steamers if shelter is handy. - -"Well, what would this world be, I wonder, if it were always all -sunshine. We should soon get well tired of it, I guess, and want to go -somewhere else--to murky England, for example." - -Rodrigo blew volumes of smoke before he continued his desultory yarn. - -"Do you know, boys, what I saw when in your Britain, south of the Tweed? -I saw men calling themselves sportsmen chasing poor little hares with -harriers, and following unfortunate stags with buck-hounds. I saw them -hunt the fox too, men and women in a drove, and I called them in my own -mind cowards all. Brutality and cowardice in every face, and there -wasn't a farmer in the flock of stag-hunting Jockies and Jennies who -could muster courage enough to face a puma or even an old baboon with a -supple stick in its hand. Pah! - -"But among the hills and forests around this Lake Titicaca is the -paradise of the hunter who has a bit of sand and grit in his substance, -and is not afraid to walk a whole mile away from a cow's tail. - -"No, there are no dangerous Indians that ever I came across among the -mountains and glens; but as you never know what may happen, you've got -to keep your cartridges free from damp. - -"What kind of game? Well, I was going to say pretty much of all sorts. -We haven't got giraffes nor elephants, it is true, nor do we miss them -much. - -"But there are fish in the lake and beasts on the shore, and rod and gun -will get but little holiday, I assure you, lads, if you elect to travel -in that strange land. - -"I hardly know very much about the fish. They say that the lake is -bottomless, and that not only is it swarming with fish, wherever there -is a bank, but that terrible animals or beasts have been seen on its -deep-blue surface; creatures so fearful in aspect that even their sudden -appearance has turned gray the hairs of those who beheld them. - -"But I calculate that this is all Indian gammon or superstition. - -"As for me, I've been always more at home in the woods and forests, and -on the mountain's brow. - -"I'm not going to boast, boys, but I've climbed the highest hills of the -Cordilleras, where I have had no companion save the condor. - -"You Europeans call the eagle the bird of Jove. If that is so, I want to -ask them where the condor comes in. - -"Why, your golden eagle of Scottish wilds isn't a circumstance to the -condor of the Andes. He is no more to be compared to this great forest -vulture than a spring chicken is to a Christmas turkey. - -"But the condor is only one of a thousand wild birds of prey, or of -song, found in the Andean regions or giant Cordilleras. - -"And at lower altitude we find the llamas, the guanacos, and herds of -wild vicuńas. - -"You may come across the puma and the jaguar also, and be sorry you've -met. - -"Then there are goats, foxes, and wild dogs, as well as the viscacha and -the chinchilla, to say nothing of deer. - -"But on the great lake itself, apart from all thought of fish, you need -never go without a jolly good dinner if the rarest of water-fowl will -please you. Ducks and geese galore, and other species too many to -name." - -"That is a land, and that is a lake," said Dick musingly, "that I should -dearly like to visit. Yes, and to dwell in or on for a time. - -"I suppose labour is cheap?" he added enquiringly. - -"I guess," returned Rodrigo, "that if you wanted to erect a wooden hut -on some high and healthy promontory overlooking the lake--and this would -be your best holt--you would have to learn the use of axe and adze and -saw, and learn also how to drive a nail or two without doubling it over -your thumb and hitting the wrong nail on the head." - -"Well, anyhow," said Dick, "I shall dream to-night of your great inland -ocean, of your Lake Titicaca, and in my dreams I shall imagine I am -already there. I suppose the woods are alive with beautiful birds?" - -"Yes," said Rodrigo, "and with splendid moths and butterflies also; so -let these have a place in your dreams as well. Throw in chattering -monkeys too, and beautiful parrots that love to mock every sound they -hear around them. Let there be evergreen trees draped in garments of -climbing flowers, roaring torrents, wild foaming rivers, that during -storms roll down before them, from the flooded mountains, massive tree -trunks, and boulders houses high." - -"You are quite poetic!" - -"But I am not done yet. People your paradise with strangely beautiful -lizards that creep and crawl everywhere, looking like living flowers, -and arrayed in colours that rival the tints of the rainbow. Lizards--ay, -and snakes; but bless you, boys, these are very innocent, objecting to -nothing except to having their tails trodden on." - -"Well, no creature cares for treatment like that," said Roland. "If you -and I go to this land of beauty, Dick, we must make a point of not -treading on snakes' tails." - -"But, boys, there are fortunes in this land of ours also. Fortunes to -be had for the digging." - -"Copper?" - -"Yes, and gold as well!" - -Rodrigo paused to roll and light another cigarette. I have never seen -anyone do so more deftly. He seemed to take an acute delight in the -process. He held the snow-white tissue-paper lovingly in his grasp, -while with his forefinger and thumb he apportioned to it just the right -quantity of yellow fragrant Virginia leaf, then twisting it tenderly, -gently, he conveyed it to his lips. - -Said Dick now, "I have often heard of the wondrous city of La Paz, and -to me it has always seemed a sort of semi-mythical town--a South -American Timbuctoo." - -"Ah, lad, it is far from being mythical! On the contrary, it is very -real, and so are everything and everybody in it. - -"I could not, however, call it, speaking conscientiously, a gem of a -place, though it might be made so. But you see, boys, there is a deal -of Spanish or Portuguese blood in the veins of the real whites -here--though, mind you, three-fourths of the population are Indians of -almost every Bolivian race. Well, the motto of the dark-eyed whites -seems to be Mańana (pronounce Mah-nyah-nah), which signifies -'to-morrow', you know. Consequently, with the very best intentions in -the world, they hardly ever finish anything they begin. Some of the -streets are decently paved, but every now and then you come to a slough -of despond. Many of the houses are almost palatial, but they stand side -by side with, and are jostled by, the vile mud-huts of the native -population. They have a cathedral and a bazaar, but neither is finished -yet. - -"Well, La Paz stands at a great altitude above the ocean. It is well -worthy of a visit. If you go there, however, there are two things you -must not forget to take with you, namely, a bottle of smelling-salts and -plenty of eau-de-Cologne." - -"The place smells--slightly, then, I suppose," ventured Dick. - -"Ha! ha! ha!" Rodrigo had a hearty laugh of his own. "Yes, it smells -slightly. So do the people, I may add. - -"The natives of La Paz, although some of them boast of a direct descent -from the ancient Incas, are to all intents and purposes slaves. - -"Well, boys, when I say 'slaves' I calculate I know pretty well what I -am talking about. The old feudal system holds sway in what we call the -civilized portions of Bolivia. Civilization, indeed! Only in the wilds -is there true freedom and independence. The servants on ranches and -farms are bought or sold with the land on which they live. So, Mr. -Bill, if you purchase a farm in Bolivia, it won't be only the cows and -cocks and hens you'll have to take, but the servants as well, ay, and -the children of these. - -"Bolivian Indians, who are troubled with families that they consider a -trifle too large for their income, have a simple and easy method of -meeting the difficulty. They just take what you might call the surplus -children to some white-man farmer and sell them as they do their cows." - -"Then these children are just brought up as slaves?" - -"Yes, their masters treat them fairly well, but they generally make good -use of the whip. 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' is a motto they -play up to most emphatically, and certainly I have never known the rod -to be spared, nor the child to be spoiled either. - -"Oh! by the way, as long as my hand is in I may tell you about the -servants that the gentry-folks of La Paz keep. I don't think any -European would be plagued with such a dirty squad, for in a household -of, say, ten, there must be ten slaves at the very least, to say nothing -of the pongo man. - -"This pongo man is in reality the charwoman of La Paz. It is he who -does all the dirty work, and a disagreeable-looking and painfully dirty -blackguard he is himself. It is not his custom to stay more than a week -with any one family. He likes to be always on the move. - -"He assists the cook; he collects dried llama manure for firewood, as -Paddy might say; he fetches water from the fountain; he brings home the -marketing, in the shape of meat and vegetables; he cleans and scrubs -everywhere, receiving few pence for his trouble, but an indefinite -number of kicks and cuffs, while his bed at night is on the cold stones -behind the hall door. Yet with all his ill-usage, he seems just about as -happy as a New Hollander, and you always find him trotting around -trilling a song. - -"Ah, there is nothing like contentment in this world, boys!" - -"Yes, Mr. Bill, I have seen one or two really pretty girls among the -Bolivians, but never lost my heart to any of them, for between you and -me, they don't either brush or comb their hair, and when walking with -them it is best to keep the weather-gauge. And that's a hint worth -having, I can assure you." - - ---- - -On the very next evening after Don Rodrigo spoke his piece, as he -phrased it, about the strange customs and habits of the Bolivians, all -were assembled as usual in the biggest tent. - -Burly Bill and his meerschaum were getting on remarkably well together, -the Don was rolling a cigarette, when suddenly Brawn started up as if -from a dream, and stood with his ears pricked and his head a little to -one side, gazing out into the darkness. - -He uttered no warning growl, and made no sound of any sort, but his tail -was gently agitated, as if something pleased him. - -Then with one impatient "Yap!" he sprang away, and was seen no more for -a few minutes. - -"What can ail the dog?" said Roland. - -"What, indeed?" said Dick. - -And now footsteps soft and slow were heard approaching the tent, and -next minute poor Benee himself staggered in and almost fell at Roland's -feet. - -The honest hound seemed almost beside himself with joy, but he had sense -enough to know that his old favourite, Benee, was exhausted and ill, -and, looking up into his young master's face, appeared to plead for his -assistance. - -Benee's cheeks were hollow, his feet were cut and bleeding, and yet as -he lay there he smiled feebly. - -"I am happy now," he murmured, and forthwith fell asleep. - -Both Roland and Dick trembled. They thought that sleep might be the -sleep of death, but Don Rodrigo, after feeling Benee's pulse, assured -them that it was all right, and that the poor fellow only needed rest -and food. - -In about half an hour the faithful fellow--ah! who could doubt his -fidelity now?--sat painfully up. - -Dick went hurrying off and soon returned with soup and with wine, and -having swallowed a little, Benee made signs that he would rest and -sleep. - -"To-morrow," he said, "to-morrow I speak plenty. To-night no can do." - -And so they did all they could to make him comfortable, and great Brawn -lay down by his side to watch him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--BENEE'S STORY--THE YOUNG CANNIBAL QUEEN - - -I cannot help saying that in forbearing to talk to or to question poor -Benee on the evening of his arrival, our young heroes exhibited a spirit -of true manliness and courage which was greatly to their credit. - -That they were burning to get news of the unfortunate Peggy goes without -saying, and to hear at the same time Benee's own marvellous adventures. - -Nor did they hurry the poor fellow even next day. - -It is a good plan to fly from temptation, when you are not sure you may -not fall. There is nothing dishonourable about such a course, be the -temptation what it may. - -Roland and Dick adopted the plan this morning at all events. Both were -awake long before sunrise; long before the beautiful stars had ceased to -glitter gem-like high over mountains and forest. - -The camp was hardly yet astir, although Burly Bill was looming between -the lads and the light as they stood with honest Brawn in the big tent -doorway. Over his head rose a huge cloud of fragrant smoke, while ever -and anon a gleam from the bowl of his meerschaum lit up his -good-humoured face. - -It had not taken the lads long to dress, and now they sauntered out. - -The first faint light of the dawning day was already beginning to pale -the stars. Soon the sun himself, red and rosy, would sail up from his -bed behind the far green forest. - -"Bill!" - -"Hillo! Good-morning to you both! I've been up for hours." - -"And we could not sleep for--thinking. But I say, Bill, I think Benee -has good news. I'm burning to hear it, and so is Dick here, but it -would be downright mean to wake the poor fellow till he is well rested. -So, for fear we should seem too inquisitive, or too squaw-like, we're -off with bold Brawn here for a walk. Yes, we are both armed." - -When the lads came back in about two hours' time, they found Benee up -and dressed and seated on the grass at breakfast. - -When I say he was dressed I allude to the fact that he very much needed -dressing, for his garments were in rags, his blanket in tatters. But he -had taken the clothes Bill provided for him, and gone straight to the -river for a wash and a swim. - -He looked quite the old Benee on his return. - -"Ah!" said Bill, "you're smiling, Benee. I know you have good news." - -"Plenty good, Massa Bill, one leetle bitee bad!" - -"Well, eat, old man; I'm hungry. Yes, the boys are beautiful, and -they'll be here in a few minutes." - -And so they were. - -Brawn was before them. He darted in with a rush and a run, and licked -first Benee's ears and then Bill's. It was a rough but a very kindly -salute. - -In these sky-high regions of Bolivia, a walk or run across the plains -early in the morning makes one almost painfully hungry. - -But here was a breakfast fit for a king; eggs of wild birds, fish, and -flesh of deer, with cakes galore, for the Indians were splendid cooks. - -Then, after breakfast, Benee told the boys and Bill all his long and -strange story. It was a thrilling one, as we know already, and lost -none of its effect by being related in Benee's simple, but often graphic -and figurative language. - -"Oh!" cried impulsive Dick, when he had finished, and there were tears -in the lad's eyes that he took small pains to hide, "you have made -Roland and me happy, inexpressibly happy, Benee. We know now that dear -Peggy is well, and that nothing can harm her for the present, and -something tells me we shall receive her safe and sound." - -Benee's face got slightly clouded. - -"Will it not be so, Benee?" - -"The Christian God will help us, Massa Dick. Der is mooch--plenty -mooch--to be done!" - -"And we're the lads to do it," almost shouted Burly Bill. - -"Wowff! Wowff!" barked Brawn in the most emphatic manner. - -In another hour all were once more on the march towards the land of the -cannibals. - - ---- - -Life at the court of Queen Leeboo, as her people called poor Peggy, was -not all roses, but well the girl knew that if she was to harbour any -hopes of escape she must keep cool and play her game well. - -She had all a woman's wits about her, however, and all a woman's wiles. -Vain Peggy certainly was not, but she knew she was beautiful, and -determined to make the best use of the fact. - -Luckily for her she could speak the language of this strange wild people -as well as anyone, for Charlie himself had been her teacher. - -A strangely musical and labial tongue it is, and figurative, too, as -might be expected, for the scenery of every country has a certain effect -upon its language. - -It was soon evident that Queen Leeboo was expected to stay in the royal -camp almost entirely. - -This she determined should not be the case. So after the royal -breakfast one morning--and a very delightful and natural meal it was, -consisting chiefly of nuts and fruit--Queen Leeboo seized her sceptre, -the poisoned spear, and stepped lightly down from her throne. - -"That isn't good enough," she said, "I want a little fresh air." - -Her attendants threw themselves on their faces before her, but she made -them get up, and very much astonished they were to see the beautiful -queen march along the great hall and step out on to the skull-decorated -verandah. - -The palace was built on a mountain ledge or table-land of small -dimensions. It was backed by gigantic and precipitous rocks, now most -beautifully draped with the greenery of bush and fern, and trailed over -by a thousand charming wild flowers. - -Leeboo, as we may call her for the present, seated herself languidly on -a dais. She knew better than to be rash. Her object was to gain the -entire confidence of her people. In this alone lay her hopes of escape, -and thoughts of freedom were ever uppermost in her mind. - -This was the first time she had been beyond the portals of her royal -prison-house, but she determined it should not be the last. - -While her attendants partially encircled her she gazed dreamily at the -glorious scenery beyond and beneath her. - -From her elevated position she could view the landscape for leagues and -leagues on every side. Few of us, in this tame domestic land that we -all love so well, have ever visited so beautiful a country as these -highlands of Bolivia. - -Fresh from the hands of its Maker did it seem on this fresh, cool, -delightful morning. The dark green of its rolling woods and forests, -the heath-clad hills, the streams that meandered through the dales like -threads of silver, the glittering lakes, the plains where the llamas, -and even oxen, roamed in great herds, and far, far away on the horizon -the serrated mountains, patched and flecked with snow, that hid their -summits in the fleecy clouds; the whole formed as grand and lovely a -panorama as ever human eyes beheld. - -But it was marred somewhat by the immediate surroundings of poor Leeboo. - -Oh, those awful skulls! "Is everything good and beautiful in Nature," -she could not help asking herself, "except mankind?" - -Here was the faint odour of death, and she beheld on many of these -skulls the mark of the axe, reminding her of murder. She shuddered. -Her palace was but a charnel-house. Those crouching creatures around -her, waiting to do her bidding or obey her slightest behest, were but -slaves of tyrant masters, and every day she missed one of the youngest -and fairest, and knew what her doom would be. - -And out beyond the gate yonder were her soldiers, her guards. Alas, -yes! and they were her keepers also. - -But behold! yonder comes the great chief Kaloomah, her prime minister, -and walking beside him is Kalamazoo. - -Kaloomah walks erect and stately, as becomes so high a functionary. He -is stern in face even to grimness and ferocity, but as handsome in form -as some of the heroes of Walter Scott. - -And Kalamazoo is little more than a boy, and one, too, of somewhat -fragile form, with face more delicate than is becoming in a cannibal -Indian. - -Kalamazoo is the only son of the late queen. For some reason or other -he wears a necklace of his mother's red-stained teeth. Probably they -are a charm. - -Both princes kneel at Leeboo's feet. Leeboo strikes both smartly on the -shoulders with her sceptre and bids them stand up. - -"I would not have you grovel round me," she says in their own tongue, -"like two little pigs of the forest." They stand up, looking sheepish -and nonplussed, and Leeboo, placing one on each side of her--a -spear-length distant,--looks first at Kaloomah and then at Kalamazoo and -bursts into a silvery laugh. - -Why laughs Queen Leeboo? These two men are both very natural, both -somewhat solemn. Not even little pigs of the forest like to be laughed -at. - -But the queen's mistress of the robes--let me call her so--has told her -that she is expected to take unto herself a husband in three moons, and -that it must be either Kaloomah or Kalamazoo. - -This is now no state secret. All the queen's people know, from her own -palace gates to the remotest mud hut on this cannibalistic territory. -They all know it, and they look forward to that week of festivity as -children in the rural districts of England look forward to a fair. - -There will be a monster carousal that day. - -The soldiers of the queen will make a raid on a neighbouring hill tribe, -and bring back many heads and many hams. - -If Kaloomah is the favourite, then Kalamazoo will be slain and cooked. - -If the queen elects to smile on Kalamazoo with his necklace of the -maternal molars and incisors, then Kaloomah with the best grace he can -must submit to the knife. - -Yet must I do justice to both and say that it is not because they fear -death that they are so anxious to curry favour with the young and lovely -queen. Oh no! for both are over head in love with her. - -And a happy thought has occurred to Leeboo. She will play one against -the other, and thus, in some way to herself at present unknown, -endeavour to effect her escape from this land of murder, blood, and -beautiful scenery. - -So there they stand silently, a spear-length from her dais, she glorying -in the power she knows she has over both. There they stand in silence, -for court etiquette forbids them to speak until spoken to. - -Very like a couple of champion idiots they are too. Big Kaloomah doesn't -quite know what to do with his hands, and Kalamazoo is fidgeting -nervously with his necklace, and apparently counting his dead mother's -teeth as monks count their beads. - -Leeboo rises at last, and, gathering the loose portion of her skirts -around her, says: "Come, I would walk." - -She is a little way ahead, and she waves her spear so prettily as she -smiles her sweetest and points to the grimly ornamental gate. - -And after hesitating for one moment, both Kaloomah and the young prince -follow sheepishly. - -The guards by the gate, grim, fully armed cut-throats, seeing that her -majesty expects obedience, fall back, and the trio march through. - -But I do not think that either of Leeboo's lovers is prepared for what -follows. - -If they had calculated on a solemn majestic walk around the plateau, -they were soon very much undeceived. - -Leeboo had no sooner begun to breathe the glorious mountain air, than -she felt as exuberant as a child again. Indeed, she was but little -else. But she placed her spear and sceptre of royalty very -unceremoniously into Kaloomah's hand to hold, while she darted off after -a splendid crimson specimen of dragon-fly. - -Kaloomah looked at Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo looked at Kaloomah. - -The one didn't love the other, it is true, yet a fellow-feeling made -them wondrous kind. And the feeling uppermost in the mind of each was -wonder. - -Kaloomah beckoned to Kalamazoo, and pointed to the queen. The words he -spoke were somewhat as follows: - -"Too much choorka-choorka! Suppose the queen we lose--" - -He pointed with his thumb to his neck by way of completing the sentence. - -"Too much choorka-choorka!" repeated the young prince. "You old--you -stop her." - -"No, no, you young--you run quick, you stop her!" - -That dragon-fly gave Leeboo grand sport for over half an hour. From -bush to bush it flitted, and flew from flower to flower, over rocks, -over cairns, and finally down the great hill that led to the plain -below. - -Matters looked serious, so both lovers were now in duty bound to follow -their all-too-lively queen. - -When they reached the bottom of the brae, however, behold!--but stay, -there was no behold about it. Queen Leeboo was nowhere to be seen! - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--BENEE'S MOTHER TO THE FRONT - - -Here was a difficulty! - -If they returned without the queen, they would be torn in pieces and -quietly eaten afterwards. - -They became excited. They looked here, there, and everywhere for -Leeboo. Up into the trees, under the bushes, behind rocks and stones, -but all in vain. The beautiful girl seemed to have been spirited away, -or the earth had opened and admitted her into fairy-land, or-- - -But see! To their great joy, yonder comes the young queen holding aloft -the dragon-fly and singing to herself. - -Not a whit worse was the lovely thing; not one of its four gauzy wings -was so much as rumpled. - -Then she whispered something to it, and tossed it high in air. - -And away it flew, straight to the north-east, as if bent upon delivering -the message she had entrusted to its keeping. - -She stood gazing after it with flushed cheeks and parted lips until it -was no longer visible against the sky's pale blue, then turned away with -a sigh. - -But Leeboo was not tired yet. There were beautiful birds to be seen and -their songs listened to. And there were garlands of wild flowers to be -strung. - -One she threw over Kaloomah's neck. - -Kalamazoo looked wretched. - -She made him even a larger, and he was happy. This garland quite hid his -mother's frightful teeth. - -But it must be said that these two lovers of Leeboo's looked--with those -garlands of flowers around their necks--more foolish than ever. - -She trotted them round for two whole hours. Then she resumed her -sceptre, and intimated her intention to return to the palace. - -For a whole week these rambles were continued day after day. - -Then storm-winds blew wild from off the snow-patched mountains, and -Leeboo was confined to her palace for days. - -Her maids of honour, however, did all they could to please and comfort -her. They brought her the choicest of fruits, and they told her strange -weird tales of strange weird people and mannikins who in these regions -dwell deep down in caves below the ground, and often steal little -children to nurse their tiny infants. - -And they sang or chanted to her also, and all night long in the -drapery-hung chamber, where she reposed on a couch of skins, they lay -near her, ready to start to their feet and obey her slightest command. - -Leeboo ruled her empire by love. But she could be haughty and stern -when she pleased, only she never made use of that terrible spear, one -touch of which meant death. - - ---- - -In less than six-weeks' time Queen Leeboo had so thoroughly gained the -confidence of her people that she was trusted to go anywhere, although -always under the eyes of the young prince or Kaloomah. - -I believe Leeboo would have learned to like the savages but for their -cannibal tastes, and several times, when men returned from the war-path, -she had to witness the most terrible of orgies. - -It was always young girls or boys who were the victims of those fearful -feasts. Her heart bled for them, but all remonstrance on her part was -in vain. - -Leeboo had got her pony back, and often had a glorious gallop over the -prairie. - -But something else had happened, which added greatly to Leeboo's comfort -and happiness. Shooks-gee himself came to camp and brought with him -little Weenah, his beautiful child-daughter. - -Leeboo took to her at once, and the two became constant companions. - -Weenah could converse in broken English, and so many a long delightful -"confab" they had together. - -Child-like, Weenah told Leeboo of her love for Benee, of their early -rambles in the forest, too, and of her own wild wanderings in search of -him. Told her, too, that Benee was coming back again with a fresh army -of Indians and white men, with Leeboo's own lover and her brother as -their captains; told her of the fearful fight that was bound to take -place, but which would end in the complete triumph of the good men and -the rescue of Leeboo herself. - -Yes, Weenah had her prophecy all cut and dry, and her story ended with a -good "curtain", as all good stories should. - -Whether Weenah's prophecy would be fulfilled or not we have to read on -to see, for, alas! it was a dark and gloomy race of savages that would -have to be dealt with, and rather than lose their queen, Kaloomah and -his people would--but there! I have no wish to paint my chapters red. - - ---- - -Leeboo was not slow to perceive that her chief chance of escape lay in -the skill with which she might play her two lovers against each other. - -Whoever married her would be king. He would rank with, but after, the -queen herself, for, to the credit of these cannibals be it said, they -always prefer female government. - -In civilized society Leeboo might have been accused of acting -mischievously; for she would take first one into favour and then the -other, giving, that is, each of them a taste of the seventh heaven time -about. When Kalamazoo's star was in the ascendant, then Kaloomah was -deep down in a pit of despair; but anon, he would be up and out again, -and then it was Kalamazoo's turn to weep and wail and gnash his -triangular red-stained teeth. - -It is needless to say that the game she was playing was a sad strain -upon our poor young heroine. No wonder her eyes grew bright with that -brightness which denotes loss of strength, and weariness, and that her -cheeks were often far too flushed. - -Hope deferred makes the heart sick, and but for little Weenah I think -that Leeboo would have given up heart altogether and lain down to die. - -But Weenah was always bright, cheerful, and happy. She was laughing all -day long. Benee was coming for her; of that she was very certain and -sure, so she sang about her absent lover even as birds in the woodlands -sing, and with just as sweet a voice. - -The plot was thickening and thickening, and Leeboo managed matters now -so that only one of her guardians at a time accompanied herself and -Weenah in their rides or rambles. - -Dixie--as the pony was named--was a very faithful little horse, and -though when Weenah had to trot beside him he never was allowed to go the -pace, he was exceedingly strong, and could scour the plain or prairie as -fleet as the wind whenever his young mistress put him on his mettle. On -such occasions, no matter which of Leeboo's admirers was with her, he -dropped far astern, and after running for a mile or so, had to sit down -to pant. - -But the young queen always returned, and so she was trusted implicitly. - -So too was Weenah, but then Weenah was one of themselves. - - ---- - -In their very long and toilsome march, up the Mayatata, well was it -indeed for Roland and Dick that they had guides so faithful and clever -as Benee and Charlie. But for them, indeed, the expedition would have -been foredoomed to failure. - -Benee indeed was really the guiding star. For in his own lonesome -wanderings he had surveyed the whole country as it were, and knew every -fitting place for a camp, every ford on every stream, and every pathway -through the dense and dark forests. - -They were but the pathways made by the beasts, however, and often all -but impassable. Still, in single file they marched, and were always -successful in making their way. Two whole months passed away, and now, -as they were nearing the cannibal highlands, greater precautions than -ever were required. - -And for a week they had to turn night into day, and travel while the -savages slept. - -They kept away, too, from any portion of the country which seemed to -have the slightest claim to be called inhabited. Better they should -herd with the wild beasts of the forest than sight the face of even a -single savage. For swift as deer that savage would run towards the -cannibal head-quarters and give information of the approach of a -pale-face horde of enemies. - -At last there came a day when Benee called a council of war. - -"We now get near de bad man's land," he said. "Ugh! I not lub mooch -blood." - -"Then what would you have us do?" said Roland. "Shall we advance boldly -or make a night attack?" - -"No, no, no, sah. Too many cannibal warrior, too much pizen arrow, -sling, and spear. No; build here a camp. Make he strong. Benee will -go all same. Benee will creep and crawl till he come to father and -mother house. Den Benee make all right. Pray for Benee." - -Benee left, poor Brawn bidding him a most affectionate farewell. Surely -that honest dog knew he was bent on saving his little mistress, if only -he could. - -Charlie, the ex-cannibal, stayed in camp for the time being, but he -might be useful as a spy afterwards. - -It is needless to say that the prayers of both our heroes were offered -up night and day for Benee's success, and that their blessings followed -him. - -But we do not always receive the answers that would appear to us the -best to our prayers, however earnest and heartfelt they may be. Still, -we know well, though we are generally very loth to admit it, that -afflictions are very often blessings in disguise. - -And now Benee was once more all alone on the war-path, and he followed -his old tactics, creeping quietly through the jungle only by night, and -retiring into hiding whenever day began to obliterate the stars. Roland -gave orders for the camp to be immediately fortified. It was certainly -a well-chosen one, on the top of a wooded hill. - -This hill was scarcely a hundred feet high, but although it might be -taken by siege, its position rendered it almost impregnable as far as -assault was concerned. - -A rampart with a trench was thrown round three sides of it. That was -apparently all that would be needed. - -Looking from below by daylight even, hardly a savage could have told -that an enemy held the hill. - -And now there was nothing to do but to wait. And waiting is always -wearisome work. - -But let us follow Benee. - -His progress was slow, but it was sure, and at last he reached the -cottage where good Shooks-gee and his wife resided. - -But here was no one save his "mother", as Benee lovingly called her. - -A great fear took possession of his mind. Could it be that his father -himself was dead, and that Weenah was captive? - -His lips and voice almost refused to formulate the question nearest to -his heart. - -But his mother's smile reassured him. Weenah was safe, and at the court -of the queen, and Shooks-gee himself was there. So Benee grew hopeful -once more. - -But his task would be by no means an easy one. - -First and foremost he must establish communication between the captive -girl and himself. How could this be done? - -Had Shooks-gee been at home it might have been managed simply enough. -But he himself dared not appear anywhere in sight of the savages. - -He felt almost baffled, but at last his mother came to his rescue. - -The risk would be extreme. These cannibal savages are as suspicious of -strangers as they are fierce and bloodthirsty, and if this poor, -kindly-hearted woman was taken for a spy her doom would be sealed. - -But see the young queen she must, or little Weenah, her daughter; for -great though Benee's abilities were, he did not possess the -accomplishment of writing. - - ---- - -Dressed as one of the lowest of peasants, the mother of Weenah set -boldly out on her forlorn hope the very next day, and in the afternoon -she was within one mile of the palace itself. - -Here she hid herself in the jungle, and after eating a little fruit went -to sleep. - -The stars were still shining when she awoke, but she knew them all, and -those that were setting told her that day would soon break. - -To pass through the soldier-guards and enter the palace would, she knew, -be an utter impossibility. There was nothing for it but to wait with -patience, for her husband had told her that the queen rode out for a -scamper over the plains every forenoon. - -He had even told her the direction she usually took, not riding fast, -but with Weenah running by her side, keeping a long way ahead of her -lover guardian, whichever one of them might happen for the time being to -be the happy man. - -Benee's mother was as courageous as a mountain cat. She had a duty to -perform, and she meant to carry it out. - -Well, we are told in some old classic that fortune favours the brave. - -It does not always do so, but in this case, at all events, this good -woman was successful. - -At a certain part of the plain there were bushes close and thick enough, -and just here Leeboo with her little charger must pass if she came out -to-day at all. - -It was at this spot, then, that Weenah's mother concealed herself. - -Nor had she very long to wait, for soon the sound of the pony's hoofs -fell on her ear, beating a pleasant accompaniment to two sweet voices -raised in song. - -The Indian woman raised herself and peeped over the bushes. - -Yes, they were coming, and alone too, for Kaloomah could not run so fast -as Kalamazoo, and was a long way behind. - -With characteristic impulse Weenah rushed forward and was clasped for a -moment in her mother's arms. - -And, somewhat astonished, Leeboo immediately reined up. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI--THE PALE-FACE QUEEN HAS FLED - - -Leeboo, the young queen, could see that the woman was flurried and -excited. - -She stood with her face to the pony and one arm was held aloft in the -air. Her eyes were gleaming, and her hat had fallen over her back, -allowing her wealth of coal-black hair to escape. - -Weenah stood by the saddle. - -"I have that to say," exclaimed her mother, in her strangely musical -language, "that must be said speedily. If I am seen we are all doomed. -But listen, and listen intently. You are free if you are fortunate. -Liberty is at hand. Your friends are twenty miles down stream in camp. -Down the stream of Bitter Waters. Ride this way to-morrow, and when far -enough away take Weenah in your saddle, and gallop for your life into -the forest. Weenah will be your guide." - -So quickly did the woman vanish that for a few moments our heroine half -believed she must have been dreaming. - -But she pulled herself together at once, and now rode back to meet -Kaloomah. - -She was all smiles too. - -"Why waits poor Kaloomah here?" she said, in her softest sweetest tones. - -Kaloomah placed his hand on the saddle pommel, and panted somewhat. But -Kaloomah was in the seventh heaven. - -"Say--say--say 'poor Kaloomah' again," he muttered. - -"Poor Kaloomah! Poor dear Kaloomah!" - -She could even afford to place emphasis on the "dear", she was so happy. - -"Oh--ugh!" sighed the savage; "but to-morrow it may be 'poor dear -Kalamazoo!'" - -"Ah, you are jealous! A little forest bird is pecking, pecking at your -heart. But listen; to-morrow it shall not be Kalamazoo, but Kaloomah -once again." - -Well, I dare say that love-making is very much the same all over the -wide, wide world, and so we cannot even laugh at this cannibal if he did -bend rapturously down and kiss the toe of Leeboo's sandal-shaped -stirrup. - -"And now, Kaloomah," she added, "I would gather some wild flowers, and -listen for a little while to the soo-soo's song while you twine my wild -flowers into a garland. My little handmaiden, Weenah, will assist you. - -"But, Kaloomah!" she continued archly. - -"Yes, my moon-dream." - -"You must not make love to my maiden, else a little forest bird will -peck poor Leeboo's heart to pieces and Leeboo die." - - ---- - -I hardly think it would be putting it one whit too strongly to say that -the pale-face maiden queen had turned this savage's head. - -They all returned together at last to the palace, and the queen with her -little handmaiden retired to her chamber to dine. - -As to Kaloomah, the spirit of pride had got into him, and this is really -as difficult to get rid of as if one were possessed of an evil spirit. -So the chief, decorated with the garland of wild flowers that Leeboo the -queen had placed around his neck, could not resist the temptation to -parade himself on the plateau before Kalamazoo's tent. He wished the -prince to see him. And the prince did. - -The prince, moreover, was strongly tempted to rush forth, spear in hand, -and slay his rival where he stood. - -But he remembered in time that Kaloomah was not only a great chief but a -mighty warrior. Over and over again had he led the cannibal army -against the glens and valleys of distant highland chiefs. And he had -been ever victorious, his soldiers returning after a great slaughter of -the foe, laden with heads and hams, to hold nights and nights of fearful -orgie. - -Kalamazoo knew that Kaloomah was the people's favourite, and that if he -slew him, he himself would speedily be torn limb from limb. - -So he was content to gnash his own teeth, to count his mother's over and -over again, and to remain quiescent. - -It is seldom indeed that a savage is troubled with sleeplessness, but -that night poor Benee was far too anxious to slumber soundly. For he -knew not what another day might bring forth. It might be pregnant with -happiness for him and the young girls he loved so dearly, or it might -end in bloodshed and in death. - -What a glorious morning broke over the woodlands at last! Looking -eastwards Benee could note a strip of the deepest orange just above the -dark forest horizon. This faded into palest green, and above all was -ethereal blue, with just one or two rosy clouds. And westwards those -patches of snow in the hollow of the mighty Sierras were pink, with -purple shadows. - -And this innocent and unsophisticated savage bent himself low on his -knees and prayed to Him who is the author of all that is beautiful, to -bless his enterprise and take his little mistress safe away from this -blood-stained land of darkness and woe. - -He felt better when he rose to his feet. Then he entered the cottage -and had breakfast. - -"I will come again some day," he said, as his "mother" bade him a -tearful farewell. "I will come again and take Father and you to the -far-off happy land of the pale-faces." - -So he hied him away to the forest, looking back just once to wave his -hand. - -He well knew the road that Weenah and Leeboo--no, let us call her Peggy -once more--would take, if indeed they should succeed in escaping. - -He walked towards the river of Bitter Waters therefore, and, journeying -for some miles along its wild romantic banks, lay down to wait. - -Wild flowers trailed and climbed among the bushes where he hid; he saw -not their bright colours, he was scarcely sensible of their perfume. - -The soo-soo's song was sweet and plaintive; he heard it not. - -He was wholly absorbed in thought. So the sun got higher and higher, -and still he waited and watched--waited and hoped. - -Only, ever and anon he would place his ear against the hard ground and -listen intently. - -'Twas noon, and they came not. - -Something must have happened. Everything must have failed. - -What should he do? What could he do? - - ---- - -But hark! A joyful sound. It was that of a horse at the gallop, and it -was coming nearer and nearer. - -Benee grasped his rifle. - -It must be she. It must, and was poor Peggy, and Weenah was seated -behind her. - -He looked quickly to his repeating rifle, and patted the revolvers in -his belt. - -"Oh, Benee, Benee! how rejoiced I am!" - -"But are you followed, Missie Peggy?" - -"No, no, Benee, we have ridden clean and clear away from the savage -chief Kaloomah, and we fear no pursuit." - -"Ah, Missie! You not know de savage man. I do. Come. Make track now. - -"Weenah," he added. "Oh, my love, Weenah! But come not down. We mus' -fly foh de cannibal come in force." - -It seemed but child's play to Benee to trot lightly along beside the -pony. - -Love, no doubt, made the labour lighter. Besides, on faithful little -Dixie's back was all that Benee cared much for in the world, Weenah and -"Missie Peggy". - -True enough, he liked and respected Roland, and Dick as well, but they -were not all the world to him as these girls were. And ever since he -had found Roland and Peggy in the dark forest and rescued them, his -little mistress had been in his eyes an angel. Never an unkind word was -it possible for her to say to anyone, least of all--so he flattered -himself--to Benee. - -The poor, untutored savage felt, in his happiness, at this moment, that -it would be sweet to die were the loved ones only near to hold his hand. - -But he could die, too, fighting for them; ay, fighting to the end. Who -was he that would dare touch the ground where Peggy or Weenah trod if -he--Benee--were there? - -And so they journeyed on and on by the river's side and through jungle -and forest, never dreaming of danger or pursuit. - -Ah! but wild as a panther was Kaloomah now. - -When he found that he was baffled, befooled, deserted, then all his -fury--the fury of an untamed savage--boiled up from the bottom of his -heart. - -Love! Where was love now? It found no place in this wild chief's -heart; hate had supplanted it, and it was a hate that must be quenched -in blood. Yes, her blood! He would be revenged, and then--well then, -the sooner he should die after that the better. For his life's sun had -gone out, his days could only be days of darkness now. - -Yet how happy had he been only this morning, and how proud when he -stalked forth from his hut and passed that of Kalamazoo, still wearing -the wild flowers with which she had adorned him! - -He tore those wild flowers from his neck now, and scattered them to the -winds. - -Then, as fast and fleet as ever savage ran, he hied him back to the -palace. - -Few had more stentorian lungs than Kaloomah! - -"The queen has gone! The white queen has fled!" - -That shout awakened one thousand armed men to action, and in less than -an hour they were on the warpath. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII--THE FIGHT AT THE FORT - - -So toilsome was the road to trace, and so far away was the fortified -camp of our heroes, that the sun was almost setting before Benee arrived -with his precious charge. - -Why should I make any attempt to describe the meeting of Roland and Dick -with the long-lost Peggy? - -Roland and she had always been as brother and sister, and now that they -were once more united, all her joy found vent in a flood of tears, which -her brother did what he could to stem. - -It seemed hardly possible that she should be here safe and sound, and in -the presence of those who loved her so well and dearly. - -And here, too, was Brawn, who was delirious with joy, and honest Bill -with his meerschaum. - -"Oh, surely I shall not awake and find it all a dream!" she cried in -terror. "Awake and find myself still in that awful palace, with its -dreadful surroundings and the odour of death everywhere! Oh--h!" - -The girl shuddered. - -"Dear Peggy," said Dick tenderly, "this is no dream; you are with us -again, and we with you. All the past is as nothing. Let us live for -the future. Is that right, Roland?" - -"Yes, you must forget the past, Peggy," said Roland. "Dick is right. -The past shall be buried. We are young yet. The world is all before -us. So come, laugh, and be happy, Peggy." - -"And this charming child here, who is she?" said Dick. He alluded to -Weenah. - -"That is little Weenah, a daughter of the wilds, a child of the desert. -Nay, but no child after all, are you, Weenah?" - -Weenah bent her dark eyes on the ground. - -"I am nothing," she said. "I am nobody, only--Benee's." - -"But, Weenah," said Peggy, taking the girl by the hand, "oh, how I shall -miss you when you go!" - -"Go?" said Weenah wonderingly. - -"Yes, dear, you have a father and a mother, who are fond of you. Must -you not return soon to them?" - -"My father and my mother I love," replied Weenah. "And you I love, for -you have taught me to pray to the pale-face's God. You have taught me -many, many things that are good and beautiful. My life now is all joy -and brightness, and so, though I love my mother and my father, oh! bid -me not to leave you." - -All this was spoken in the language of the country. It was Greek to -those around them, but even Bill could see that the dark-eyed maiden was -pleading for something, for her hand was in Peggy's, her eyes upon hers. - - ---- - -It was just at this moment that scouts came hurrying in from the forest, -bringing news that was startling enough, as well as surprising. - -These men had come speedily in, almost as fleet of foot as deer, and the -word they brought was that the savages, at least six hundred strong, -were not more than three hours distant. - -Roland showed no excitement, whatever he might feel. Nor did Dick. Yet -both were ready for action. - -Burly Bill, who had been quietly smoking a little way off, put his great -thumb in the bowl of his meerschaum, and stowed away that faithful -companion of his in his coat-pocket. - -Can a young fellow still in his teens, and whom we older men are all too -apt to sneer at as a mere boy, prove himself a good general. He may and -he can, if he has grit in him and a head of some sort surmounting his -shoulders. - -From what followed I think Roland proved that he was in possession of -both. - -Well, he had descended from a long line of hardy Cornish ancestors, and -there is more in good blood than we are apt to believe. - -He came to the front now at all events, and Dick and Bill, to say -nothing of Benee, Rodrigo, and the other canoe captains, were ready to -obey his every command. - -Roland called a council of war at once, and it did not take long to come -to a decision. - -Our chief hero was the principal speaker. But brave men do not lose -much time in words. - -"Boys," he said, "we've got to fight these rascally savages. That's so, -I think?" - -"That's so," was the chorus. - -"Well, and we've got to beat them, too. We want to give them something -that shall keep them both quiet and civil until we can afford to send -out a few missionaries to improve their morals. - -"Now, Rodrigo, I cannot force you to fight." - -"Force, sir? I need no force. Command me." - -"Well, I will. I wish to outflank these beggars. You and our Indians, -with Benee as your guide, are just the men to do so. - -"The moon will be up in another hour. It will be the harvest-moon in -England. The harvest-moon here, too--but a harvest, alas! of blood. - -"Now, Benee," he continued, "as soon as we are ready, guide these men -with Captain Rodrigo for some distance down-stream, then curl round the -savages, and when they begin to retreat, or even before that, attack -them in the rear. Good luck to you!" - -As silently as ghosts two hundred and fifty well-armed Indians, a short -time after Roland made that brave little speech, glided down the brow of -the hill, and disappeared in the woods beyond. - -Though our heroes listened, they could not hear a sound, not even the -crackling of a bush or broken branch. - -Soon the moon glared red through the topmost boughs of the far-off -trees, and flooded all the land with a light almost as bright as day. -The stars above, that before had glittered on the river's rippling -breast, and the stars beneath--those wondrous flitting -fire-insects--paled before its beams, and the night-birds sought for -shelter in caves among the rocks. So over all the prairie and woodlands -there fell a stillness that was almost oppressive. It was as if Nature -held her breath, expectant of the fight that was to follow. - -Nor was that fight very long delayed. But it must have been well on -towards midnight before the first indication of an approaching foe was -made manifest. - -Only a long, mournful hoot, away in the bush, and bearing a close -resemblance to that of the owl. - -It was repeated here and there from different quarters, and our heroes -knew that an attack was imminent. - -There was in the centre of the camp a roomy cave. In this all stores had -been placed, with water enough for a night at all events, and here were -Peggy and Weenah safely guarded by Brawn. Roland had managed to make -the darkness visible by lighting two candles and placing them on the -wall. - -In a smaller cave was Peter, and as he had given evidence lately of a -great desire to escape, the boys had taken the liberty to rope him. - -"You shall live to repent this," hissed the man through his teeth. - -He had thrown overboard all his plausibility now, and assumed his -natural self--the dangerous villain. - -"Have a care," replied Dick, "or you will not live long enough to repent -of anything." - -On one side of the camp was the river, down under a cliff of -considerable height. It was very quiet and sluggish just here, and its -gentle whispering was no louder than a light breeze sighing through -forest trees. - -There were, therefore, really only three sides of the parapet and hill -to defend. - -And now Burly Bill's quick ear caught the sound of rustling down below. - -"The savages are on us," he said quietly. - -"Then give them a volley to begin with," answered Roland. - -The white men started down scores of huge stones; but this was more for -the purpose of bringing the savages into sight than with a view to wound -or kill any. - -It had the desired effect, and probably another, for the cannibals must -have believed the pale-faces had no other means of defence. - -They were seen now in the bright moonlight scrambling up-hill in scores, -with knives in their mouths and spears on their backs. - -"Fire straight and steadily, men," cried the young chief, Roland. "Fire -independently, and every man at the enemy in front of him." - -A well-aimed and rattling volley, followed by another and another, made -the Indians pause. The number of dead and wounded was great, and -impeded the progress of those who would have rushed up and on. - -Volley after volley was now poured into the savage ranks, but they came -pressing up from behind as black and fierce and numerous as a colony of -mountain-ants. - -Their yelling and war-cries were terrible to hear. - -But the continuous volley-firing still kept them at bay. - -"The rockets, Dick, are they ready?" - -"Yes, captain, all ready." - -"Try the effect of these." - -It was a fearful sight to witness those dread weapons of warfare tear -through the ranks of these shrieking demons. - -Death and mutilation was dealt on every side, and the fire from the -ramparts grew fiercer and fiercer. - -Yet so terrible in their battle-wrath are these cannibals, that--well -our heroes knew--if they were to scale the ramparts, even the white men -would not be able to stand against them. - -Then the fight would degenerate into a massacre, and this would be -followed by an orgie too awful to contemplate. - -At this moment there could not have been fewer than five hundred savages -striving to capture the little hill on which stood the camp, and -Roland's men in all were barely eighty. Some who had exposed themselves -were speedily brought down with poisoned arrows, and already lay -writhing in the agonies of spasmodic death. - -But see, led on by the chief Kaloomah himself, who seems to bear a -charmed life, the foremost ranks of those sable warriors have already -all but gained footing on the ramparts, while with axe and adze the -pale-faces endeavour to repel them. - -In vain! - -Kaloomah--great knife in hand--and at least a score of his braves have -effected an entrance, and the whites, though fighting bravely, are being -pushed, if not driven back. - -It is a terrible moment! - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII--THE DREAM AND THE TERROR! - - -Far more acute in hearing are these children of the wilds than any white -man who ever lived, and now, just as hope was beginning to die out of -even Roland's heart, a sudden movement on the part of the savages who -had gained admittance caused him to marvel. - -More quickly than they had entered, back they sprang towards the -parapet, and on gazing after them, our heroes found that the hill-sides -were clear. - -It was evident, however, that a great battle was going on down beneath -on the prairie. - -Explanation is hardly needed. - -Rodrigo's men, guided by Benee, had outflanked--nay, even -surrounded--the foe, and with well-aimed volleys had thrust them back -and back towards the river, into which, with wild agonizing shouts, all -that was left of Kaloomah's army was driven. - -They were excellent swimmers, the 'gators were absent from this river, -and doubtless hundreds of fugitives would find their way back into their -own dark land to tell how well and bravely the pale-faces can fight. - -But Kaloomah, where is he? - -Intent on revenge, even while the battle raged the fiercest and the -whites were being driven back, his quick eye caught the glimmer of the -candle-light in the cave. - -Leeboo was there, he told himself, and the false witch Weenah. - -He shortened his knife, and made a rush for the entrance. - -"Hab--a--rabb--rr--rr--ow!" That was the voice of the great wolf-hound, -as he sprang on the would-be assassin and pinned him to the ground. - -Kaloomah's knife dropped from his hand as he tried to free himself. - -But Brawn had him by the throat now, and had not brave Peggy sprung to -the assistance of the savage, the dog would have torn the windpipe from -his neck. - -But Kaloomah was prisoner, and when the fight was all over, the dog was -released from duty, and the chief was bound hand and foot and placed in -the other cave beside Peter. - -This cave, which had thus been turned into a prison, possessed an -entrance at the side, a kind of doorway through the dark rocks, and a -great hole at the top, through which daylight, or even moonlight, could -stream. At some not very distant date it had evidently been used as a -hut, and must have been the scene of many a fearful cannibal orgie, for -scores of human skulls were heaped up in corners, and calcined bones -were also found. Altogether, therefore, an unhallowed kind of place, -and eerie beyond conception. - -It is as well to tell the truth concerning the battle on the hill-top, -ghastly though it may appear. There were no wounded men there, for even -in the thick of the fight the savages not only slew the white men who -dropped, but their own maimed as well. - -So long as the brave fellows under Roland and Dick held the ramparts, -and poured their volleys into the ranks of the enemy beneath, scarcely a -white man was hurt; but when the battlements were carried by storm, then -the havoc of war commenced in earnest; and at daylight a great deep -trench was excavated, and in this no fewer than eleven white men were -placed, side by side. - -A simple prayer was said, then a hymn was sung--a sad dirge-like hymn to -that sacred air called "Martyrdom", which has risen in olden times from -many a Scottish battle-field, where the heather was dripping blood. I -take my fiddle and play it now, and that mournful scene rises up before -me, in which the white men crowd around the long quiet grave, where -their late companions lie sleeping in the tomb. - -Every head is bared in the morning sunshine, every eye is wet with -tears. - -It is Bill himself who leads the melody. - -Then clods are gently thrown upon the dead, and soon the grave is -filled. - - ---- - -There was not the slightest apprehension now that the battle would be -renewed, and so all the day was spent in getting ready for the long -march back to the spot where, under the charge of one of the captains -and his faithful peons, the great canoes had been left. - -Among the stores brought here to camp--the suggestion had emanated from -Roland's mother and Beeboo--was a chest containing many changes of -raiment and dresses belonging to Peggy. In the cave, then, both she and -Weenah conducted their toilet, and when, some time after, and just as -breakfast was about to be served, they both came out, it would have been -difficult, indeed, to keep from exclamations of surprise. - -Even Benee gave way to his excitement, and, seizing Weenah, held her for -a moment high in air. - -"I rejoice foh true!" he cried. "All ober my heart go flapperty-flap. -Oh, Weenah! you am now all same one red pale-face lady." - -Dick thought Peggy, with her bonnie sun-tanned face, more lovely now -than ever he had seen her. - - ---- - -But while they are breakfasting, and while the men are quietly but -busily engaged getting the stores down-hill, let us take a peep into the -cave where the prisoners are. - -When Kaloomah was thrust into the cave, Peter was fast asleep. Of late -he had become utterly tired and careless of life. Was his not a wrecked -existence from beginning to end? This was a question that he oftentimes -asked himself sadly enough. - -During the fight that had raged so long and fiercely he had remained -perfectly passive. What was it to him who won or who lost? If the -Indians won, he would speedily be put out of pain. If the white men -were the victors--well, he would probably die just the same. At all -events, life was not worth having now. - -Then, when the lull of battle came, when the wild shrieks and shouting -were over, and when the rattling of musketry was no longer heard, he -felt utterly tired. He would sleep, he told himself, and what cared he -if it should be - - "The sleep that knows not breaking, - Morn of toil or night of waking"? - - -The cords that bound him hurt a little, but he would not feel their -pressure when--he slept. - -His was not a dreamless sleep by any means, though a long one. - -His old, old life seemed to rise up before him. He was back again in -England--dear old England! He was a clerk, a confidential clerk. - -He had no care, no complications, and he was happy. Happy in the love of -a sweet girl who adored him; the girl that he would have made his wife. -Poor? Yes, both were; but oh! when one has innocence and sweet -contentment, love can bloom in a garret. - -Yet envy of the rich began to fill his soul. The world was badly -divided. Why had he to tread the streets day after day with muddy boots -to his office, and back to his dingy home after long hours of toil and -drudgery at the desk? - -Oh for comfort! Oh for riches! - -The girl that was to be his was more beautiful than many who lolled in -cushioned carriages, with liveried servants to attend their beck and -call. - -So his dream went on, and dreams are but half-waking thoughts. - -But it changes now! - -He sees Mary his sweetheart, wan and pale, with tears in her eyes for -him whose voice she may never hear again. - -For the tempter has come with gold and with golden promises. - -And he has fallen! - -Other men have fallen before. Why not he when so much was to be gained? -So much of--nay, not of glory, but of gold. What is it that gold cannot -do? - -A conscience? Yes, he had possessed one once. But this tempter had -laughed heartily when he talked of so old-fashioned a possession. It -was all a matter of business. - -Behold those wealthy men who glide past in their beautiful landaus. Did -they have consciences? If they did, then, instead of a town and country -house, their home would soon be the garret vile in some back slum in -London. - -Again the dream changes. To the fearful and awful now. For, stretched -out before him is Mary, wan and worn--Mary, DEAD! - -He awakes with a shriek, and sits up with his back against the black -rock. - -His hand touches something cold. It is a skull, and he shudders as he -thrusts it away. - -But is he awake? He lifts his fettered hands and rubs his eyes. - -He gazes in terror at someone that is sitting, just as he is, with his -back against the wall--and asleep. - -The rough dress is all disarranged, and the brown hands are covered with -blood. It is an awful vision. - -He shuts his eyes a moment, but when he opens them again the man is -still there! The terror! - -The morning sun is glimmering in and falling directly on the awful -sleeping face. - -He sits bolt upright now and leans forward. - -"Kaloomah!" he cries. "Kaloomah!" - -And his own voice seems to belong to some spirit behind those prison -walls. - -But the terror awakes. - -And the eyes of the two men meet. - -"Don Pedro! You here?" - -"Kaloomah. I am." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX--EASTWARD HO! FOR MERRIE ENGLAND - - -Captain Roland St. Clair, as he was called by his men, was busy along -with Dick and Bill in superintending the sending-off of all heavy -baggage down-stream, when a man came up and saluted him. - -"Well, Harris?" - -"The prisoner Peter desires to speak with you, sir, in the presence of -two witnesses. He wished me to request you to bring paper, pen, and -ink. It is his desire that you should take his deposition." - -"Deposition, Harris? But the man is not dying." - -"Well, perhaps not, sir. I only tell you what he says." - -"I will be in his cell in less than twenty minutes, Harris." - -"Dick," said Roland, at the appointed time, "there is some mystery here. -Come with me, and you also, Bill." - -"What I have to say must be said briefly and quickly," said Peter, -sitting up. "I will not give myself the pain," he added, "to think very -much about the past. It is all too dark and horrible. But I make this -confession, unasked for and being still in possession of all my -faculties and reasoning power." - -He spoke very slowly, and Dick wrote down the confession as he made it. - -"I am guilty, gentlemen. Dare I say 'with extenuating circumstances'? -That, however, will be for you to consider. As the matter stands I do -not beg for my life, but rather that you should deal with me as I -deserve to be treated. - -"Death, believe me, gentlemen, is in my case preferable to life. But -listen and judge for yourselves, and if parts of my story need -confirmation, behold yonder is Kaloomah, and he it was whom I hired to -carry your adopted sister away, where in all human probability she could -never more be heard of again. Have you got all that down?" - -"I have," said Dick. - -"But," said Roland, "what reason had you to take so terrible a revenge -on those who never harmed you, if revenge indeed it was?" - -"It was not revenge. What I did, I did for greed of gold. Listen. - -"I was happy in England, and had I only been content, I might now have -been married and in comfort, but I fell, and am now the heart-broken -villain you see before you. - -"You know the will your uncle made, Mr. St. Clair?" - -"I have only heard of it." - -"It was I who copied it for my master, the wretched solicitor. - -"I stole that copy and re-copied it, and sold it to the only man whom it -could benefit, and that was your Uncle John." - -"My Uncle John? He who sent you out to my poor, dear father?" - -"The same. But let me hurry on. The real will is still in possession -of the solicitor, and it gives all the estates of Burnley Hall, in -Cornwall, to John, in the event of Peggy's death." - -"I begin to see," said Dick. - -"My reward was to have been great, if I managed the affair properly. I -have never had it, and, alas! I need it not now. - -"But," he continued, "your villainous uncle was too great a coward to -have Peggy murdered. His last words to me on board the steamer before I -sailed were: 'Remember--not one single drop of blood shed.' - -"I might have done worse than even I did, but these were the words that -instigated my vile plot, of which I now most heartily repent. All I had -to do was to get apparent proof of Peggy's death." - -"And my Uncle John now holds the estates of Burnley Hall? Is that so?" - -"He does. The solicitor could not help but produce the will, on hearing -of Peggy's capture and death. - -"That, then, is my story, gentlemen. Before Heaven I swear it is all -true. It is, moreover, my deposition, for I already feel the cold -shadow of death creeping over me. Yes, I will sign it." - -He did so. - -"I makee sign too," said Kaloomah. - -"That is the man whom I hired to do the deed," said Peter again. - -And Kaloomah made his mark. - -"I feel easier now, gentlemen" continued Peter. "But leave me a while. -I would sleep." - - ---- - -Kaloomah had all a savage's love for the horrible, and he was merely an -interested spectator of the tragedy that followed. - -Between him and Peter lie two poison-tipped arrows. - -At first Peter looks at them like one dazed. Then he glances upwards at -the glorious sunshine streaming in through the opening. - -Nearer and nearer he now creeps to those arrows! - -Nearer and nearer! - -Now he positions them with his manacled hands. - -Then strikes. - -In half an hour's time, when Burly Bill entered the cave to inform the -prisoners that it was time for them to be on the road, he started back -in horror. - -Peter, fearfully contorted, lay on the floor of the cave, dead. - - ---- - -Some weeks after this the party found themselves once more near to the -banks of the rapid Madeira. - -Everything had gone well with those captains and peons whom they had -left behind, and now every preparation was made to descend the stream -with all possible speed, consonant with safety. - -They had taken Kaloomah thus far, lest he should return and bring -another army to attack them. - -And now a kind of drum-head court-martial was held on this wild chief, -at which even Charlie and Benee were present. - -"I really don't see," said Roland, "what good has come of saddling -ourselves with a savage." - -"No, I agree with you, Roll," said Dick. "Peter has gone to his -account, and really this Kaloomah has been more sinned against than he -has sinned." - -"What would you advise, Bill?" - -"Why, I'd give him a rousing kick and let him go." - -"And you Benee?" - -"I go for hangee he." - -"Charlie, what would you do?" - -Charlie was smiling and rubbing his hands; it was evident he had -formulated some plan that satisfied himself. - -"I tie dat savage to one biggee stake all by de ribber, den watch de -'gator come, chumpee, chumpee he." - -But a more merciful plan was adopted. Kaloomah evidently expected -death, but when Roland himself cut his bonds and pointed to the west, -the savage gave just one wild whoop and yell, and next moment he had -disappeared in the forest. - - ---- - -Were I beginning a story instead of ending one, I should not be able to -resist the temptation to describe that voyage down the beautiful -Madeira. - -It must suffice to say that it was all one long and happy picnic. - -Just one grief, however, had been Peggy's at the start. Poor Dixie, the -pony, must be left behind. - -She kissed his forehead as she bade him good-bye, and her face was wet -with tears as she turned her back to her favourite. - -Roland did what he could to comfort her. - -"Dixie will soon be as happy as any horse can be," he said. "He will -find companions, and will live a long, long time in the wilds of this -beautiful land. So you must not grieve." - - ---- - -There are times when people in this world are so inexpressibly happy -that they cannot wish evil to happen even to their greatest enemies. -They feel that they would like every creature, every being on earth, to -be happy also. - -Surely it is with some such spirit that angels and saints in heaven are -imbued. - -Had you been on board the steamship _Panama_ as she was swiftly -ploughing her way through the wide blue sea that separates Old England -from South America, from Pará and the mouths of the mighty Amazon, you -could not have been otherwise than struck with the evident contentment -and happiness of a group of saloon passengers there. Whether walking -the quarter-deck, or seated on chairs under the awning, or early in the -morning surrounding their own special little breakfast-table, pleasure -beamed in every eye, joy in every face. - -Who were they? Listen and I shall tell you. - -There was Roland, Dick, Roland's sweet-faced mother, Peggy; and last, -but certainly not least in size at all events, there was dark-skinned -jolly-looking Burly Bill himself. - -But Burly Bill did not obtrude his company too much on the younger -folks. He was fond of walking on the bridge and talking to the officer -on duty. Fond, too, of blowing a cloud from his lips as they dallied -with his great meerschaum. Fond of telling a good story, but fonder -still of listening to one, and often chuckling over it till he appeared -quite apoplectic. - -There was someone else on board who must be mentioned. And this was -Dixie, the pony! - -Did he remain on the banks of the Madeira? Not he. For by some means -or other he found his way--so marvellous is the homing instinct in -animals--back to the old plantation long before Roland and his little -army, and was the first to run out to meet Peggy and get a kiss on his -soft warm snout. - -Need I add that Brawn was one of the passengers? And a happy dog he was, -and always ready for a lark when the sailors chose to throw a -belaying-pin for him. - -Dick had had a grief to face when he returned. - -His uncle was dead. So he determined--as did Roland with his -plantation--to sell off and return to England, for a time at all events. - -The two estates are now worked by a "Company Ltd.", but Jake Solomons is -head overseer. - -Benee, who has married his "moon-dream", little Weenah, is second in -command, and right merry of a morning is the boom and the song of the -old buzz-saw. - - ---- - -So happy, then, were Roland and Dick and Peggy that they concluded they -would not be too hard on wicked Uncle John. - -This wicked Uncle John went into retirement after the arrival of our -heroes and heroine. He might have been sent into retirement of quite a -different sort if Roland had cared to press matters. - -Peggy got all her own again. She is now Mrs. Temple, and Dick and she -are beloved by all the tenantry--yes, and by all the county gentry and -farmer folks round and round. - -I had almost forgotten to say a last word about Beeboo. She is Mrs. -Temple's chief servant, and a right happy body is Beeboo, and Burly -Billy is estate manager. - -Now, if any of my readers want a special treat, let him or her try to -get an invitation to spend Christmas at Burnley Old Hall. - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN FAR BOLIVIA *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39728 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. 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