CHAPTER XXII--EVENINGS BY THE CAMP FIRE
The moorings were speedily slipped, and by the light of the blazingforest the peons bent sturdily to their paddles, and the canoe wentdancing 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 bythe largest canoe.
That burning forest formed a scene which never could be forgotten. Fromthe south side, where the boats were speedily rushing down the stream ontheir way to the Madeira, and from which came the light wind that wasnow blowing, the flames leaned over as it were, instead of ascendinghigh 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 luridtongues of fire darted high as the zenith, playing with the clouds ofsmoke or licking them up.
The noise was indescribable, yet above the roaring and the cracklingcould be heard the shouts of the maddened savages, as they sought exitfrom the hell around them.
There was no escape except by the Madeira's bank, and to get even atthis they had to dash through the burning bushes.
Alas! Charlie and his assistants had done their work all too well, andI fear that one-half of the cannibals were smothered, dragged down byalligators, or found a watery grave.
As the canoes shot past, the heat was terrible, and next morning atdaybreak, when they were far up the river, towards the falls, Roland andhis friend were surprised to notice that the palm-leaves which coveredthe cabin were brown and scorched.
On the whole the experience they had gained of the ferocity and fightingabilities of these Paynee cannibals was such as they were not likely toforget.
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During all this period of excitement the suspect Peter had remainedperfectly quiescent. Indeed he seemed now quite apathetic, taking verylittle notice of anything around him, and eating the food placed beforehim in a way that was almost mechanical. Neither Roland nor Dick hadtaken much heed of him till now. When, however, they observed hisstrange demeanour they took council together and determined that thewatch over him should be made extra strict, lest he should springoverboard and be drowned.
Roland may seem to have been harsh with Mr. Peter. But he only tookproper precautions, and more than once he assured Dick that if the man'sinnocence were proved he would recompense him a hundred-fold.
"But," added Dick meaningly, "if he is really guilty of the terriblecrime we impute to him, he cannot be punished too severely."
The expedition had that afternoon to land their stores once more toavoid rapids, and a little before sunset they encamped near to the edgeof a beautiful wood well back from the banks of the Madeira.
The night passed without adventure of any kind, and everyone awoke asfresh and full of life and go as the larks that climb the sky to meetthe morning sun.
Another hard day's paddling and towing and portage, and they foundthemselves high above the Madeira Falls in smooth water, and at theentrance to a kind of bay which formed the mouth or confluence of thetwo rivers, called Beni and Madro de Dios. This last is called theMaya-tata by the Bolivians.
It is a beautiful stream, overhung by hill and forest, and rises fullytwo hundred miles southward and west from a thousand little rivuletsthat drain the marvellous mountains of Karavaya.
The Beni joins this river about ten or twelve miles above the banks ofthe Madeira. It lies farther to the south and the east, and may be saidto rise in the La Paz district itself, where it is called the Rio de laPaz.
To the north-west of both these big rivers lies the great unexploredregion, the land of the Bolivian and Peruvian cannibals.
Small need have we to continue to hunt and shoot in Africa, wildlyinteresting though the country is, when such a marvellous tract of tensof thousands of square miles is hidden here, all unvisited as yet by asingle British explorer.
And what splendid possibilities for travel and adventure are here! Aland larger than Great Britain, France, and Ireland thrown together,which no one knows anything about; a land rich in forest and prairie; aland the mineral wealth of which is virtually inexhaustible; a land ofbeauty; a land of lake and stream, of hills and rocks and verdantprairie, and a veritable land of flowers!
A land, it is true, where wild beasts lurk and prowl, and where unknowntribes of savages wander hither and thither and hunt and fight, but allas free as the wind that wantons through their forest trees.
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The boats were paddled several miles up-stream to a place where thescenery was more open.
At every bend and reach of the river Roland expected to find Beneewaiting for them. Perhaps he had built a hut and was living byfishing-rod and gun.
But no Benee was visible and no hut.
Together the two friends, Roland and Dick, accompanied by Charlie andBrawn, took their way across the plain and through the scrub, towards alofty, cone-shaped hill that seemed to dominate all the scenery in itsimmediate neighbourhood.
To the very top of this mountain they climbed, agreed between themselvesnot to look back until they had reached the summit, in order that thewild beauty of this lone lorn land should burst upon them in all itsglory, 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 ofmountain, forest, and stream, with many a beautiful lake glitteringsilvery 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 wecannot proceed until poor Benee comes. He ought to have been here beforenow. But what adventures and dangers he may have had to pass throughHeaven and himself only know."
"Charlie," he continued, "in the event of Benee not turning up withinthe next week or two, remember the task of guiding us to the very palacegates of the cannibal king devolves upon you."
"You speakee me too muchee fly-high Englese," said Charlie. "ButCharlie he thinkee he understand. You wantee me takee you to de king'sgate. I can do."
"That is enough, Charlie, and we can trust you. You have hitherto beenvery 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 cameup."
"We'll try, Roland, old man."
All preparations were now made to camp near to the river, where thecanoes were moored.
They did not expect any attack by armed Indians, nevertheless it wasdeemed well to be on the safe side.
Spades and shovels were accordingly brought into use, and even beforesunset a deep trench and embankment were thrown up around the tents, andat nightfall sentries were posted at each corner.
For a few days the weather was so cold and stormy that there was littlecomfort 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 springsbursting and bubbling up through limestone rocks, and quartz as white asthe 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 alivewith fish, and so unsophisticated were these that they sprang at a hookif it were baited only with a morsel of glittering mica picked off arock.
What with fish and fowl and flesh of small deer, little wild pigs andthe young of the tapir, there would be very little fear of starvationshould they remain here for a hundred years.
Far up the Maya-tata canoe excursions were made, and at every bend ofthis strange river the scenery seemed more deli
ghtfully wild, silent,and beautiful.
"Heigh-ho!" said Dick one day. "I think I should not mind living herefor 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 loseheart, 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 alwaysdo in these regions, and at times the long forenights were somewhatirksome.
I have not said much about the captains of the great canoes. With oneexception, these were half-castes, and spoke but little.
The exception was Don Rodrigo, who in his time had been a greattraveller.
He was a man of about fifty, strongly built, but as wiry withal as anArab of the desert.
Genial was he too, and while yarning or playing cards--the cigarette forever in his mouth, sometimes even two--there was always a pleasant smileplaying around his mouth and eyes.
He liked our young heroes, and they trusted him. Indeed, Brawn had takento 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 honesthead down on Rodrigo's knee with a sigh of satisfaction and go off tosleep.
Rodrigo could sing a good Spanish song, and had a sweet melodious voicethat would have gone excellently well with a guitar accompaniment; butguitar there was none.
Versatile and clever, nevertheless, was Rodrigo, and he had manufactureda kind of musical instrument composed of pieces of glass and hard woodhung on tape bands across a board. While he sang, Rodrigo used to beata charming accompaniment with little pith hammers.
Some of his songs were very merry indeed and very droll, and all handsused 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 along 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 storiesof his wild and adventurous life in the bush, which were listened towith much pleasure. On the other hand, Rodrigo had been everywhereapparently, and done everything, so that he was the chief story-teller.
The man's English was fairly good, with just a little of the Peruvianlabial accent, which really added to its attractiveness, while at timeshe affected the Mexican drawl.
Around the camp-fire I have seldom or never known what may be calledsystematic yarn-spinning. Everything comes spontaneously, one simpleyarn or wild adventure leading up to the other. If now and then a songintervenes, all the better, and all the more likely is one to spend apleasant evening either in camp or in galley on board ship.
Don Rodrigo did at times let our heroes have some tales that made theirscalps creep, but they liked him best when he was giving them simplenarratives of travel, and for this reason: they wanted to learn all theycould about the country in which they now were.
And Rodrigo knew it well, even from Arauco on the western shore to thegreat marsh-lands of the Paraguay or the mountain fastnesses ofAlbuquerque on the east.
But the range of Rodrigo's travels was not bounded by Brazil, or thegreat Pacific Ocean itself. He had been a cow-boy in Mexico; he hadbolo'd guanacos on the Pampas; he had wandered among the Patagonians, oron fleet horses scoured their wondrous plains; he had dwelt in thecities, or call them "towns", if so minded, that border the northernshores of the Straits of Magellan; he had even visited Tierra delFuego--the land of fire--and from the black boats of savages had helpedto spear the silken-coated otters of those wild and stormy seas; and hehad sailed for years among the glorious sunlit islands of the SouthernPacific.
"As to far Bolivia," he said one evening, while his eyes followed therings of pale-blue smoke he emitted as they rose to the tent-roof. "Asto far Bolivia, dear boys, well, you've seen a good slice of the wilderregions of it, but it is to La Paz you must some day go, and to thesplendid fresh-water ocean called the Titicaca.
"Lads, I never measured it, but, roughly guessing, I should say that itis over one hundred miles in length, and in some places fifty wide."
"Wait one moment," said Burly Bill, "this is getting interesting, but mymeerschaum wants to be loaded."
"Now," he added, a few minutes after, "just fire away, my friend."