CHAPTER XXVII
Human Heads Still Dripping!
The sight that Bob beheld was one that few hunters and scientists havethe opportunity of seeing. Strange sights were common enough in alllittle-known lands, but this was indeed a wonder of wonders.
Not thirty feet in the air a bird resembling an eagle was carrying ahalf-grown tapir with apparently perfect ease, although the tapir wasthree times heavier than itself. The tapir was very much alive, asindicated by its writhing movements, but these availed it nothing. Itmight as well have been caught in an iron vise.
For several minutes Bob stared spellbound, taken completely aback.
Finally he called himself to action and raised his rifle.
"Dad and Mr. Lewis would no doubt welcome the addition of such anunusual specimen as this eagle," he thought and then pulled thetrigger.
The report of the gun was immediately followed by the dropping of thebird and its prey. It fluttered about for a moment and then lay still.The tapir had been killed instantly by the fall.
Much to Bob's surprise, the bird could be lifted easily, and hehastened on to the Indian settlement, confident that the naturalistswould nearly throw a fit over the strange eagle.
And he thought right. Mr. Holton and Mr. Lewis exclaimed in delightand surprise when they caught sight of Bob and the strange creature hewas carrying.
"Where did you ever find it?" asked Mr. Lewis, and Bob was forced totell of the entire experience.
"The great hairy eagle," pronounced Mr. Holton, when the youth hadfinished. "I thought they were confined to the jungles of Guiana,didn't you, Ben?" he asked of Joe's father.
"Yes," was the reply. "Never heard of their being found here. Such isunusual indeed. The claws are the most powerful of any known bird."
But there was little time for further examining the specimen, for thewounded Indians needed treatment. The member of the crew was lookedafter first, and then they turned to the chief's men, many of whomwere seriously wounded. As for those who had been struck by poisonedarrows, treatment was unnecessary, for death had set in long before.
The better part of an hour was spent in giving first-aid to theunfortunate savages, and in the end they felt that a large number oflives had been saved by their actions.
"But don't think that the natives have no cure for human ills," saidProfessor Bigelow. "The chances are that they know of many remediesthat surpass those of civilization in curing properties."
When the task was completed, the Indians invited the whites to come inthe main hut and participate in a feast in honor of their ability todrive off the hostile invaders. The invitation was accepted at once,for the explorers were all very hungry.
"Wonder what they'll give us to eat?" asked Joe, as they went into thethatched hut.
"Perhaps it'll be better not to know," Bob grinned.
Whatever it was, however, it tasted good, and they ate heartily ofeverything.
"Now I'm going to get in touch with the chief, whose name I recentlylearned is Reemikuk," announced Professor Bigelow. "But first,however, I must have my typewriter. That means a trip to the boats."
"And while he's doing that, Mr. Lewis and I can have a look about thevillage," Bob's father said. "Perhaps you boys can show us the placesand things of interest. Will you do it?"
"To be sure we will," returned Joe. "But first," he said with a grimsmile, "you must prepare yourselves to see things that areunpleasant."
"What do you mean?" his father demanded.
For answer the youths led the way to the trophy house and its hideouscontents.
Impulsively the naturalists shrank back in disgust at the scene. Neverhad they laid eyes on such a place of horror before.
"To think," muttered Mr. Lewis, "that even these wild people could dosuch hideous things!"
But despite the gruesomeness of the place they spent several minutesthere, unable to tear themselves away from its terrible fascination.
At last Mr. Holton made for the outside.
"Now for something more pleasant," he said. "What is there, boys?"
"Plenty," answered Joe. "There are games and baskets and carvingsand...."
All the remainder of that day was spent in examining the many articlesof interest made by the simple savages.
When at last they went back to the hut that was to be theirs duringtheir stay at the village, they found the professor in earnestconversation with the chief and a witch doctor.
The Indians were talking slowly, so that the scientist could pick upevery word. He glanced up at the other whites only for a moment, sodeeply engrossed was he in what the savages were telling him.
"He seems to be enjoying himself immensely," observed Joe aside to hischum.
"No doubt about it," Bob replied. "And look how the Indians areregarding the typewriter. Probably think it's another of the whites'magics."
Professor Bigelow _was_ enjoying himself. Every strange custom of thesavages appealed to him as a wonderful item to put in the book heintended to write about the primitive inhabitants of these wildregions. But two days later something happened that, althoughconsidered a very interesting custom by the anthropologist, was not tothe liking of the other whites. A band of twenty-five warriors hadgone into the upper reaches of the river several days before, and nowthey returned laden with--human heads!
"Ugh! Me for the hut," said Bob, a sickly feeling creeping over him ashe viewed the ghastly trophies.
And the others, with the exception of Professor Bigelow, felt the sameway. The anthropologist, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying theterrible scene.
"How thrilling a custom!" he said to his friends that night, as theyprepared to retire.
For answer the others only groaned.
But if the explorers thought the mere carrying in of human heads wasgruesome, they were to witness something still more terrible before aweek would pass.
CHAPTER XXVIII
The Forced Get-away
"Bob!"
"Joe!"
"Did you see it?"
"Yes. Human bones! These savages are _cannibals_!"
It was night--a dark, lowering night. The moon was nowhere in sight.Not a star twinkled down from the heavy jungle sky. Huge, roaringfires blazed in front of the chief's large hut, while about themdanced scores of painted savages, shouting and screaming andgesticulating.
It was a scene wild enough to strike terror to the heart of anyone.Bob and Joe gazed fearfully into the raging mob, wondering if thelives of them and their companions would be taken for the feast.
The boys moved over to their elders, who were standing at the otherside of their thatched dwelling.
"Cannibals!" Professor Bigelow was muttering. He had seen too.
Mr. Holton and Mr. Lewis nodded, on their faces a grave expression.They were so taken aback as to be almost speechless.
"I think perhaps we had better get away from here," said theprofessor, who, although deeply attentive to scientific work, knewwhen he was in a dangerous situation. "I know enough of the ways ofprimitive people to surmise what they'll probably do to us if we stay.Their appetites for human flesh will be so stimulated that they willno doubt kill us also. Lucky that this happened as late as it did. Iwouldn't have wanted to leave so soon if I had not secured about allthe information there is to be obtained about them."
Just before leaving, Bob and Joe got out their cameras and took motionpictures of the gruesome feast, and in the end they were almostconvinced that nothing of this kind had ever been shown on the silverscreen.
With the aid of flashlights, whose beams, by the way, were concealedfrom the savages, the explorers had gathered their belongings togetherand were now ready to leave for the boats. Of course it would beperilous traveling at night through the jungle, but the chance had tobe taken.
At that moment an Indian entered their hut, glanced about, and thenstarted to call to the others.
Displaying a quickness remarkable for his size and weight, Mr. Holtonlaunched himself full force
at the fellow, sending him to the groundunconscious.
"Now let's get away--quick!" he said. "There's no telling when thewhole tribe will be in here after us."
As quietly as possible, the explorers and their Indian crew dashedaway down the trail for the stream, never looking back, but fearingthat they would hear the screams of the cannibals at any moment.
The flashlights rendered traveling easy, and as they had been over thetrail many times, they reached the boats in record time.
Their possessions were piled inside. Then they climbed hastily in andwere paddled swiftly away.
It was not until they had reached the main stream that they felt safe.Then they turned the boats downstream on the journey back to thecoast.
"It isn't wise to tax good fortune too much," said Mr. Lewis, as thenarrow stream faded in the distance. "We came up here for two definitepurposes, and we've accomplished them both. First, Professor Bigelowhas made a rather extensive study of little-known Indians, and second,Mr. Holton and I have collected hundreds of specimens for the museum.You boys have met with success in taking moving pictures, also. Nowthat our work is finished, we'd better get to the Purus at once."
However, "at once" was a bit too hastily, for there were dangerousrapids that had to be portaged, totally unknown animals that divertedthe naturalists' attention, and a hundred and one reasons for makingslow progress, even downstream. But at last they sighted the Purus inthe distance.
"Now to hunt up Senhor del Pereo, the man who fitted us out with ourboats and crew," said Mr. Holton.
They found that individual in his house at the edge of the little townthat rested between the two rivers.
He was more than glad to see the explorers back after such a long,perilous journey, and insisted that they remain at his houseovernight, or until a boat could be found that would take them to theAmazon. The explorers accepted the invitation at once, glad of thechance to partake of the comforts of civilization after those longweeks into the unknown.
The next day they were fortunate in getting passage on a boat boundfor Manaos. It was a small steamer, scheduled to reach its destinationin less than five days.
At Manaos the explorers had another streak of good luck, finding alarge liner that would take them straight to New York.
Down the mighty Amazon they steamed, at last coming into the port atPara for a short stay.
After a walk about town, the Americans again boarded the vessel forthe trip to New York.
It was an ideal evening as they steamed majestically out of the busyharbor and turned toward the United States.
"Do you know, Joe, old boy," remarked Bob, as they sat with theirelders on deck in the light of the full moon, "the farther away we getfrom the region we explored the more I prize our experience."
Joe nodded.
"It was great," he agreed. "And just think. We were lost--lost in thewilds of Brazil."
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
The four books in this series have been transcribed in the samemanner. This means that in some books, table of contents and or/listof series names have been added.
Except in cases of obvious typographical errors, archaic andinconsistent spelling has been retained.
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