Part 13 (2/2)
”What orders did Schwandorf give you?”
This tih
”To take you twenty-four days up the river and put you ashore To prevent any trouble before that ti At least, nothing to me What may have been said to the other men I do not know Schwandorf came to me last, after he had picked all the others”
”And what do you know about Schwandorf?”
”What is between me and Schwandorf will be settled between me and Schwandorf My duty to you senores lies only in handling the cre that there is no crew my duty ends Also, Capitan, I would like my pay now”
”You quit?”
”Why not? I have done my best I can do no more I am crippled I am of no further use to you Give o”
”It is possible, Senhor Jose,” spoke the coronel, with ironic politeness, ”that you o so soon You have killed two s which should be known about the Gerh
”Law? You speak of law? There is no law up the river but the law of the gun and the knife And if there were, senor, what then? I killed in a fair fight I killed men ould do murder I killed on the west bank of the river--Peru Neither you nor any other Brazilian can lay hand on ood arm, it will not be well for anyone to try to hold ht hand still are ready”
”By cripes! the lad's right!” Tim blurted, iot a right to keep his mouth shut if he wants to He don't owe us nothin' Mebbe he's got somethin' up his sleeve, at that; but he stuck with us in the pinch, and--”
”And we'll give him a square deal, of course,” Knowlton cut in ”Jose, your oages to this point, at a dollar a day, are eighteen dollars
The wages of the five other ate seventy-five dollars Grand total, ninety-three The others chose to take their pay in lead instead of gold, so their account is closed Therefore I suggest that their pay go to you as _puntero_, _popero_, and good sport What say, Rod?”
”Make it a hundred flat,” McKay agreed
”Right A hundred in gold Satisfy you, Jose?”
”Indeed yes, senor I did not expect such generosity”
”That's all right, then We'll fix you up before we move on, and--Say!
Are you in Schwandorf's pay, too?”
Jose hesitated Then he replied:
”Since you mention it, I will admit that _el Aleman_ offered me certain inducements to make this journey I now see that he had no intention ofhis promises But you can leave it to me to collect from him whatever leaed unpleasantness for Schwandorf
”You gentlemen, of course, will not attegested ”You are fatigued and I shall greatly appreciate the pleasure of your coements also will be necessary in the matter of a boat and men”