Part 25 (1/2)
”We are welcome, comrades We shall sleep in the _maloca_ of Monitaya himself and a feast shall beon one word, but now that the word is spoken we are safe I cannot tell you more now, for I do not wholly understand this matter myself as yet--but I shall learn Now is the tiive presents, if you have any for the chief”
”I have But our packs are in the canoe, and I'll be hanged if I'll aht up, Capitao The men of Suba took them from us at their _maloca_; now they shall restore them before all these people”
He addressed Monitaya affably, then spokeman, whose previous austerity now had dissolved into open friendliness, uttered four words Iht up not only the packs, but the rifles
Froe out of which he drew a half-ax, its blade glearease, which he swiftly swabbed off From his haversack he produced a heavy chain of ruby-red beads Under the bright sun the beads glowed like living things, and the glittering steel flashed back a dazzling beaether had cost considerably less than ten dollars in New York, but to the chieftain they were priceless treasures; and as McKay, with a forht Yet he rab for them as had been displayed by Suba when tendered the knife His acceptance was achieved with a calht a twinkle of approval to the eyes of the white nified manner he led the way to the _maloca_ which evidently was the older of the two and which had always been his home
The semicircle of his subjects broke up into a disorderly crohich streauests or surrounded the s Within the tribal house the adventurers proceeded to the central space where burned the chief's fire There Monitaya ordered certain hammocks removed to make room for those of the visitors Soon the travelers were seated at ease in their hanging beds, their packs and rifles lying on the ground beneath theroups of Mayorunas, staring at the breath
”Senhores, that was a very close call,” he declared ”As Lourenco says, our lives have hung on one word What was that word, comrade?”
”The as, 'No,'” answered Lourenco ”Monitaya asked those two crippled men, 'Is this theno attention to the rest of us Then they said, 'No' You will remember that the capitao was the one who with thosechief was giving directions to a score of young felloho presently scattered to various parts of the house and accoutered the Thereupon Lourenco approached Monitaya with the faood-humored smile For a time the two conversed As they talked the srew dark, while into the Brazilian's voice carowl Finally both nodded Lourenco returned to his ha
”Capitao, it is all because of your black hair and beard Through all the _one the word to watch for a big, black-bearded man who is neither a Brazilian nor a Peruvian, but of some country unknown to these people; and when such a ht, to kill him and his companions without mercy And the reason for such a command is this:
”For many moons the Mayorunas, especially those of the s wos of gun-carrying Peruvian Indians and _mesticos_--half-breeds--who shot down the defenders of the houses before they could reach their weapons, and carried off girls This, of course, is nothing new here, for such things have happened occasionally for many years But within the past five years there has been a difference in these attacks which has made them much ht, and they were few and far between But of late they have come about also in the day, at times when almost all themeat and the women had little protection Several chiefs have been killed by the raiders, who seeanized for this work, and to knohen to strike and how to get away quickly And what is more, the et women for themselves and then stayed away The same men came back time after time
”A few of these were killed, but only a few; and all the dead were Peruvians Being dead, they could tell nothing But the Mayorunas felt that all these raids were directed by one irl escaped by killing a Peruvian with his own knife and returned to her own _irls to the big man with the black beard, aited at a safe place a day's march from the tribal house
”A feeeks later another sht while twostayed out too late on a hunting trip and taken refuge with their neighbors until day Both thesethat opened the attack One was struck in the knee, the other in the lower part of the back But both caught a glimpse of the leader's face and saw that he was the black-bearded man himself
”So you see, Capitao, e have been near death Suba and Monitaya both thought you were the man We were lucky to escape alive from Suba, and still more lucky that hero were two men who knew the face of the blackbeard”
”Schwandorf!” barked McKay
”Yes, Capitao, it must be the Gerame! He's a slaver!”
”A slaver?”
”That's it Knew I'd seen that sneak before He worked the sao on a sers froirls--they're the best-looking Indians in B G--and sold theold ot on to hiet out of the country on the hot foot--didn't have tiold with him His name wasn't Schwandorf over there, and he had no beard; he was thinner, too, and posed as a Russian; but he's the et-away by the back door--down the Branco to the Airls into Peru He could sell theood money, eh, Lourenco?”
”_Si_”
”Sure And that's why he wanted to kill off his Peruvians--they knew tooto bleed hiang of border cutthroats to do his raiding--o downriver Murderer, slaver--wonder how h,” growled Tiot no soul”
”No soul,” echoed Pedro ”You have said it, Senhor Tim And if ever these people capture him he soon will have no body”
CHAPTER XVII