Part 25 (2/2)
Johnnie Morgan was not the only sick e Master Jeffreys had had the strong hand of the fever upon hihbour and friend the Blakeney yeo than the air of the Severn With the three sick uard and escort Two of these, the Johnsons, had elected to remain with their friend Master Timothy, and a soldier had been chosen to keep them company Johnnie was the last of the three invalids to recover; indeed, the others had made plans for their journey in the wake of thebefore he was fit to take his place in the boat
It was fortunate for the six left behind that all, save one, were experienced navigators, and that two of these had had the opportunity of sailing boats on the Severn, the lish tidal rivers The boat built after the fashi+on of a native canoe was left for theed a mast and se as guide, set off a little after sunrise one h Captain Drake had gone before, and the natives were everywhere eager to welcolishmen and render theers in the river, which still ran strongly, and was in places a couple ofdone to hasten theht boat went splendidly; they were spared many of the ceremonious visitations that had fallen upon their captain, and often, during the day, ress to one made by him over the same stretch of river Each sunset found them nearer and nearer to the main body, and they were quick to notice that the latter were going slower and slower every day
The country was no longerthrough the llanos Hills now rose up to right and left; great ainst the skyline; and the low,limestone cliffs, their natural whiteness hidden by the luxuriant, clinging vegetation Shallows in the river were no longer sandy and sluggish, but rapids were the dangers to navigation The air was cooler and fresher, the vegetation was that of drier soil and drier atmosphere, insect life was less noxious, and the labours of the way grew more endurable
But as the perils from nature decreased, those to be apprehended fro passed the most southerly point of Spanish influence Hitherto they had found docile Indians, who had learned to fear the white e weapons, and to hate one section of the white race--nalishmen hite, and possessed the moral power of the race over ruder peoples; they also ca-suffering native; hence they had been everywhere treated with awe, not unmixed with real affection As far as the inhabitants of the land were concerned, their voyage had been a sort of triumphal procession
But inhabitants of hilly or mountainous land are always hardier and less docile than their brethren of the fat plains The Indians on the hilly fringes of the Orinoco basin were no exception to this rule
They had heard of the white ees from the lower lands had spread reports of his rapacity and cruelty, and of the scorn hich he treated the poor brown man They were resolved that he should not lay hands on thele And so it caers of Captain Drake returned to hinitary
Although annoyed by this rebuff, the adventurers attached but little ier had been clus; maybe the hill chieftain had misunderstood him: a second ly, two of the gentlemen of the company, attended by half a dozen soldiers and as many natives, left the camp on the river-bank and threaded the steeply-pitched woods to the native village An Indian scout was thrown out in front, on the flanks, and in the rear, and the white ether in the centre
They met with no opposition by the way, and in due time came out of the trees and found thee of this stood a cluster of stone-built huts, evidently surrounded by a rude but effective wall Before thereen after the heavy rains The evidences of native civilization were greater than any the adventurers had hitherto met They halted for a brief consultation, then went forward again, resolved to do their errand discreetly and warily Not one inhabitant was in sight, but, as the as neared, slirain towards the gate
A close view of the wall showed that the village was a fortress as well as a place of habitation The stones were rough from the hillside, and quite untriement had produced a compact raate was of wood, and towered some feet above the top of the wall It was shut
Sir John Trelaas in command of the eo forward and sound a su back in double echoes froht a hundred dark heads above the ra The strange notes had their effect on the villagers, for a ers and asked their business The Indian interpreter, who had been carefully schooled on his way up, and who, moreover, was proud of the trust reposed in hinified and courteous answer The white men were, he explained, creatures of another world, a world that lay beneath the rising sun; the sun was their father, and his glory was in his children's faces They held the thunder and lightning in the hollow of their hands, and could slay enerous, wishi+ng harold of which they had heard; during the weeks of their voyage they had not laid an unkindly hand on any oods
His own people, and all the tribes along the river, loved and reverenced their white brothers, and would die for the round towards the gate, saying he would carry the e to his chief faithfully and without alteration At the end of about half an hour he reappeared
His chief would not see the white
He had heard that the children of the sun were cruel and rapacious, ht that thereby they et any of the yellow ly
The interpreter replied that this was true of one section of white men, but his brothers were the ene with theles, and were called ”English;” the others were the voracious birds that stalked in the e; the chief had heard of these last, the ”Spaniards”'
The villager went away again, but returned quickly with his ers It was useless to ask hiold, or to the shores of any lake such as the white men desired He had never heard of these places, and did not believe they existed The whole story was a trick to get the country out of the hands of its inhabitants The trick had worked in the plains where the men had the hearts and brains of sick woles” of the hills Let the ”White Eagles” froainst the enough, and with it the ain to the river They had looked only into the face of onecouncil round the caht, and for the first time for some weeks sentinels were set, and keen watch and ward kept until daybreak A further consultation was held in the estions of the previous evening
It was not easy to decide upon a course of conduct Hitherto the adventurers had pursued their way in peace, and they were anxious to avoid hostilities with the natives They saw that nothing could be gained by fighting the Indians They were but a se land, and a thousand old, not conquest Should they go on their way, leaving the unfriendly chief in the security of his fastness? By so doing would they be leaving an ene him to his knees, and teach hiland? Hoould their line of conduct operate on the minds of the natives? The point was a delicate one Sooal, and dealing with the hill village on their return; others were hot to chastise the stubborn Indian at once, and break the back of native opposition at a blow Such was the Spanish otten wealth enough
The latter council prevailed, and it was decided to attack the native stronghold that very night under cover of the darkness The solitary cannon was taken out of the largest boat and fitted with slings, so that the Indian allies ently cleaned, and all arms and arh During the hot hours the men slept beneath the trees An hour before sunset supper was served out, and whilst theit, a boat shot round the bend, and a loud ”Halloo!” announced the arrival of Morgan and his coth was heartily welcomed
Chapter xxxVI
THE ATTACK ON THE VILLAGE
Forty Englishmen, with Indian carriers and scouts, stole out froht of the tropical stars The villagers on the hills slept in a false security Spies had hung about the river all day; but the preparations had no nalized an early departure They had witnessed the arrival of the other boat, and had sped to their chieftain with the news But the idea of a night attack on their stronghold never occurred to them This newest type of white ht with their own kind only The Indians shut and barred their great gate, curled the, and fell into the deep sleep of the tired savage
The friendly scouts had so learned every turn and obstacle in the upward path from the river that they could have walked it in the blackest darkness, and the ht from the clear heavens was more than sufficient for the keen-eyed un and for the lighting of the lare was shrouded in a soldier's helmet