CHAPTER VII
To-morrow we Disappear into the Unknown
I will not bore those whom this narrative may reach by an account ofour luxurious voyage upon the Booth liner, nor will I tell of ourweek's stay at Para (save that I should wish to acknowledge the greatkindness of the Pereira da Pinta Company in helping us to get togetherour equipment). I will also allude very briefly to our river journey,up a wide, slow-moving, clay-tinted stream, in a steamer which waslittle smaller than that which had carried us across the Atlantic.Eventually we found ourselves through the narrows of Obidos and reachedthe town of Manaos. Here we were rescued from the limited attractionsof the local inn by Mr. Shortman, the representative of the British andBrazilian Trading Company. In his hospitable Fazenda we spent our timeuntil the day when we were empowered to open the letter of instructionsgiven to us by Professor Challenger. Before I reach the surprisingevents of that date I would desire to give a clearer sketch of mycomrades in this enterprise, and of the associates whom we had alreadygathered together in South America. I speak freely, and I leave theuse of my material to your own discretion, Mr. McArdle, since it isthrough your hands that this report must pass before it reaches theworld.
The scientific attainments of Professor Summerlee are too well knownfor me to trouble to recapitulate them. He is better equipped for arough expedition of this sort than one would imagine at first sight.His tall, gaunt, stringy figure is insensible to fatigue, and his dry,half-sarcastic, and often wholly unsympathetic manner is uninfluencedby any change in his surroundings. Though in his sixty-sixth year, Ihave never heard him express any dissatisfaction at the occasionalhardships which we have had to encounter. I had regarded his presenceas an encumbrance to the expedition, but, as a matter of fact, I am nowwell convinced that his power of endurance is as great as my own. Intemper he is naturally acid and sceptical. From the beginning he hasnever concealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolutefraud, that we are all embarked upon an absurd wild-goose chase andthat we are likely to reap nothing but disappointment and danger inSouth America, and corresponding ridicule in England. Such are theviews which, with much passionate distortion of his thin features andwagging of his thin, goat-like beard, he poured into our ears all theway from Southampton to Manaos. Since landing from the boat he hasobtained some consolation from the beauty and variety of the insect andbird life around him, for he is absolutely whole-hearted in hisdevotion to science. He spends his days flitting through the woodswith his shot-gun and his butterfly-net, and his evenings in mountingthe many specimens he has acquired. Among his minor peculiarities arethat he is careless as to his attire, unclean in his person,exceedingly absent-minded in his habits, and addicted to smoking ashort briar pipe, which is seldom out of his mouth. He has been uponseveral scientific expeditions in his youth (he was with Robertson inPapua), and the life of the camp and the canoe is nothing fresh to him.
Lord John Roxton has some points in common with Professor Summerlee,and others in which they are the very antithesis to each other. He istwenty years younger, but has something of the same spare, scraggyphysique. As to his appearance, I have, as I recollect, described itin that portion of my narrative which I have left behind me in London.He is exceedingly neat and prim in his ways, dresses always with greatcare in white drill suits and high brown mosquito-boots, and shaves atleast once a day. Like most men of action, he is laconic in speech,and sinks readily into his own thoughts, but he is always quick toanswer a question or join in a conversation, talking in a queer, jerky,half-humorous fashion. His knowledge of the world, and very especiallyof South America, is surprising, and he has a whole-hearted belief inthe possibilities of our journey which is not to be dashed by thesneers of Professor Summerlee. He has a gentle voice and a quietmanner, but behind his twinkling blue eyes there lurks a capacity forfurious wrath and implacable resolution, the more dangerous becausethey are held in leash. He spoke little of his own exploits in Braziland Peru, but it was a revelation to me to find the excitement whichwas caused by his presence among the riverine natives, who looked uponhim as their champion and protector. The exploits of the Red Chief, asthey called him, had become legends among them, but the real facts, asfar as I could learn them, were amazing enough.
These were that Lord John had found himself some years before in thatno-man's-land which is formed by the half-defined frontiers betweenPeru, Brazil, and Columbia. In this great district the wild rubbertree flourishes, and has become, as in the Congo, a curse to thenatives which can only be compared to their forced labor under theSpaniards upon the old silver mines of Darien. A handful of villainoushalf-breeds dominated the country, armed such Indians as would supportthem, and turned the rest into slaves, terrorizing them with the mostinhuman tortures in order to force them to gather the india-rubber,which was then floated down the river to Para. Lord John Roxtonexpostulated on behalf of the wretched victims, and received nothingbut threats and insults for his pains. He then formally declared waragainst Pedro Lopez, the leader of the slave-drivers, enrolled a bandof runaway slaves in his service, armed them, and conducted a campaign,which ended by his killing with his own hands the notorious half-breedand breaking down the system which he represented.
No wonder that the ginger-headed man with the silky voice and the freeand easy manners was now looked upon with deep interest upon the banksof the great South American river, though the feelings he inspired werenaturally mixed, since the gratitude of the natives was equaled by theresentment of those who desired to exploit them. One useful result ofhis former experiences was that he could talk fluently in the LingoaGeral, which is the peculiar talk, one-third Portuguese and two-thirdsIndian, which is current all over Brazil.
I have said before that Lord John Roxton was a South Americomaniac. Hecould not speak of that great country without ardor, and this ardor wasinfectious, for, ignorant as I was, he fixed my attention andstimulated my curiosity. How I wish I could reproduce the glamour ofhis discourses, the peculiar mixture of accurate knowledge and of racyimagination which gave them their fascination, until even theProfessor's cynical and sceptical smile would gradually vanish from histhin face as he listened. He would tell the history of the mightyriver so rapidly explored (for some of the first conquerors of Peruactually crossed the entire continent upon its waters), and yet sounknown in regard to all that lay behind its ever-changing banks.
What is there? he would cry, pointing to the north. Wood and marshand unpenetrated jungle. Who knows what it may shelter? And there tothe south? A wilderness of swampy forest, where no white man has everbeen. The unknown is up against us on every side. Outside the narrowlines of the rivers what does anyone know? Who will say what ispossible in such a country? Why should old man Challenger not beright? At which direct defiance the stubborn sneer would reappearupon Professor Summerlee's face, and he would sit, shaking his sardonichead in unsympathetic silence, behind the cloud of his briar-root pipe.
So much, for the moment, for my two white companions, whose charactersand limitations will be further exposed, as surely as my own, as thisnarrative proceeds. But already we have enrolled certain retainers whomay play no small part in what is to come. The first is a giganticnegro named Zambo, who is a black Hercules, as willing as any horse,and about as intelligent. Him we enlisted at Para, on therecommendation of the steamship company, on whose vessels he hadlearned to speak a halting English.
It was at Para also that we engaged Gomez and Manuel, two half-breedsfrom up the river, just come down with a cargo of redwood. They wereswarthy fellows, bearded and fierce, as active and wiry as panthers.Both of them had spent their lives in those upper waters of the Amazonwhich we were about to explore, and it was this recommendation whichhad caused Lord John to engage them. One of them, Gomez, had thefurther advantage that he could speak excellent English. These menwere willing to act as our personal servants, to cook, to row, or tomake themselves useful in any way at a payment of fifteen dollars amonth. Besides these, we had engaged three Mojo Indians from Bolivia,who are the most skilful at fishing and boat work of all the rivertribes. The chief of these we called Mojo, after his tribe, and theothers are known as Jose and Fernando. Three white men, then, twohalf-breeds, one negro, and three Indians made up the personnel of thelittle expedition which lay waiting for its instructions at Manaosbefore starting upon its singular quest.
At last, after a weary week, the day had come and the hour. I ask youto picture the shaded sitting-room of the Fazenda St. Ignatio, twomiles inland from the town of Manaos. Outside lay the yellow, brassyglare of the sunshine, with the shadows of the palm trees as black anddefinite as the trees themselves. The air was calm, full of theeternal hum of insects, a tropical chorus of many octaves, from thedeep drone of the bee to the high, keen pipe of the mosquito. Beyondthe veranda was a small cleared garden, bounded with cactus hedges andadorned with clumps of flowering shrubs, round which the great bluebutterflies and the tiny humming-birds fluttered and darted increscents of sparkling light. Within we were seated round the canetable, on which lay a sealed envelope. Inscribed upon it, in thejagged handwriting of Professor Challenger, were the words:--
Instructions to Lord John Roxton and party. To be opened at Manaosupon July 15th, at 12 o'clock precisely.
Lord John had placed his watch upon the table beside him.
We have seven more minutes, said he. The old dear is very precise.
Professor Summerlee gave an acid smile as he picked up the envelope inhis gaunt hand.
What can it possibly matter whether we open it now or in sevenminutes? said he. It is all part and parcel of the same system ofquackery and nonsense, for which I regret to say that the writer isnotorious.
Oh, come, we must play the game accordin' to rules, said Lord John.It's old man Challenger's show and we are here by his good will, so itwould be rotten bad form if we didn't follow his instructions to theletter.
A pretty business it is! cried the Professor, bitterly. It struckme as preposterous in London, but I'm bound to say that it seems evenmore so upon closer acquaintance. I don't know what is inside thisenvelope, but, unless it is something pretty definite, I shall be muchtempted to take the next down-river boat and catch the Bolivia at Para.After all, I have some more responsible work in the world than to runabout disproving the assertions of a lunatic. Now, Roxton, surely itis time.
Time it is, said Lord John. You can blow the whistle. He took upthe envelope and cut it with his penknife. From it he drew a foldedsheet of paper. This he carefully opened out and flattened on thetable. It was a blank sheet. He turned it over. Again it was blank.We looked at each other in a bewildered silence, which was broken by adiscordant burst of derisive laughter from Professor Summerlee.
It is an open admission, he cried. What more do you want? Thefellow is a self-confessed humbug. We have only to return home andreport him as the brazen imposter that he is.
Invisible ink! I suggested.
I don't think! said Lord Roxton, holding the paper to the light.No, young fellah my lad, there is no use deceiving yourself. I'll gobail for it that nothing has ever been written upon this paper.
May I come in? boomed a voice from the veranda.
The shadow of a squat figure had stolen across the patch of sunlight.That voice! That monstrous breadth of shoulder! We sprang to our feetwith a gasp of astonishment as Challenger, in a round, boyish straw-hatwith a colored ribbon--Challenger, with his hands in his jacket-pocketsand his canvas shoes daintily pointing as he walked--appeared in theopen space before us. He threw back his head, and there he stood inthe golden glow with all his old Assyrian luxuriance of beard, all hisnative insolence of drooping eyelids and intolerant eyes.
I fear, said he, taking out his watch, that I am a few minutes toolate. When I gave you this envelope I must confess that I had neverintended that you should open it, for it had been my fixed intention tobe with you before the hour. The unfortunate delay can be apportionedbetween a blundering pilot and an intrusive sandbank. I fear that ithas given my colleague, Professor Summerlee, occasion to blaspheme.
I am bound to say, sir, said Lord John, with some sternness of voice,that your turning up is a considerable relief to us, for our missionseemed to have come to a premature end. Even now I can't for the lifeof me understand why you should have worked it in so extraordinary amanner.
Instead of answering, Professor Challenger entered, shook hands withmyself and Lord John, bowed with ponderous insolence to ProfessorSummerlee, and sank back into a basket-chair, which creaked and swayedbeneath his weight.
Is all ready for your journey? he asked.
We can start to-morrow.
Then so you shall. You need no chart of directions now, since youwill have the inestimable advantage of my own guidance. From the firstI had determined that I would myself preside over your investigation.The most elaborate charts would, as you will readily admit, be a poorsubstitute for my own intelligence and advice. As to the small rusewhich I played upon you in the matter of the envelope, it is clearthat, had I told you all my intentions, I should have been forced toresist unwelcome pressure to travel out with you.
Not from me, sir! exclaimed Professor Summerlee, heartily. So longas there was another ship upon the Atlantic.
Challenger waved him away with his great hairy hand.
Your common sense will, I am sure, sustain my objection and realizethat it was better that I should direct my own movements and appearonly at the exact moment when my presence was needed. That moment hasnow arrived. You are in safe hands. You will not now fail to reachyour destination. From henceforth I take command of this expedition,and I must ask you to complete your preparations to-night, so that wemay be able to make an early start in the morning. My time is ofvalue, and the same thing may be said, no doubt, in a lesser degree ofyour own. I propose, therefore, that we push on as rapidly aspossible, until I have demonstrated what you have come to see.
Lord John Roxton has chartered a large steam launch, the Esmeralda,which was to carry us up the river. So far as climate goes, it wasimmaterial what time we chose for our expedition, as the temperatureranges from seventy-five to ninety degrees both summer and winter, withno appreciable difference in heat. In moisture, however, it isotherwise; from December to May is the period of the rains, and duringthis time the river slowly rises until it attains a height of nearlyforty feet above its low-water mark. It floods the banks, extends ingreat lagoons over a monstrous waste of country, and forms a hugedistrict, called locally the Gapo, which is for the most part toomarshy for foot-travel and too shallow for boating. About June thewaters begin to fall, and are at their lowest at October or November.Thus our expedition was at the time of the dry season, when the greatriver and its tributaries were more or less in a normal condition.
The current of the river is a slight one, the drop being not greaterthan eight inches in a mile. No stream could be more convenient fornavigation, since the prevailing wind is south-east, and sailing boatsmay make a continuous progress to the Peruvian frontier, dropping downagain with the current. In our own case the excellent engines of theEsmeralda could disregard the sluggish flow of the stream, and we madeas rapid progress as if we were navigating a stagnant lake. For threedays we steamed north-westwards up a stream which even here, a thousandmiles from its mouth, was still so enormous that from its center thetwo banks were mere shadows upon the distant skyline. On the fourthday after leaving Manaos we turned into a tributary which at its mouthwas little smaller than the main stream. It narrowed rapidly, however,and after two more days' steaming we reached an Indian village, wherethe Professor insisted that we should land, and that the Esmeraldashould be sent back to Manaos. We should soon come upon rapids, heexplained, which would make its further use impossible. He addedprivately that we were now approaching the door of the unknown country,and that the fewer whom we took into our confidence the better it wouldbe. To this end also he made each of us give our word of honor that wewould publish or say nothing which would give any exact clue as to thewhereabouts of our travels, while the servants were all solemnly swornto the same effect. It is for this reason that I am compelled to bevague in my narrative, and I would warn my readers that in any map ordiagram which I may give the relation of places to each other may becorrect, but the points of the compass are carefully confused, so thatin no way can it be taken as an actual guide to the country. ProfessorChallenger's reasons for secrecy may be valid or not, but we had nochoice but to adopt them, for he was prepared to abandon the wholeexpedition rather than modify the conditions upon which he would guideus.
It was August 2nd when we snapped our last link with the outer world bybidding farewell to the Esmeralda. Since then four days have passed,during which we have engaged two large canoes from the Indians, made ofso light a material (skins over a bamboo framework) that we should beable to carry them round any obstacle. These we have loaded with allour effects, and have engaged two additional Indians to help us in thenavigation. I understand that they are the very two--Ataca and Ipetuby name--who accompanied Professor Challenger upon his previousjourney. They appeared to be terrified at the prospect of repeatingit, but the chief has patriarchal powers in these countries, and if thebargain is good in his eyes the clansman has little choice in thematter.
So to-morrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I amtransmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word tothose who are interested in our fate. I have, according to ourarrangement, addressed it to you, my dear Mr. McArdle, and I leave itto your discretion to delete, alter, or do what you like with it. Fromthe assurance of Professor Challenger's manner--and in spite of thecontinued scepticism of Professor Summerlee--I have no doubt that ourleader will make good his statement, and that we are really on the eveof some most remarkable experiences.