The Land of Mystery
CHAPTER XIX.
THE JOURNEY'S END.
The explorers, bearing the canoe with the luggage upon their shoulders,ascended at a steady gait the western bank of the Xingu. The clearedspace which they had noticed on both sides of the river, caused by thefurious overflow, continued, so that the progress was comparativelyeasy.
The din of the rapids was so loud that they could not have heard eachother, except by shouting at the top of their voices, for which therewas no call, since even Bippo and Pedros were now able to read the fullmeaning of the extraordinary incidents of the night.
Ashman looked around and ascertained that Ziffak was not bearing themcompany. None of the savages were in sight, though all would have beenas eager as tigers to rend the white men to shreds had such permissionbeen given.
The absence of the great leader caused no uneasiness on the part of anyone of our friends. Strange indeed, would it have been had they feltany distrust of him after his late interference.
The sun appeared while the party were still pushing forward. The skywas as clear as on the preceding day, and, though the temperature wasquite warm, it was not unpleasantly so. Several causes contributed tothe delightful coolness which renders the Matto Grosso one of the mostattractive regions on the globe. The abundance of water, the endlessstretch of forest, with few llanos of any extent, and, above all, theelevation of the plateau produce a moderation of temperature not metwith in the lowlands, less than twenty degrees further south.
But the explorers were weary and in need of rest. It will be recalledthat they found precious little opportunity for sleep during thepreceding night, which marked the close of an unusually hard day'slabor. They would have rested could they have done so, and now thatthe chance seemed to present itself, they wisely decided to wait a fewhours before beginning the last stretch of water which lay between themand the villages of the Murhapas.
The halt was made at the top of the rapids, where the boat wascarefully replaced in the river, the fracture made by Ziffak's javelinrepaired, and everything adjusted for the resumption of their voyage.Then, with only the Professor on guard, the others lay down on theirblankets and almost immediately sank into a deep, refreshing slumber.
Professor Grimcke, finding the care of the camp on his hands, took acareful survey of his surroundings, which were quite similar to thosethat had enclosed him many times before.
On both sides, stretched the almost endless Brazilian forest, withinwhich a traveller might wander for weeks and months without coming uponany openings. In front was the Xingu, smooth, swift, and windingthrough the wilderness in such form that he could see only a shortdistance up stream. Looking in the opposite direction, the agitationof the water was noticeable before breaking into rapids, similar,though in a less degree, to the rapids above Niagara Falls. The volumestill preserved its remarkable purity and clearness, which enabled himto trace the shelving bottom a long way from where he stood.
Grimcke was somewhat of a philosopher, and always eager to make thebest use of the time at his command. There was nothing more to befeared from the Aryks, and his situation, therefore, of guardian of hissleeping friends might be considered a sinecure.
His fishing line was soon arranged, and with some of the dried meat hehad brought along serving for bait, he began piscatorial operations.
It will strike the reader as incredible, but in Borne portions of theOrinoco and other tropical rivers of South America, the fish are soabundant that they have been known to impede the progress of largevessels moving through the waters. While no such overflowing supply isfound in the Xingu, yet they were so numerous that it required but afew minutes for the Professor to haul in more than enough to furnishthe entire party with all they could eat at a single meal.
His next step was to start a fire, and prepare the coals for broiling.This was a simple task, and was completed before his friends finishedtheir naps.
No pleasanter awakening could have come to them than that of openingtheir eyes and finding their breakfast awaiting their keen appetites.They fell to with a will, and, though saddened by the loss of two oftheir number, were filled with a strange delight at the prospect oftheir visit to the enchanted land.
The boat was launched, but there was not enough wind to make it worthwhile to spread the sail, which had often proven of such assistance,but the four pairs of arms swung the paddles with a vigor that sent thecraft swiftly against the current. The Professor disposed of himselfin the boat so that he slept while the others were at work.
Naturally the craft was kept as close to the bank as possible, so as togain the benefit of the sluggish current. The trees having been sweptfrom the margin of the Xingu, an open space was before the explorersthroughout the entire distance.
Despite the glowing expectations of the party, there was enough in theprospect before them to cause serious thought. Long and Ashmanconsulted continually and saw that it would not do to felicitatethemselves with the belief that all danger was at an end.
Two facts must be well weighed. Waggaman and Burkhardt were inimicalto them. Whether they could be won over even to neutrality could notbe determined until they were seen. For the present they must beclassed as dangerous enemies.
Was it unreasonable to suspect that their influence with the terribleKing Haffgo would prove superior to that of Ziffak? If so, what hopewas there of the escape of the explorers after once intrustingthemselves within the power of the tyrant?
But the immediate question which faced our friends was, whether itwould do for them to reveal themselves to the Murhapas without againseeing their native friend. They deemed it probable that he had pushedon to the village, with the expectation of reaching it ahead of themand thus preparing the way for their reception.
This, however, was but a pretty theory which was as liable to be wrongas right. At any rate, Ziffak must reach his home ahead of orsimultaneously with the whites. The latter continued using theirpaddles with steady vigor, until near noon, when they knew thatconsiderably more than half the distance was passed.
They now began swaying their paddles less powerfully, for the feelingwas strong upon them that they had approached as close as was prudentto the Murhapa village.
It was about this time, that they rounded a bend in the Xingu whichgave them sight of the river for fully half a mile before anotherchange in its course shut out all view. Naturally, they scanned thestream in quest of enemies, who were now likely to be quite close.
The first survey showed them a canoe coming down stream. It was nearthe middle and was approaching at a rapid rate.
Fred Ashman laid down his paddle and took up his binocular.
"It is Ziffak!" he exclaimed, passing the glass to Long.
"So it is and he is alone," was the reply of the astonished NewEnglander, who added an exclamation of surprise that he should beapproaching from that direction. The only explanation was, that sincelast seeing him, he had made a journey to his home and was nowreturning to meet and convoy his friends to his own people.
Such proved to be the case, as he explained on joining them.
After the affair at the foot of the rapids, he paused long enough tomake clear to the Aryks that not one of them was to make anotheroffensive movement against the whites under penalty of the most fearfulpunishment. He explained that these particular white men were thefriends of all natives, and that they never would have harmed an Arykhad they not been forced to do so to save their own lives.
The cunning Ziffak dropped a hint that the newcomers were much betterpersons than the couple that had made their homes among the Murhapasfor so many years. Then, having completed his business in that line,he struck through the forest at a high rate of speed and soon reachedhis own people.
He expected to find Waggaman and Burkhardt there, but they had not yetarrived. He explained to his brother the king what had taken place atthe rapids of the Xingu and succeeded in gaining his promise of theking that he would allow the white men to enter the village without thes
acrifice of their lives; but he was not willing that they shouldremain more than a couple of days. Indeed he gave such assentgrudgingly and probably would have refused it altogether, but for theearnest pleading of his beloved Ariel, who insisted that it would be apartial recompense of the crime of three years previous.
This was the best that Ziffak, with all his influence at court coulddo, and indeed it was as much as he expected to accomplish. Headmitted that Waggaman and Burkhardt were likely to interfere, but hedid not believe they could do so to any serious extent, provided thewhite men themselves were circumspect in their behavior.
While this interesting interchange was going on, the two boats wereside by side, so gently impelled that their progress was moderate andconversation pleasant. Thinking that the Professor had slept longenough, and that he ought to know the news, Fred Ashman turned to wakehim; but to his surprise, the German met his look with a smile and theremark that he had heard every word spoken. Then he rose to a sittingposture, saluted Ziffak and proceeded to light his pipe.
The latter pleased the whites still further by explaining that he meantto keep them company for the rest of the distance. Despite hisencouraging statements, they felt much easier with him as their escort.
By using their paddles with moderate vigor, they could reach theirdestination by the middle of the afternoon. There was no better hourto arrive, for the king was always in his best mood after enjoying hissiesta, which was always completed by the time the sun was half-waydown the sky.
It was to be expected also that before that hour, Waggaman andBurkhardt would spread the news of the expected coming of the wonderfulstrangers. They would do what they could, to excite distrust andenmity, but Ziffak was positive that since his brother had given hispromise, it would be sacredly kept, and that for two days at leasttheir stay at the village would be without peril to any one of thelittle company.