CHAPTER VIII.
THE LAND OF MYSTERY.
The peremptory tones of Fred Ashman rang out loud and clear above theroar of the rapids and caused the servants to halt at the moment thecanoe was shoved into the water. They looked up with frightenedexpressions and awaited his approach.
"What do you mean?" he demanded as he drew near.
Bippo, who was by far the brightest of the three, had shown a wonderfulreadiness in picking up a knowledge of the English tongue. He was somuch superior in that respect to his companions, that they invariablyleft to him the duty of conversing with their masters.
"_Dey're_ ober dere," he replied, pointing to the other shore.
"Who's over there?"
"Perfess'r and Long man; we seed 'em, dey motion for us to hurry oberto 'em."
This was astounding news and Ashman was mystified.
"How did they get over there? And why did they leave camp?"
"Don' know; seed 'em; want us hurry."
Without waiting to reflect upon the strange information, and recallingthat more of the natives were likely to issue from the path at anymoment, the young man stepped into the canoe, and, catching up one ofthe paddles, lent his help in propelling the craft across the foamyXingu.
"Where Johns'n?" asked Bippo, when the middle of the stream wasreached, and without ceasing his toil with the paddle.
"The natives killed him with a poisoned spear; you will never see himagain."
Bippo made no reply, but communicated the startling tidings to hiscompanions, who muttered their amazement. It was apparent that thenews had added to their panic, and they bent to their task with suchvigor that the boat rapidly approached the other bank.
Fred was asking himself, that if his friends had managed to get acrossthe river, why it was they were not in sight. He scrutinized the darkforest and the line of moonlit space in the expectation, of seeing themcome forth to welcome him, but not a soul was in sight.
He did not know what to make of it. There was something so uncannyabout the whole business, that a strange distrust and uneasiness tookpossession of him. It could not be that the natives had deceived himand were anxious to place the Xingu between them and the fierce savageswho had handled the whites so roughly. Bippo and his comrades hadshown a loyalty from the first which gave their employers the fullestconfidence in them.
The canoe was almost against the bank, where something of thebewilderment of Ashman seemed to enter the head of Bippo. He spoke tohis companions and the three ceased paddling. Ashman had done so amoment before and was scanning the bank with a searching but vainscrutiny.
"You must have been mistaken," he said in a low voice; "they could nothave swam the river and they had no other way of crossing."
"We seed 'em--motion dat way," and the native beckoned with his rightarm, just as a person would do when signaling another to approach.
"I can't understand it," replied Ashman, with a shake of his head.
His doubts were confirmed, when he recalled that the professor andJared Long had gone up the bank of the river with the purpose oflearning the extent of the rapids. It followed, therefore, that ifthey had made their way to the other shore, it must have been at apoint so far above the angry waters that there was no danger of beingcaught in the furious current.
He was turning over these troublous thoughts, when Bippo, who wasfacing the bank they had left, uttered an expression of dismay andextended his arm toward the shore behind them.
Ashman turned his head, and there in the moonlight he saw ProfessorGrimcke and the New Englander standing on the land and motioning tothem to return.
"Yes--dat de way he do--he move arm like _dat_," said Bippo; "we hurryto go to him, den he ain't here--but _dere_."
Ashman could not doubt that the servant believed the extraordinaryassertion he had just made, and such being the case, the startlingtruth was manifest; they had seen two strangers whom they mistook fortheir own friends, and these strangers had beckoned them to paddle thecanoe to the other shore where they were awaiting them.
If such were the fact--and he did not doubt it--a new mysteryconfronted him.
Who were the white men and strangers? and why had they disappeared whenapproached by the canoe and its occupants?
Ashman ordered the servants to turn the craft about and return to theshore they had left with all speed. While doing so, and while Grimckeand Long were doubtless wondering what had got into the heads of theothers, the young man wrought himself into a most uncomfortablecondition of mind.
He questioned Bippo more particularly as to the appearance and actionsof the strangers. It was clear that he, as well as the other two,still believed the couple on the opposite bank were Grimcke and Long;though when reminded that it was impossible that they could havecrossed and recrossed the stream in such a brief time, and without anymeans except that of swimming, they only shook their heads, signifyingthat, though they could not explain _that_ feature of the strangebusiness, they would not yield their belief.
Ashman asked further, directing his question to each of the natives inturn, whether they saw the parties plainly enough to make sure theywere white men. The servants were positive on this point, adding thedistracting statement that they were dressed precisely like the twoabsent members of the little company, and that each carried a rifle asthey did.
"Same ones--same ones; don't know how cross riber, but allee same doso," repeated Bippo, with a grin.
By this time the swiftly moving canoe was well on the way to the campwhich it had left so abruptly, and, a minute later, Ashman sprang outand grasped the hand of each of his friends in turn.
In a few words he explained the extraordinary incidents of the lasthalf hour, receiving in return the story of the experience of theProfessor and his companion. The latter were deeply touched by theloss of Johnston. Danger tends to draw the members of a party closelytogether, and, despite the peculiar disposition of the sailor, thethree felt a deep attachment for him. They would have faced any dangerin his behalf, but the time had passed for that, and they could onlymourn the loss of such a valuable comrade.
"But what about this story that Bippo tells?"
Before a reply could be made, the native approached, with his peculiargrin.
"How you cross riber?--why you come back 'gin? Why you no stay oberdere when we hurry to go to you?"
"Bippo, you are mistaken," replied the Professor, with all theearnestness at his command. "We went up this side of the stream, andhave not been on the other side since dark. When we came back and sawthat you were not in the camp, we thought you had all been killed."
The native grinned more than ever, and shook his head.
"De Purfes'r funny man--he make laugh." And he walked back to hiscompanions with an unshakeable belief in the story given to Fred Ashmanwhen he dashed in such excitement from the wood.
"Bippo believes what he has told us," said Long, who had studied thefellow closely; "and it follows that he and the others _did_ see acouple of white men."
"I imagined," remarked Grimcke with something like regret in his tones,"that we were the first of our race to reach this spot; but it is hardin these days to find any place on the globe where some white personhad not been before us."
"If there are a couple of them over there," said Ashman, scanning theopposite bank, "they ought to be friends; and, after signaling to ourservants to cross, it is inexplainable that they should withdraw fromsight as they did."
"We can depend on _one_ thing," added the Professor; "we haven't seenthe last of them. I would be glad to believe them friends, but theiractions are unsatisfactory. I am inclined to think that the cause oftheir withdrawing was your entrance into the canoe. For some reasonthey wished to have nothing to do with any of us."
"It may be that since we are suspicious of them," said Fred, "they feelthe same toward us, and are unwilling to make our acquaintance untilafter reconnoiterin' us. Helloa! what's up now?"
This question was caused by the
action of Bippo, who, trembling inevery limb, and with the appearance of a person overcome with terror,pointed to the forest behind them.