The Wanderers; Or, Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and Orinoco

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  ARRIVAL AT GROVE ISLAND--SEARCH FOR PROVISIONS--CAPTURE OF THE SLOTH--SMOKED SLOTH--DEPARTURE FROM GROVE ISLAND--A FEARFUL ATTACK--UP ANIGARAPE--THE INDIAN ENCAMPMENT.

  The sun was just setting when we reached the clump of trees where we hadleft our friends, and lowering our mast, we paddled on to thelanding-place. As might be supposed, they were very much surprised atseeing us return, and naturally fancied that some accident had happened.

  "What is the matter?" asked Arthur, who hurried down to meet us.

  "Nothing the matter, my friends, only a foul wind has driven us backinto port," answered the skipper, laughing. "Ya, ya! we shall sailagain soon with a fair breeze, and we mean to complete our voyage thenext time."

  We found that everything had been going on quietly during our absence.My father had gradually recovered his strength, and Marian felt muchbetter from being able to take a walk on the platform. A hut had beenconstructed for her of palm-leaves, at Arthur's suggestion. Arthur,Tim, and the black had been successful in their hunting expeditions.They had, wisely, not ventured again into the macawery, but had caughtin various parts of the grove several parrots and other birds. They hadagain seen the sloth; but, as they did not require the creature forfood, they allowed it to enjoy its existence. Its chance of life,however, with the increased numbers in the settlement, was very small;for Kallolo and Maco undertook to capture the poor animal before dawn,if they could find it. They said they could do so at that time muchmore easily than in daylight, when it would be awake, and could scrambleoff much faster than they could follow. Kallolo observed, that with ablowpipe he could send a small dart into the body of the animal whichwould deprive it of life in the course of a few minutes; but having onlyspears and arrows, the business of catching it would take them a muchlonger time. The danger of shooting the sloth was, that it might fallinto the water and be lost, should it be found on a bough overhangingthe river. Arthur suggested that we should try to get a rope round theanimal.

  "We kill him first, and then make him fast," observed Kallolo. "He willhold on with his claws till him quite dead."

  As the skipper was especially anxious to have a good supply of food inreadiness for the voyage, it was finally decided that the sloth shoulddie before daylight. Arthur and I told Kallolo that we wished to assistin its capture, and he promised to call us when it was time to set outto look for the beast.

  We all lay down as usual on the platform, our pillows consisting ofbundles of sticks, with no other covering than the roof overhead. I wasstill sleeping soundly when I felt Kallolo's hand on my shoulder. "Getup, now! Time to be off!" He had previously awaked Arthur. We wereimmediately on our feet, and, led by the two natives, commenced ourscramble among the boughs and interlacing sepos. Arthur carried onepiece of rope, and I another. It was necessary to move with thegreatest caution, else we might easily have had an ugly fall. Ourguides moved noiselessly, for fear, as they said, of awaking theirintended victim. It would certainly have gone to the furthest extremityof the grove--as far away as possible from the invaders of its nativedomain. I should have supposed that they would have had greatdifficulty in ascertaining in what direction it was to be found, had Inot observed that they stopped every now and then and examined theleaves of some of the trees. At length we arrived at a large cecropiatree. We observed that some of the branches were almost stripped oftheir leaves, while those of others, a little further on, were onlypartly nibbled.

  "Him not far off," whispered Kallolo. "Stay here, me go see. Come whenI call." And he and his companion silently made their way along anoutspreading branch, holding their lances in their hands. The branchcould not be reached from below, but I saw that another of smallerdimensions extended at no great distance above it. The Indians creptalong the larger branch. I knew that the sloth was to be found under,not above, the branch, and therefore supposed that he was clinging tothe smaller of the two, though I could not make him out. Presently Isaw one of the natives spring up to the upper branch, and make his wayalong it; then he again dropped down to the lower one, while the otheradvanced as if to meet him. I could see their lances raised, andpresently, at the same moment, they darted them down, when Kalloloshouted out, "Come on! come on!" and Arthur and I clambered along theupper branch, and, directed by Kallolo, we dropped the noose of ourropes, which he and Maco caught and passed round the lower bough,handing them up to us again. They then told us to move a little furtheron, and to draw the ropes tight and secure them. We did as theydesired.

  "We got the sloth tight now," observed Kallolo. "Him not go away tillwe come back in the morning." We found that the ropes had been passedunder the body of the sloth, which was thus tightly secured to the tree.After this, we returned to the platform. At daylight we again set offwith Tim and Sambo, to bring down the body of the sloth. It was by thistime quite dead, and had it not been fastened, would probably havefallen into the water. It was carried to the kitchen on the thickbranch, where it was skinned and cut up; and we now found ourselves inpossession of an ample supply of meat. I cannot say much in favour ofits flesh. It was rather tough and sinewy; but under our circumstanceswe were very glad to get it. The only question was how it could bepreserved. The skipper suggested that we should try to smoke our meat.The operation at first seemed impossible; but under his directions alarge wickerwork basket was formed, which was thickly covered over withpalm-leaves. The meat was hung inside, and the basket was then placedover the fire, which was well supplied with fresh twigs and leaves. Bycontinually replenishing the fuel, we kept up an ample volume of smoke,in which we not only cured sloth meat, but a number of parrots and otherbirds, and several fish, which we caught by allowing the log to driftout into deep water, as far as the cable would admit.

  The skipper was very anxious that the whole party should accompany himon the next trip; and he asked my father to venture on board the log,assuring him that he and his daughter would be perfectly safe, and thatwe should thus be able to push into the interior to a spot where wemight build a vessel, and so avoid the necessity of coming back for him.My father at length consented, and active preparations were made forthe voyage. Before starting, we had a grand hunt, during which we madean onslaught on the macaws, which, frightened by our numbers, and by theweapons with which we assailed them, took to flight after several hadbeen killed, leaving their young ones at our mercy. We caught a numberof other birds, and obtained a considerable supply of figs, plums, andnuts. We had, also, a general washing of clothes; though, to be sure,some of our party had but few garments which required cleansing. Butcleanliness we endeavoured to maintain; which tended much, I believe, tokeep us in health. Hitherto no one had suffered, except from fatigue;and that, of course, was unavoidable.

  Our provisions being carefully packed, and other arrangements made, weonly waited for a fair wind to recommence our voyage. We had anabundance of food. Our saucepan afforded us the means of obtaining hotwater, and of boiling what required boiling. We had bows and arrows andspears to obtain more food, hooks and lines for catching fish, and twobottles of schiedam remaining; for the skipper, though very fond of it,husbanded it carefully, and resisted the temptation he felt to drink ithimself. "We'll keep it, in case of the illness of any of the party,"he remarked.

  The wind still continued blowing down the river. It had the effect ofsomewhat lowering the water. This we did not desire; for while itremained at its height we could with greater ease penetrate into theinterior, and we knew that even long after it had subsided we should beunable to travel over the country it had left, with any degree ofsafety. Again it fell calm. We might perhaps have urged our log to thewestward by means of the oars; but our progress would necessarily havebeen so slow that it would not have been worth while to make theattempt. We waited another day, when, to the satisfaction of all hands,a light breeze from the eastward sprang up soon after we hadbreakfasted.

  "On board now, my friends!" exclaimed the skipper; and we hastened downto our landin
g-place, each of us loaded with as many packages as wecould carry. As before, Quacko clung to Kallolo's shoulders, while Araperched on the head of Maco. Everything we possessed was placed in thecentre of the log. Once more Uncle Paul ascended and took a glanceround the platform, to see that nothing had been left behind. "And now,my friends," he said, "before we push off, let us offer up a prayer forprotection against the dangers, foreseen and unforeseen, which we mayhave to encounter." Kneeling down and taking off his hat, Uncle Paulprayed in a firm, manly tone, all joining him in a hearty "Amen."

  Rising from our knees, the oars were got out, the painter cast off; andwe paddled clear of the trees: then the mast was stepped and set up withshrouds and stays, wedges being driven in to secure it more firmly. Thesail was hoisted and rigged out with a boom, and away we glided up thestream. Great care had been taken, in trimming the log, to prevent therisk of its upsetting. To each person was assigned his own properplace, from which he was on no account to move, unless directed by UnclePaul or Captain van Dunk. Further to secure the log, outriggers hadbeen fitted on either side; which gave it more stability withoutimpeding its progress. All had been done, indeed, which good sense andforethought could suggest for securing a safe voyage in our, at thebest, unwieldy craft. The extreme buoyancy of the cedar wood made itfar more suitable for our purpose than that of any other tree. From itsnatural shape, also, which was flat on the upper side, and rounded atthe bottom, it nearly resembled a vessel; and could we have hollowed itout, it might have been formed into a craft suitable for the navigationof a smooth river. We had, however, to make the best of it as it was.We had, I should have said, erected a small shed in the afterpart forMarian's accommodation, which served as her sleeping-place at night, andsheltered her somewhat from the heat of the sun by day.

  As before, we sailed on night and day. The craft was somewhat lessbuoyant than it had been; but as we had a fresh breeze, we made goodprogress, and in two days we reached the point where we had turned back.Marian was grateful for the care taken of her, and was in fair spirits;and even our poor father became more cheerful than he had been. Soonafter we had doubled the point, the wind shifted a little to thenorthward, blowing directly up the stream we had now entered. As in theOrinoco, the trees, with the water many feet above their roots, boundedour prospect on either side.

  Day after day we sailed on, a sharp lookout being kept ahead for anydanger which might appear. The chief risk was from submerged trees orfloating logs; which might have quickly upset her, had our craft struckone of them. Happily we escaped all these dangers; and though wefrequently passed very near floating logs, we did not receive any damagefrom them.

  At length we found the river narrowing considerably; but still no dryground had appeared on either side,--which showed how perfectly levelmust be the region through which we were sailing. The wind, though itcontinued favourable, had fallen, and we found it necessary to keepclose in by the shore, to avoid the current which we could no longerstem. Still, by keeping our paddles moving, we went ahead. So narrowhad the stream become, that we thought we must be approaching itssource, when suddenly we found ourselves entering a broad lakelikeexpanse, the opposite shore being scarcely visible. Captain van Dunkbeing unwilling, for fear of being caught in a gale, to stand across thelake, kept still coasting along, in the hope, he said, of discoveringeither a piece of firm ground or else another stream up which we mightrun.

  During the next night the wind was very light, and we made slowerprogress than we had hitherto done. I awoke just at daylight, and wassitting with Kallolo at the bow of our strange craft, over the stem ofwhich the tack was made fast. He was employed in looking out ahead.Quacko, his constant companion, was in his arms, and I was amusingmyself by talking to the monkey. "He no understand your lingo, MassaGuy," observed Kallolo. "Talkee as I do, and he know what you say." Onthis he uttered what seemed to me to be nothing but gibberish; butQuacko, in great delight, replied in what was evidently an imitation ofhis master's voice. Suddenly I saw the creature gaze into the water,and then, chattering louder than ever, it threw its arms aroundKallolo's neck.

  "He see something!" exclaimed the native, gazing on the smooth surface.

  "Oh! what can it be?" I exclaimed.

  The native did not reply. At that instant, a long shining head roseabove the surface, and came on with fearful rapidity towards the log.The Indian sat, it seemed to me, paralysed with terror. Beyond the headappeared a long thin body; and I now saw that it was an enormoussnake--"a huge anaconda." To my horror the creature, reaching the log,began to climb it, exhibiting the folds of its huge body; while itsmouth was open wide enough to swallow either of us at a gulp, though itmight possibly have been contented with poor Quacko, had Kallolo beenwilling to sacrifice his favourite.

  "Fly, Massa Guy! fly!" he shouted, springing back himself, with Quackoin his arms. Our shouts aroused our sleeping companions, who sprang totheir feet, Maco being the first to seize a lance and come to ourassistance. The bravest man might well have been excused for not facingthe hideous monster unarmed. The first impulse of everyone was tospring to the afterpart of our craft, as far as possible from its hugefangs. Our cries, and the row of bristling lances presented to theanaconda, made it hesitate to spring on us. Indeed, it had not as yet,I suspect, got firm hold of the log with its tail, which would haveenabled it to do so. While the rest of us were presenting our lances,Maco seized a bow and sent an arrow directly down the creature's throat!With a loud hiss of rage and pain it drew back, when we all rushedforward, not without some risk of upsetting the log, which rockedfearfully from side to side. Had we been thrown into the water, thecreature would have had us at its mercy; though, with an arrow in itsmouth, it would not have been able to swallow even Quacko. A secondarrow, sent from Maco's unerring bow, made it uncoil its huge body andslip off into the water, when, to our infinite satisfaction, itdisappeared beneath the surface. Poor Quacko still trembled all over;for his instinct told him how quickly the anaconda would have gobbledhim up. We speedily recovered our equanimity. "I wish he would come onagain," cried our undaunted skipper. "If he do, we shall quickly havehis head off, and cook some slices of his body for dinner." I don'tthink he exactly meant what he said; at all events, I must have beenexcessively hungry before I could have eaten any of the hideouscreature, though its flesh might possibly not be poisonous. I believe,indeed, that even the natives, who eat nearly everything, would not havebeen inclined to feed on its rank flesh.

  As we had no wish to remain in the neighbourhood, we got out the oarsand rowed lustily forward; and a fresh breeze springing up at aboutnoon, we ran on at a good rate, though not even at the fastest did weever make more than four knots an hour. Our average was perhaps abouttwo, which gave twenty-four miles in the day. This, considering allthings, was not bad progress.

  We sailed on till nightfall, in vain looking for a landing-place, whilebetween the trees we could distinguish nothing but water extending asfar as the eye could reach. As the wind was light, we did not attemptto bring up, but continued on our course; a crescent moon enabling us tosee our way sufficiently to avoid any dangers ahead. Uncle Paul andCaptain van Dunk took it in turn to act as officer of the watch. Myfather and Marian were rated as passengers, and the rest of us weredivided into two watches.

  It may be supposed, after the visit of the anaconda, that we kept abright lookout, lest any monster of the same species might take it inhis head to come on board; and Kallolo and Maco kept their bows ready tosend an arrow into the first pair of open jaws which appeared above thesurface. The night, however, passed away without the appearance of anyunwelcome visitor. The encounter we had had on the previous day seemed,indeed, like a horrible dream, and we could scarcely persuade ourselvesof its reality. I was very glad when daylight returned, and a freshbreeze and bright sun stirred up our spirits.

  We had not again attempted to light a fire on board; indeed, withoutstopping among the trees we could not have obtained fuel. We weretherefore co
mpelled to subsist on the dried meat and fish and thevarious fruits and nuts we had brought with us; cold water being oursole beverage. Marian subsisted almost entirely on fruit and nuts, andfor her sake especially I was anxious to reach dry ground, where wecould cook some more wholesome provisions for her.

  We had now, by our calculations, got a considerable way from theOrinoco, but had not yet found the dry ground of which we were insearch; nor had as yet any mountain ranges appeared over the tops of thelofty trees surrounding us.

  The noonday sun was shining with an intense splendour on the calmexpanse of water over which we glided, when we saw before us an openingbetween the trees, through which we concluded the upper waters of theriver we had been navigating flowed. The log was steered for it. Itwas of considerable breadth, though narrowed by the far-extendingbranches of the trees hanging over it, the lower portions of the stemsbeing concealed by the water.

  We sailed on: Captain van Dunk thought we should, before long, reach apart with banks considerably above the water. On either side rosemagnificent trees, some to the height of one hundred and fifty feet.Among the most remarkable were the white-stemmed cecropia; the cow-tree,of still loftier growth; and the indiarubber tree, with its smooth greybark, tall erect trunk, and thick glossy leaves: while intermixed withthem appeared the assai palm, with its slender stem, its graceful head,and its delicate green plumes; and the mirite, one of the most beautifulof the palm tribe, having abundant clusters of glossy fruit, andenormous spreading, fanlike leaves, cut into ribbons. Palms of variousspecies predominated. The underwood was not very dense, but the seposwove their tracery among the upper branches; some running round andround the trees, and holding them in a close embrace; others hangingfrom branch to branch in rich festoons, or dropping in long lines to theground. Here, too, appeared numberless parasitic plants, with mostbeautiful and gorgeous flowers. Among the most lovely flowers was oneof a yellow tint, apparently suspended between the stems of two trees,shining in the gloom as if its petals were of gold. In reality, as weafterwards discovered, it grows at the end of a stalk, a yard and a halflong, springing from a cluster of thick leaves on the bark of a tree.Others had white and spotted blossoms; and still more magnificent thanall was one of a brilliant purple colour, emitting a delicious odour.Here, too, we saw plants hanging in mid-air, like the crowns of hugepineapples; and large climbing arums, with their dark green andarrow-head-shaped leaves, forming fantastic and graceful ornaments amidthe foliage; while huge-leaved ferns and other parasites clung to thesterns up to the very highest branches. These, again, were covered bycreeping plants; and thus literally parasites grew on parasites; and onthese parasites, again, leaves of every form were also seen--somebeautifully divided, and others of vast size and fanlike shape, likethose of the cecropias; and numerous others of intermediate forms addedto the countless variety.

  Many of the trees bore fruit. Among the most tempting was that of themaraja, growing in large bunches. Most of the palms also had fruit;some like the cocoanut, others like small berries. Then there was thepalmetto, with its tender succulent bud on the summit of the stem, usedas a vegetable with meat. Others had bunches of bright chestnut-brownfruit hanging from between the leaves which form the crown, each bunchabout a foot in length, massive and compact, like a large cluster ofHamburg grapes. Then there was another palm, bearing a greenish fruitnot unlike the olive in appearance, which hung in large pendent bunchesjust below the leaves. There were bean-shaped pods, too, from one footto three feet in length. The cuja-tree, which I have already mentioned,is of immense size. Its fruit is very much like that of a gourd ofspherical form, with a light-green shining surface, growing from thesize of an orange to that of the largest melon. It is filled with asoft white pulp, easily removed when the fruit is cut in halves. TheIndians, I forgot to say, formed a number of cups and basins for us fromthe rind of this fruit. From them also we had manufactured thelifebuoys which I have described.

  As we sailed along, numerous birds of the most gorgeous plumage wereseen either resting on the boughs or flying overhead across the stream.Among them were several species of trogons and little bristle-tailedmanakins. We saw also the curious black umbrella-bird; which is socalled from having a hood like an umbrella spread over its head. Flocksof paroquets were seen, and bright blue chatterers; and now and then alovely pompadour, having delicate white wings and claret-colouredplumage. Monkeys of various sorts were scrambling among the boughs,coming out to look at us, and chattering loudly as if to inquire why wehad come into their domains. Now and then we caught sight of a slothrolled up on a branch of an imbauba tree, on the leaves of which thecreature feeds; while butterflies of most brilliant hues and enormousdragonflies were flitting about in the sunshine.

  On and on we sailed, the passage between the trees now becoming narrowerevery mile we progressed, till at length they appeared almost to closeus in, the branches completely interlacing overhead. Still, having goneso far, Captain van Dunk was unwilling to turn back, unless certain thatthere was no opening into some wider stream; but, from the depth of thewater and the absence of any strong current, he fully believed we shouldmeet with one. At length the branches extended so far across thepassage that we were compelled to unstep the mast in order to pass underthem. The sudden change from the bright glare of the open water to thesolemn gloom of the forest was very remarkable. We had now to paddleslowly. We were frequently able to press our oars against the trunks ofthe trees, and thus to shove the log ahead. Though accustomed totropical scenery, nothing we had before witnessed equalled the richluxuriance of the vegetation--the numberless strange trees, and hangingplants, and creepers, and beautiful flowers of every hue, affordingabundance of interest as we proceeded. Marian was delighted, and wascontinually crying out, "Oh, what a lovely flower!--what a gracefultree!--see that magnificent bird!--oh, what a gorgeous butterfly!" tillshe had exhausted her vocabulary of suitable epithets.

  At length we reached a spot where the far-extending buttressed roots ofan enormous tree completely impeded our progress; and steering up to it,we made our log fast, and stepped, I cannot say on shore, but on theroots of the tree. We had little doubt, indeed, that could we havepenetrated through the mass of foliage, we should soon have reached dryground. It was now time for our evening meal, and therefore, beforeproceeding further, we sat down to partake of it. The captain intended,if possible, afterwards to try to work the log through by towing, orelse to build a small raft, and, with one or two companions, explore thepassage still further on.

  We had a number of spectators at our repast; for no sooner were wequietly seated, than troops of monkeys, attracted by the strangespectacle we presented--to their eyes, at all events--came from everyside through the forest, swinging from bough to bough, or scramblingalong the sepos, to have a look at us. There they sat above our heads,chattering away as if talking of us and making their observations.Quacko looked up, and answered them in their own language; at which theyseemed very much surprised. Some were induced, by what he said, Isuppose, to come down much closer; and had we been so inclined, we mighthave shot several with our arrows. That, however, would have been atreacherous return for the confidence they showed; and we did not,happily for them, require food. I very much doubt, had such been thecase, that we should have allowed them to escape.

  Kallolo and Maco, observing that we had no fruit remaining, volunteeredto make their way into the forest, to try to find some. Uncle Paul, forMarian's sake, accepted their offer. It required great agility andpractical experience for anyone to scramble among the interlacing boughsand network of sepos, without the almost certainty of tumbling into thewater. They went off armed with their spears, and their long knivesstuck in their girdles, saying that they would soon make theirappearance again. We meantime, having finished the more substantialpart of our meal, scrambled up to the huge roots of the tree where wehad first landed, and sat down to await their return.

  Uncle Paul, Captain van Dunk, and Peter talked over their plans. Th
eydid not conceal from themselves the difficulties of their project; butstill, like brave men, they resolved to accomplish it. Though their sawwas too small to cut out the planks of the proposed vessel, they mightobtain them by splitting up trees with wedges, and then smoothing themdown with the axe. Though they had no nails, the planks might besecured to the ribs with tree-nails or wooden pegs. "Ya, ya!" exclaimedthe brave skipper for the hundredth time; "where there's a will there'sa way. We will do it, we will do it; never fear." His confidenceraised all our spirits.

  The day drew on, but the two natives did not appear, and we began tofear that they must have met with some accident, or lost their way. Onething was certain, we should have to spend another night on our log,instead of, as we had hoped, on dry ground under the shelter of leafyhuts, which we had proposed building. My father's great wish, forMarian's sake, was to return as soon as possible to civilised parts. Hesaid something to that effect.

  "Oh, don't think about me, papa," exclaimed Marian; "I really enjoy thissort of life; only I hope that we shall not meet with another anaconda,or boa, or any of those venomous serpents which are said to frequentthis region."

  "I trust indeed that we shall not, my child," said our father; "butthere are other dangers I fear for you, though I pray that you may bepreserved from them also."

  "We will not talk of dangers nor of difficulties," observed Uncle Paul;"the great thing is to face them bravely when they come."

  My father remarked that it was time to return to our log, and to makearrangements for passing the night while there was daylight, as weshould find the darkness much greater under the shelter of the treesthan we had found it in the open part of the river.

  I had just got on my feet and was looking up the stream, when I observeda bright light burst forth from among the trees at a considerabledistance. I called the attention of Uncle Paul to it, who was sittingnear me. He also got up and looked in the direction to which I pointed.

  "It must be produced by a fire," he observed. "It is either justkindled on the branches of some high tree or else on ground risingconsiderably above the stream. Can Kallolo and Maco have got there andkindled it as a signal to us? For my part, I confess I cannot make itout?" The rest of the party now got up and looked in the direction inwhich we were gazing. They were greatly puzzled.

  "Can the fire have been lighted by natives?" asked Arthur. "Some of thetribes which inhabit these regions are accustomed to form theirdwellings among the trees, I have heard; if so, we must be on our guard.It will be better, at all events, to avoid them; for though it ispossible they may prove friendly, they may resent the intrusion ofstrangers into their territory, and attack us." Uncle Paul agreed withArthur that in all probability the fire was lighted by natives. "Theycannot, however, as yet have seen us," he remarked, "and it might bewiser to retreat while we have time, and to try to find anotherpassage."

  "I cannot agree with you there," observed Captain van Dunk. "We have noreason to fear the natives, who are poor, miserable creatures; and asthey believe that white men never go without firearms, they will notventure to attack us."

  "But, captain, if they find that we have no firearms, they will knowthat we are at their mercy, and may easily overwhelm us by numbers,"observed Arthur.

  "But we have our spears, bows, and arrows, and we shall cut some stoutcudgels, with which we could easily drive away such miserable savages asthey are."

  "Suppose they possess the deadly blowpipe, with its little poisoneddarts, they may attack us without giving us a chance of reaching them,"said Arthur.

  "I am afraid that Arthur is right," remarked Uncle Paul. "It would befolly to expose ourselves to danger if it can be avoided."

  The discussion was still going on when we caught sight of two figuresapproaching through the fast increasing gloom. Could they be thesavages of whom we were talking? I confess that I felt veryuncomfortable,--not so much for myself as for Marian and my father; andfor the first time since we reached the Orinoco I began to wish that wewere safe among civilised people. I suspect that my companions sharedmy fears. No one spoke. At length our anxiety was set at rest byhearing the voices of Kallolo and Maco. They soon joined us, bringing anumber of ripe purple plums, and some bunches of the delicious maraja,the fruit of several species of palms, which I may as well here sayafforded an acceptable supper to all the party. We eagerly asked ifthey had seen any Indians.

  "We have," answered Kallolo; "but they are a long way off, and as theywill not wander from their encampment during the night, we may, ifnecessary, avoid them. We will, however, first learn if they arefriends or foes. If they are friends, they may assist us with theircanoes in getting through the passage; but if they are foes, we must tryto steal by them without being seen."

  We had now all collected on the log, and Marian having retired to hercabin, we sat down to discuss the best plan of proceeding.

  "I see we must do what I before proposed," said the skipper. "We willbuild a small raft, and Peter and I, with Maco and Sambo, will endeavourto push through the passage while you all remain concealed from thenatives behind these thick trees. Should we get through, I will sendMaco back to guide you; and you must build two other small rafts, whichwill be sufficient to carry you."

  Uncle Paul did not at first seem inclined to agree with the skipper. Hewas unwilling that our party should separate; for, should the nativesdiscover us, and prove hostile, they were more likely to attack a smallnumber than a large one. At the same time, he acknowledged that byremaining on the log we might be able to retreat on it down the streamshould we be attacked, and, at all events, still have some chance ofsaving our lives.

  The skipper had at first proposed forming the raft immediately, andembarking on it during the night, so as to pass the neighbourhood of theIndian encampment before daylight; but so great was the darkness in theconfined spot where we were, that we soon found it would be impossibleto commence our building operations till the return of day, and he wastherefore compelled to put off his expedition till the next night.