The Pathless Trail

by Arthur O. Friel

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  STRATEGY

  In the last light of the fast-fading day the canoes darted from theforest into the clearing where stood the Monitaya _malocas_.

  Long before their arrival the siren call had ceased, but there had beenno lessening of speed by the racing dugouts. On the contrary, the lastlong mile had been covered in a final desperate spurt, the paddlesswinging in swift unison to the accompaniment of a ferocious chant ofone syllable: "Hough! Hough! Hough!" This explosive cadence had echoeddown the stream ahead of them; and now, as the panting crews emergedfrom the jungle, they found themselves flanked by a long line of theirfellow-warriors, bristling with drawn arrows and ready spear points. Butof the enemy whose presence that great xylophone had betokened there wasno sign.

  At sight of the familiar feather bonnets of their own men the tenseMonitayans let their weapons slowly sink. And when Tucu, leaping ashore,gaspingly demanded news of the fight, the line dissolved into a mobwhich rushed to welcome him and his mates. In the first few breaths itwas learned that no fight had yet taken place, but that all the warriorshad been brought in and ordered to prepare to march at the next sunrise;and that the sudden war call had been sent out as the result of thearrival of a stranger.

  Then the crowd parted, and through it came striding two men whoseappearance caused the white men to erupt into hoarse shouts of greeting.One, whose hard face swiftly relaxed into a half smile of relief, wasthe great chief himself. The other, whose jutting jaw suddenly droppedand whose blue eyes opened in incredulity, was Tim--Tim, once morestrong and florid and aggressive, gripping his rifle, astounded at thesight of his comrades standing there alive and alert. They soon learnedwhy.

  Dropping his gun, he sprang at them with an inarticulate roar ofwelcome. He wrung their hands, pounded their shoulders, laughed, cried,swore, all at once. Then he burst out:

  "Glory be! Ye're alive, homelier 'n ever and tough as tripe! We thoughtye was wiped out sure! We was all set to start in the mornin' and pullthem Red Bones to pieces. Mebbe we'll do it yet, too. How'd ye breakthrough? Did ye kill Sworn-off and his gang?"

  "Schwandorf? Gang? Haven't seen anybody but Red Bones--though we suresaw plenty of them," replied Knowlton. "What are you talking about?"

  "Then ye missed him by about one point windage. When'd ye leave? Lastnight? I bet he's there by now. Gee! Where'd ye git them girls? Andwho's this guy? Great gosh! Is he the Raposy? Wal, for the love o'Mike--"

  "Tim!" broke in McKay. "What's all this about? Now wait. This is theRaposa. These girls are Mayoruna women held prisoners by the Red Bones.We got them last night and lit out in the middle of a generalengagement. Now open up with your news."

  "Right, Cap. We got a visitor to-day--old friend of ourn--li'l' oldHozy, the only white guy in that Peruvian crew we had. He's all dolledup like an Injun--shaved face, tribe paint, and so on. He come throughthe Injun country that way--I dunno yet how he done it, him bein' aPeruvian and all, but he got through, and he says Sworn-off and a wholegang of bad eggs is back here to git this Raposy guy and all the girlsthey can lay hands on. He says Sworn-off's got them Red Bones workin'for him, and you fellers must be massacreed sure by now.

  "Good thing I was here when he come, or he'd be cut up and in thestewpot. Monitaya's a good skate, but he sure is poison to anythingPeruvian, and soon as Hozy begun to try to talk he got wise and dangnear bumped him off. I got him to cool down some, and he believes Hozy'stellin' the truth, but even at that they got Hozy tied up like a dog.Come look at him."

  But it was necessary to wait awhile for Tucu and Lourenco to tellMonitaya the tale of what had taken place; for the chief demandedimmediate and full details, and not until he had them would he return tohis _maloca_ and his hammock throne. By that time the little moon wasagain ruler of the sky and the keen hunger of the voyagers had grownravenous. Followed by the rescued and the rescuers, he then stalked intothe tribal house and to his usual place, where he commanded that food bebrought.

  On the ground, directly in front of the chief's hammock, sat a gaunt,painted Indian around whose neck was a stout noose, the other end of thecord being held by a muscular savage whose skull-smashing club wasgripped loosely in his other fist. As the whites reached them the noosedman's face cracked in a grin.

  "Greetings, senores," said the voice of Jose. "You will pardon me forremaining seated, yes? The man behind me is itching for an excuse tocrush my head."

  "Jose!" exclaimed both Knowlton and McKay. Though Tim had said Jose was"tied like a dog," they had not thought to find the expression literaltruth. The sight angered them and they turned to Lourenco.

  "Tell Monitaya we want this man freed!" McKay snapped. At his peremptorytone the cannibal chieftain looked oddly at him, and when Lourencotranslated the demand--though in a more diplomatic manner--he scowled.But he gave the clubman the word and the rope was lifted from theprisoner's neck.

  "_Gracias, amigos_," he bowed. "If I still remain seated, it is becauseI am very weary--and I have not eaten since yesterday."

  His thin face and his projecting ribs not only corroborated his simpleannouncement, but indicated that for more than one day his food and resthad been almost _nil_. Naked, painted, minus his fierce mustache andflamboyant headkerchief, he appeared a far different man than thedomineering _puntero_ of a short time back. But his bold black eyes, hisreckless grin, and his mocking tone proved him the same swashbucklingJose, undaunted by hunger, exhaustion, or his position as prisoner ofman eaters whose enmity was implacable.

  "Well, you're going to eat now, or we'll know why not!" vowed Knowlton."We understand that you brought a warning to Monitaya. Is this his wayof treating men who risk their lives to befriend him?"

  Jose shrugged.

  "Once an enemy, always an enemy. That is their rule. And do not thinkthat I traveled the bush and threw myself into this snake heap from loveof Monitaya. I do not care if he and all his race are blown to hell. Iam here because, as I once told you, Jose Martinez never forgets. Thankyou, senor, I will eat now and talk later."

  Deftly he extracted a chunk of meat from a clay pot which had beenplaced before Knowlton and in turn tendered to him. Monitaya watched himeat, but gave no sign of disapproval; and the Americans, and even theBrazilians, made an aggressive show of friendship toward the lonePeruvian for the express benefit of the chief. They knew well that bytheir rescue of the Mayoruna women they had made their own positionamong these people virtually impregnable, and that their recognition ofJose as a friend probably would be his only bulwark. Wherefore they leftno doubt in the minds of the watchers as to where he stood in theirregard.

  Monitaya, sitting in regal dignity, looked down upon two parties ofseven feasting with famished speed--the rescued women who were notmembers of his own tribe, and the four Americans, two Brazilians, andone Peruvian. All the others had scattered--Tucu and his band to theirown family triangles, and the four Monitaya girls to become the nucleiof feminine groups which demanded intimate accounts of their capture andtreatment by the captors.

  To the strange women at his feet the chief paid scant attention now,though he meant to interrogate them after their hunger was satisfied.His eyes dwelt on Rand, the strange combination of white man, Indian,and jungle demon of whom he had heard so much and on whose tanned skinthe red skeleton streaks told the tale of a "mind out of the skull."Jose and Tim stared in frank curiosity at the dead-alive newcomer, whosesilent composure remained totally unperturbed. But the seven new girls,though ignored by the chief and his guests, were by no means neglectedby the other men of the _maloca_, being thoroughly stared at by most ofthe young bucks--and, it must be confessed, by a goodly proportion ofthe married men also.

  When at length the meal was finished Monitaya commanded the girls tostand before him and narrate their experiences. The men lit smokes, Joseseizing the proffered cigarette with avidity, Rand accepting his withthe usual odd deliberation.

  "Wal, Hozy, old feller, ye're in right with the chief now," assertedTim. "Ye got all our gang with ye, and
she's some li'l' old gang, I'lltell the world. This feller Renzo can talk cannibal so good he makesMonitaya hunt for the dictionary, and he'll tell the chief in tenseconds what I tried half an hour to say this afternoon--that ye belong.I 'ain't been here long enough to learn much o' their lingo, yeunderstand. If I could spout it like French, now, there wouldn't been notrouble."

  McKay and Knowlton snickered. They knew Tim's French was several degreesworse than the usual American doughboy's "frog" talk.

  "Good thing you couldn't," derided Knowlton. "You'd have had Josecrucified before we got here."

  "That's right, gimme the razz! Course, I did have a li'l' trouble makin'some o' them frogs understand, but that was because they was so ignorantthey didn't know their own language when they heard it spoke right.Anyways, ye got to admit Hozy's still with us and sassy as ever, and hewouldn't been if Timmy Ryan hadn't been round to powwow for him."

  "You have it right, senor," Jose agreed, gravely. "Without you I shouldnow be dead. I can speak the Mayoruna tongue quite well, but of what useis it to talk any language when men will not listen? It was you and yourgun that saved me."

  "Gun? Good Lord! Did you pull a gun on Monitaya?" ejaculated thelieutenant.

  "Aw, no. That is--I guess mebbe I did wave me piece around while I wasarguin'--I can always convince a guy better if I got somethin' in mehand. But I didn't git real rough."

  "You are lucky to be still alive, Senhor Tim," said Lourenco. "IfMonitaya were not the man he is you would not be alive. I am glad wehave returned."

  "Meanin' I need a guardeen? Say, lookit here now--"

  "As you were!" clipped McKay. "We're all wasting time. Jose, let's hearyour report. I thought you were going to put Schwandorf out of actionfor good?"

  "And I am, Capitan! That is why I now am here. If I had reached himimmediately after leaving the Nunes place it would have been done atonce. But a man travels slowly when he is alone and has lost much blood,and before I met Schwandorf again I had time to think coolly. Then whenI saw him I changed my plans.

  "Some days down the river I met him traveling fast in a canoe paddled byhard men whom I know. He pretended to be greatly grieved when I told himyou all were dead. Oh yes, senores, I told him that! I was playing withhim, and it amused me to see how he thought he was deceiving me when Iwas really fooling him. I said we were attacked by Indians a short wayabove the Nunes place and that I alone escaped. Then he said somethingthat made me decide not to kill him for a time.

  "He told me he had learned that this man here--his name is Rand,yes?--that the man Rand was a bank thief who had run away from NorthAmerica, and that a reward would be paid for him. He said your realreason for coming here was that you were detectives trying to earn thereward. That is false, is it not, senores?"

  "We're no detectives. Rand's no thief."

  "Ah, so I thought. But Schwandorf often tells truth to conceal his lies,so that it is sometimes hard to know which is true and which untrue. Hewent on to say he had warned you not to come into this Indian country,and he was sorry you had been killed--the snake--but since you were deadwe might get the money for ourselves. If we succeeded in catching theman Rand and taking him out alive I should get half the reward, or fivehundred dollars.

  "I saw plainly what his plan was. I might be useful to him in catchingRand if Rand was out in the bush, for I have traveled this country alonemore than once and am a far better bushman than the German. But whetherI got Rand or not, I never should live to demand my part of the money. Iknow too much about Schwandorf--things which I shall not tell now. Sowhen the right time should come, Jose would meet with a fatal accident,such as a bullet in the back, or a knife in the throat while sleeping.But I did not let him know I saw this. I pretended to fall in with hisplan like the fool he thought me to be.

  "It was not Rand alone that brought him here. You have brought backMayoruna women from the Red Bone country, so you know the Red Bones arewomen stealers. And they steal for Schwandorf. You may believe me ornot, senores, but I did not know this until the German told me. Oh yes,I knew he dealt in women, but of the Red Bone part of his business I wasignorant. As soon as I learned it I saw how I could put the illustriousSenor Schwandorf out of action, as you say, and at the same time try tosave you.

  "I sharpened my knife to a razor edge, deserted the German when wereached the right place, shaved with my knife, painted myself with thered and black plant dyes, and came overland to this place, thinking youwould be here if still alive. But you had traveled faster than Iexpected and had gone into the Red Bone country, so my chance to saveyou seemed to have passed. I could only try to tell this chief the RedBones were stealers of his women and that the German was with them,knowing that if he believed me he would go on the war trail against themand kill them all. But if Senor Tim had not befriended me I should havedied too soon to tell my tale. That is all, senores. Now can you spare alittle more tobacco?"

  They could and they promptly did. With a new cigarette glowing he layback and looked quizzically at the women lined up before Monitaya.

  "How many men has Schwandorf?" asked McKay.

  "About twenty in all, Capitan. There were eight in his crew, and theywere to meet a dozen more at a place on the Peruvian side."

  "All riflemen?"

  "_Si._ He brought many cartridges for them. They are to raid tribehouses of these people."

  "Capture women and run them into Peru?"

  "_Si._" Jose yawned as if speaking of a deal in salt fish.

  The Americans looked thoughtfully around the big house. They saw thatevery man near them was inspecting some kind of weapon--making sure thatbow cords were unfrayed, that arrow heads and spear points were firm,that the long blowguns had received no cast from suspension, and thatdarts were absolutely straight and true. The strong but cruel faces ofthe warriors were stamped with malignant hatred of the Red Bone tribeand the Blackbeard who enslaved their women. The command to prepare fora march at dawn had not been withdrawn.

  "We'll be expected to go, too, and I'd sure like another crack atUmanuh, not to mention the Schwandorf outfit," said Knowlton, "but wehave friend Rand on our hands now, and our first duty is to get him outof here safely."

  "Aw, Looey, have a heart! I 'ain't had no action since that li'l' scrapdown the river, and I got to have some excitement before we blow. What'smore, we can't beat it now, with Monitaya dependin' on us to fight onhis side. He'd git sore, and I don't blame him."

  His superior officers and the Brazilians frowned. Every man of themitched to close with the enemy in one final decisive battle. Yet--

  "What 'll we do with Rand?" Knowlton voiced the general thought.

  The green eyes of the Raposa turned to him, rested long on his, traveleddeliberately along the other faces. And then, to the utter astonishmentof all, the dumb spoke.

  "I'll fight," said Rand.

  Speechless, the men around him stared. His face was inscrutable as ever,his eyes fathomless, his voice flat and toneless. But slowly he raisedhis hands as if holding a bow; twitched his right thumb and forefingerin the motion of loosing a shaft; let the hands sink. His gaze calmlylifted from theirs and dwelt on the farthest wall. Not another word didhe speak.

  "Begorry! there's yer answer!" triumphed Tim. "He says, 'Fight!' And Ibet he can sling a wicked bow and arrer, at that. Don't ye s'pose hewants a crack at them Red Bones, after the way they used him?"

  "I think, comrades, that the man has settled the matter for us," Pedroseconded. "None of us wants to run away; and, as Tim says, we areexpected to help Monitaya. We should be considered cowards, worse thandogs, if we refused. If we do not fight the Red Bones we may have tofight these Mayorunas, who now are our friends. We must stay."

  McKay nodded, still studying the expressionless countenance of Rand.

  "That's settled," he announced, crisply. "Now, Lourenco, find outMonitaya's plan of battle."

  The chief had finished his examination of the women and Lourencopromptly put the question. Monitaya laconically replied.


  "His purpose is not changed by our arrival, Capitao. He and his men goto-morrow to attack and destroy the Red Bones. When they reach the townof Umanuh they will surround it, and all will rush in when the chiefgives his yell of war."

  "About what I expected. An Indian has a single-track mind always. Buthis strategy is rotten. Might be good enough if he had only Umanuh todeal with, but with Schwandorf in the game it's different. Ask him howhe expects to protect his women while he's gone."

  "He says," Lourenco reported, "that there will be no danger to thewomen, because his warriors will be between the women and their enemiesuntil those enemies are dead."

  "Very simple. So simple that it's foolish. He doesn't figure on theother fellow's mind at all; doesn't realize that a man like Schwandorfis bound to outguess him on such straightaway tactics and isn't at alllikely to play into his hands. But that's the exact situation. TheGerman will outguess him, and it's up to him to outguess the German inturn. We'll do his guessing for him.

  "Schwandorf goes into Umanuh's town, learns what's happened, finds theRed Bones frothing at the mouth, and is sore himself. He figures thatwe've returned here with the women, that Monitaya's men are blood-madagainst the Red Bones, and that they'll do just what they are planningto do--march on Red Bone town and leave their women unprotected exceptby the old men, whose defensive power is negligible. He is in thiscountry for the express purpose of getting girls, and with Monitaya'smen away from their _malocas_ he has a wide-open chance to make thebiggest slave haul of his life. So he plans to outmaneuver Monitaya,attack this place, capture all the young women, allow the Red Bones tomassacre everyone else and burn the houses, and then move on without theloss of a man. After that perhaps he intends to find us and get Rand, orperhaps to attack other Mayoruna _malocas_. At any rate, his firstobjective is this place. Am I right so far?"

  "Dead right," Knowlton nodded.

  "Very well. Now he may figure that, having found the water connectionbetween the two creeks, the Mayorunas will come against Umanuh by thecanoe route. Or he may think they'll make the overland trip. In eithercase, the Red Bones have to come through the bush, for the simple reasonthat they haven't boats enough to carry all their force. Their canoeswere rather few when we were there, and we commandeered several of themfor our own use. If they decide to come part of the way in canoesthey'll have to work a come-and-go transport service, bringing thefighting men down in batches to some rendezvous from which they mustfinish the journey on foot. Chances are that they'll disregard thecanoes and all march overland by some route that would dodge theMayoruna line of march. But in either case they're coming here. And it'shere, in the place where he's not expected to be, that Monitaya shouldmeet them. Let him fortify himself and await the assault. It will come."

  "And we shall be saved many weary miles of leg work," Jose smiled."Capitan, your strategy is magnificent."

  "Begorry! it ain't so bad at that!" Tim approved. "Hozy, me and you willhave our hammicks slung out front here when the show starts and do ourshootin' prone. Suits me fine. Put it up to the chief, Renzo."

  Lourenco did. Very carefully he explained it all to Monitaya, dwellingon the fact that McKay himself was a warrior chieftain and familiar withthe fighting methods of such men as the atrocious Blackbeard, anddepicting graphically the horror of an attack by the barbarous Red Boneson the defenseless women. It took him some time to divert the chief'sstubborn mind from the original plan, but in the end he succeeded.

  To the vast astonishment and disappointment of the vengeful warriors,Monitaya curtly announced that the projected march would not take place.They stared as if disbelieving their ears, and more than one black lookwas given Lourenco. But not a man questioned the countermanding oforders, not a mutter was heard. The great chief had spoken, and his wordwas final.

  Reluctantly they laid aside the weapons on which they had been toilingwith such purposeful zeal. The chief watched them with a little smile ofpride--pride in their zest for war, pride in their unquestioningacceptance of his dampening order. Then he coolly told them to continuetheir work; told them, further, that the next morning all the streamswere to be poisoned, new traps set, and scouts stationed far out onevery trail to await and report the approach of foes. Instantly theirfaces flamed again and from every quarter of the wide house rose anexcited hum. They were to fight, after all!

  "Tough eggs, these lads, if ye ask me," yawned Tim. "Bet ye we'll see arow worth lookin' at when she does break."

  He forebore to mention the fact that in rifle power their assailantswould outnumber them four to one.