afther doin' such dhirty work as slaughter a whole island full of
venomous sarpents? Not a bit av that same. It's true they were
desthroyed; but not by her own swate hands. She sinds a man to do the
work for her. She sint Sant Pathrick."
"O, I's heerd ye 'peak ob dat man, many's de time, Massa Tum. 'Twur him
dat kill de serpents, wur it?"
"Trath was it."
"But how'd he do it? It muss hab take um a berry long time to destroy
um all."
"There ye are intirely asthray, nager. It only occupied him wan day,
an' not all the day nayther, for he had done the work a thrifle ov a
hour or so afther dinner-time."
"Gollys! how'd he do all dat?"
"Will! ye see, he invited all the snakes to a grand banquit. He had
such a charmin' way wid him that they wun an' all agreed to come. The
place was on the top of a high mountain,--called the Hill of Howth,--far
hoigher than any in the Andays we saw when crossin' thare. The faste he
had provided for them was a colliction of toads, includin' every wun ov
thim that inhabited the island. The toads he had invited too; an' the
stupid craythers, not suspictin' anythin', come willingly to the place.
"Now yez must undherstand, nager, that the snakes are moighty fond of
toads, and frogs too; but Saint Pathrick had no ill-will against the
frogs, an' they wur exchused from comin'. As it was, the toads wur axed
at an earlier hour than the snakes, an' got first to the top of the
hill; an' while they were waitin' there to see what was to be done, the
sarpints came glidin' up, and bein' tould that their dinner was spread
before them, they fell to, an' swallowed up every toad upon the hill,
which was every wun there was in all Oireland."
The narrator made a long pause, either to draw breath after such a
declamation, or to give time for his companion to indulge his
astonishment.
"Gora!" exclaimed the latter, impatient for further explanation. "How
'bout de snakes demselves? Surely dey didn't swallow one anodder?"
"Trath! an' that's jest what they did do,--every mother's son of thim."
"But dat 'ere doan' 'tan' to reezun, unless dey hab a fight one wif de
odder? Splain yourself, Massa Tum."
"Will, yez have guessed it exactly widout my sayin' a word. They _did_
have a foight, that went all roun' through the whole crowd, like a
shindy in Donnybrook fair. Yez would loike to hear how it begun. Will,
I'll tell ye. There was two kinds av the riptile. Wan they called
`Ribbon snakes,' an' the tother `Orange snakes,' by razon av their
colour, both in politics and religion. They had a king over both that
lived moighty foine at their expinse. But he couldn't manage to keep
thim continted with payin' him taxes, unless by sittin' the wan agaynst
the tother. An' this he did to the full av his satisfacshin. Now the
bad blood that was betwane thim showed itself at that great gatherin'
worse than iver it had done afore. Thare wasn't toads enough to give
them all a full male; and by way of dissart they thought they'd turn to
an' ate wun another. Av course that was just what Sant Pathrick wanted;
for he wasn't plazed at their having two sorts of religion. So the ould
praste hugged thim on in the quarrel, till it come to blows, an' inded
in both kinds killin' an' atin' wun another till there was nothing lift
av ayther exceptin' the tails."
"Golly! what becomed of de tails?"
"O, thim? The people jumped down from the scaffolds and gathered thim
up into a hape, and thin made a great bonfire av thim, and aftherwardt
spred the ashes over the groun'; and that's what makes ould Oireland the
greenest gim av the oshin."
"But, Massa Tum, you hab say dat one ob de snakes 'scape from the genr'l
congregation?"
"Trath did I say it. Wun did escape, an' 's livin' to make mischief in
ould Oireland to this very day."
"Which one was he?"
"Their king."
"De king. How you call um, Massa Tipprary?"
"The Divvel."
CHAPTER EIGHTY.
LIGHTS AHEAD.
The expression of incredulity had now floated from the countenance of
the Irishman to that of the African, who in turn suspected himself
imposed upon. The leer in Tom's eye plainly declared that he considered
himself "quits" with his companion; and the two remained for some
moments without further exchange of speech. When the conversation was
resumed, it related to a theme altogether different. It was no longer
on the subject of snakes, but stars.
The pilot perceived that the one hitherto guiding him was going out of
sight,--not by sinking below the horizon, but because the sky was
becoming overcast by thick clouds. In ten minutes more there was not a
star visible; and, so far as direction went, the helm might as well have
been abandoned. Tom, however, stuck to his paddle, for the purpose of
steadying the craft; and the breeze, as before, carried them on in a
direct course. In about an hour after, this gave token of forsaking
them; and, at a still later period, the log lay becalmed upon the bosom
of the lagoa.
What, next? Should they awake the others and communicate the unpleasant
intelligence? Tom was of opinion that they should, while the negro
thought it would be of no use. "Better let dem lie 'till," argued he,
"and hab a good night ress. Can do no good wake um up. De ole craff
muss lay to all de same, till dar come anodder whif ob de wind!"
While they were disputing the points, or rather after they had done
disputing, and each held his tongue, a sound reached their ears that at
once attracted the attention of both. It was rather a chorus of sounds,
not uttered at intervals, but continued all the time they were
listening. It bore some resemblance to a distant waterfall; but now and
then, mingling with the hoarser roaring of the torrent, were voices as
of birds, beasts, and reptiles. None of them were very distinct. They
appeared to come from some point at a great distance off. Still, they
were loud enough to be distinguished, as sounds that could not proceed
out of the now tranquil bosom of the lagoa.
Perhaps they might sooner have attracted the notice of the two men, but
for the sighing of the breeze against the sail, and the rippling of the
water as it rushed along the sides of the ceiba. When these sounds had
ceased, the conversation that ensued produced the same effect; and it
was only after the dispute came to a close that the disputants were made
aware that something besides their own voices was disturbing the
tranquillity of the night.
"What is it, I wondher?" was the remark of Tipperary Tom. "Can yez
tell, Mozey?"
"It hab berry much de soun' ob a big forress!"
"The sound av a forest? What div yez mane by that?"
"Wha' shud I mean, but de voices ob de animal dat lib in de forress. De
birds an' de beast, an' de tree frogs, an' dem 'ere crickets dat chirps
'mong de trees. Dat's what dis nigger mean."
"I b'lieve ye're right, nager. It's just that same. It can't be the
wather, for that's did calm; an' it can't purceed from the sky, for it
don't come in that direction. In trath it's from the forest, as ye
say."
"In dat case, den, we muss be near de odder side ob de lagoa, as de
Indyun call um,--jess wha we want to go."
"Sowl, thin, that's good news! Will we wake up the masther an' till him
av it? What do yez think?"
"Dis nigga tink better not. Let um all sleep till de broke ob day. Dat
can't be far off by dis time. I hab an idee dat I see de furs light ob
mornin' jess showin' out yonner, at de bottom ob de sky. Gora! what's
yon? Dar, dar! 'trait afore de head. By golly! dar's a fire out
yonner, or someting dat hab de shine ob one. Doan ye see it, Massa
Tum?"
"Trath, yis; I do see somethin' shinin'. It a'n't them fire-flies, div
yez think?"
"No! 'ta'n't de fire-fly. Dem ere flits about. Yon ting am steady, an'
keeps in de same place."
"There's a raal fire yandher, or else it's the willy-wisp. See! be me
troth thare's two av thim. Div yez see two?"
"Dar _am_ two."
"That can't be the willy-wisp. He's niver seen in couples,--at laste,
niver in the bogs av Oireland. What can it be?"
"What can which be?" asked Trevannion, who, at this moment awaking,
heard the question put by Tom to the negro.
"Och, look yandher! Don't yez see a fire?"
"Certainly; I see something very like one,--or rather two of them."
"Yis, yis; there's two. Mozey and meself have just discovered thim."
"And what does Mozey think they are?"
"Trath, he's perplixed the same as meself. We can't make hid or tail av
thim. If there had been but wan, I'd a sayed it was a willy-wisp."
"Will-o'-the-wisp! No, it can scarce be that,--the two being together.
Ah! I hear sounds."
"Yes, masther, we've heerd thim long ago."
"Why didn't you awake us? We must have drifted nearly across the lagoa.
Those sounds, I should say, come out of the forest, and that, whatever
it is, must be among the trees. Munday! Munday!"
"Hola!" answered the Indian, as he started up from his squatting
attitude: "what is it, patron? Anything gone wrong?"
"No: on the contrary, we appear to have got very near to the other side
of the lagoa."
"Yes, yes!" interrupted the Indian as soon as the forest noises fell
upon his ear; "that humming you hear must come thence. _Pa terra_!
lights among the trees!"
"Yes, we have just discovered them. What can they be?"
"Fires," answered the Indian.
"You think it is not fire-flies?"
"No; the _loengos_ do not show that way. They are real fires. There
must be people there."
"Then there is land, and we have at last reached _terra firma_."
"The Lord be praised for that," reverently exclaimed the Irishman. "Our
throubles will soon be over."
"May be not, may be not," answered the Mundurucu, in a voice that
betrayed both doubt and apprehension.
"Why not, Munday?" asked Trevannion. "If it be fires we see, surely
they are on the shore; and kindled by men. There should be some
settlement where we can obtain assistance?"
"Ah, patron! nothing of all that need follow from their being fires;
only that there must be men. The fires need only be on the shore, and
as for the men who made them, instead of showing hospitality, just as
like they make take a fancy to eat us."
"Eat us! you mean that they may be cannibals?"
"Just so, patron. Likely as not. It's good luck," pursued the tapuyo,
looking around, "the wind went down, else we might have been carried too
close. I must swim towards yon lights, and see what they are, before we
go any nearer. Will you go with me, young master?"
"O, certainly!" replied Richard, to whom the question was addressed.
"Well, then," continued the tapuyo, speaking to the others, "you must
not make any loud noise while we are gone. We are not so very distant
from those fires,--a mile or thereabout; and the water carries the sound
a long ways. If it be enemies, and they should hear us, there would be
no chance of escaping from them. Come, young master, there's not a
minute to spare. It must be very near morning. If we discover danger,
we shall have but little time to got out of its way in the darkness; and
that would be our only hope. Come! follow me!"
As the Indian ceased speaking, he slipped gently down into the water,
and swam off to the two lights whose gleam appeared every moment more
conspicuous.
"Don't be afraid, Rosetta," said Richard, as he parted from his cousin.
"I warrant it'll turn out to be some plantation on the bank, with a
house with lights shining through the windows, and white people inside,
where we'll all be kindly received, and get a new craft to carry us down
to Para. Good by for the present! We'll soon be back again with good
news."
So saying, he leaped into the water and swam off in the wake of the
tapuyo.
CHAPTER EIGHTY ONE.
AN AERIAL VILLAGE.
The swimmers had not made many hundred yards when they saw beyond doubt
that the forest was not far off. It was even nearer than they had at
first imagined, the darkness having deceived them; and perhaps the log
may have drifted nearer while they were under the impression that they
lay becalmed.
At all events, they were now scarcely a quarter of a mile from the
forest, which they knew stretched along the horizon as far as they could
have seen had it been daylight. They could only just distinguish a dark
belt or line rising above the surface of the water before them; but that
this extended right and left to a far distance could be told from the
sounds that came from it. There was the hum of tree-crickets and
cicadas, the _gluck_ of toads and frogs, the screams of aquatic birds,
the hooting of owls, and the strange plaintive calls of the
goat-suckers, of which several species inhabit the Gapo forests; the
whip-poor-will and the "willy-come-go" all the night long giving
utterance to their monotonous melody. Harsher still were the cries
proceeding from the throats of howling monkeys, with now and then the
melancholy moaning of the _ai_, as it moved slowly through the branches
of the _embauba_ (cecropia-tree). All these sounds, and a score of
other kinds,--some produced by insects and reptiles of unknown
species,--were blended in that great choir of nature which fills the
tropical forest with its midnight music.
The two swimmers, however, paid no attention to this fact; their whole
thoughts being occupied by the lights, that, as they advanced, grew
every moment more conspicuous. There was no longer any doubt about
these being the blaze of fires. It was simply a question of where the
fires were burning, and who had kindled them.
The young Paraense supposed them to be upon the shore of the lagoa.
About this, however, his companion expressed a doubt. They did not seem
to burn steadily, their discs appearing now larger and now less.
Sometimes one would go out altogether, then blaze up afresh, while
another was as suddenly extinguished. The younger of the two swimmers
expressed astonishment at this intermittence, which his companion easily
explained. The fires, he said, were placed at some distance from the
edge of the forest, among the trees, and it was by some tree-trunk now
and then intervening that the illusion was caused.
Silently the swimmers approached, and in due time they glided in under
the shadow of the thick foliage, and saw the fires more distinctly. To
the astonishment of Richard--for the tapuyo did not seem at all
astonished--they did not appear to be on the ground, but up in the air!
The Paraense at first supposed them to have been kindled upon the top of
some eminence; but, on scanning them more closely, he saw that this
could not be the case. Their gleaming red light fell upon water shining
beneath, over which, it was clear, they were in some way suspended.
As their eyes became accustomed to the glare, the swimmers could make
out that the fires were upon a sort of scaffold raised several feet
above the water, and supported by the trunks of the trees. Other
similar scaffolds could be seen, on which no fires had been kindled,--
from the fact, no doubt, that their occupants were not yet astir.
By the blaze human figures were moving to and fro, and others were on
the platforms near by, which were more dimly illuminated; some entering,
some coming forth from "toldos," or sheds, that stood upon them.
Hammocks could be seen suspended from free to tree, some empty, and some
still holding a sleeper.
All this was seen at a single glance, while at the same time were heard
voices, that had been hitherto drowned by the forest choir, but could
now be distinguished as the voices of men, women, and children,--such as
might be heard in some rural hamlet, whose inhabitants were about
bestirring themselves for their daily avocations.
The tapuyo, gliding close up to the Paraense, whispered in his ear, "A
malocca!"
"An Indian village!" Richard rejoined. "We've reached _tierra firme_,
then?"
"Not a bit of it, young master. If the dry land had been near, those
fires wouldn't be burning among the tree-tops."
"At all events, we are fortunate in falling in with this curious
malocca, suspended between heaven and earth. Are we not so?"
"That depends on who they are that inhabit it. It may be that we've
chanced upon a tribe of cannibals."
"Cannibals! Do you think there are such in the Gapo?"
"There are savages in the Gapo who would torture before killing,--you,
more especially, whose skins are white, remember, with bitterness, what
first drove them to make their home in the midst of the water-forests,--
the white slave-hunters. They have reason to remember it; for the cruel
chase is still kept up. If this be a malocca of Muras, the sooner we
get away, the safer. They would show you whites no mercy, and less than
mercy to me, a red man like themselves. We Mundurucus are their
deadliest enemies. Now, you lie still, and listen. Let me hear what
they are saying. I know the Mura tongue. If I can catch a word it will
be sufficient. Hush!"
Not long had they been listening, when the Indian started, an expression
of anxiety suddenly overspreading his features, as his companion could
perceive by the faint light of the distant fires.
"As I expected," said he, "they are Muras. We must be gone, without a
moment's loss of time. It will be as much as we can do to paddle the
log out of sight before day breaks. If we don't succeed in doing so, we
are all lost. Once seen, their canoes would be too quick for us. Back,
back to the monguba!"
CHAPTER EIGHTY TWO.
A SLOW RETREAT: IN THE ARCADE.
Their report spread consternation among the crew. Trevannion,
incredulous of the existence of such bloodthirsty savages as Munday
represented the Muras to be, was disposed to treat it as an
exaggeration. The young Paraense, who, when in his father's house, had
met many of the up-river traders, and heard them conversing on this very
theme, was able to endorse what the Mundurucu said. It was well-known
to the traders that there were tribes of wild Indians inhabiting the
Gapo lands, who during the season of the inundation made their home
among the tree-tops,--that some of these were cannibals, and all of them
savages of a most ferocious type, with whom an encounter in their native
wilds, by any party not strong enough to resist them, might prove both
dangerous and deadly.
There was no time to argue; and without further opposition the ex-miner
himself sprang to one of the paddles, the tapuyo taking the other. They
had no idea of going back across the lagoa. To have proceeded in that
direction would have been to court discovery. With such slow progress
as theirs, a mile would be about all they could make before daybreak;
and, out on the open water, their craft would be distinguishable at
three times that distance. The course counselled by the tapuyo was to
keep at first parallel to the line of the trees; and then enter among
these as soon as the dawn began.
As the party retreated, not two, but ten fires were seen gleaming among
the trees, filling the forest with their bright coruscation. The tapuyo
explained that each new light denoted the uprising of a fresh family,
until the whole malocca was astir. The fires were kindled to cook the
breakfast of the Indians. Notwithstanding this domestic design, our
adventurers looked back upon them with feelings of apprehension; for
they were not without fears that, roasted over those very fires, they
might furnish the savages with the material for a cannibal repast!
To all appearance never did the ceiba go slower,--never lie so dull upon
the water. Despite the vigorous straining of strong arms, it scarcely
seemed to move. The sail was of no service, as there was not a breath
of air, but was rather an obstruction; and, seeing this, Mozey let loose
the halyards and gently lowered it.
They had hardly made half a mile from the point of starting, when they
saw the dawn just appearing above the tops of the trees. They were upon
the equator itself, where between dawn and daylight there is but a short
interval of time. Knowing this, the craft was turned half round, and
pulled towards a place of concealment. As they moved on to make it,
they could see the sunlight stealing over the surface of the water, and
the fires becoming paler at its approach. In ten minutes more, daylight
would be upon them!
It was now a struggle against time,--a trial of speed between the ceiba
and the sun,--both slowly approaching a critical point in their course.
Trevannion and the tapuyo plied the paddles as men rowing for their
lives and the lives of others dear to them. They almost felt as if the
sun favoured them; for he not only seemed to suspend his rising, but to
sink back in his course. Perhaps it was only the shadow of the trees,
under which they had now entered. At all events, they were in the midst
of obscurity, propelling the dead-wood into the embouchure of an
igarape, overshadowed with drooping trees, that, like a dark cavern,
promised them a hiding-place.
At the moment of entering, it was so dark they could not tell how far
the opening extended. In this uncertainty they suspended the stroke of
their paddles, and suffered the ceiba to come to a standstill. As yet
they had no other light than that afforded by the fire-flies that
flitted under about the trees. But these were of the large species,
known as _Cocuyos (Elater noctilucus_), one of which, when held over the
page of a printed book, enables a person to read; and as there were many
of them wandering about, their united sparkle enabled our adventurers to
make out that the creek was of very limited extent.
Gradually, as the sun rose higher, his light fell gently glimmering
through the leaves, and showed that the arcade was a _cul de sac_,
extending only about a hundred yards into the labyrinth of branches and
parasitical plants. They had entered, so to speak, a court through
which there was no thoroughfare; and there they must remain. They could
only get out of it by taking to the tree-tops, or else by returning to
the open lagoa. But they had had enough of travelling through the
tree-tops, while to abandon the craft that had carried them so
comfortably, and that might still avail them, was not to be thought of.
As to returning to the open water, that would be like delivering
themselves into the very jaws of the danger they were desirous to avoid;
for, once seen by the savages, there would not be the slightest chance
of escape. They were provided with canoes moored among the tree-trunks
that formed the supports of their aerial habitations. Clumsy structures
enough; but, no matter how clumsy or slow, they were swifter than the
dead-wood; and in the event of a chase the latter would be easily
overhauled and captured. Only one course offered any prospect of
safety,--to remain all day in the arcade, trusting that none of the
savages might have any business near the place. At night they could
steal out again, and by an industrious use of their paddles put a safer
distance between themselves and the dangerous denizens of the malocca.
Having determined on this, they drew their craft into the darkest
corner, and, making it fast to a tree, prepared to pass the time in the
pleasantest possible manner.
There was not much pleasure sitting in that silent, sombre shadow;
especially as they were in dread that its silence might be disturbed by
the wild shout of a savage. They had taken every precaution to escape
discovery. The little fire left burning upon the log had been
extinguished by Munday, immediately on seeing the two lights first
described. They would fain have rekindled it, to cook a breakfast; but
fearing that the smoke might be seen, they chose that morning to eat the
charqui raw.
After breakfast they could do nothing but keep their seats, and await,
with such patience as they might command, the development of events. It
was not all darkness around them. As the little creek penetrated the
trees in a straight line, they commanded a view of a portion of the
lagoa. Their situation was very similar to that of a person inside a
grotto or cavern on the sea-shore, which commands a view of the ocean
stretching away from its mouth, the bright space gradually widening as
it recedes in the distance. Though themselves seated in the midst of
obscurity, they could see brightness beyond the opening of the bay,--the
sun shining with a golden gleam upon the water.