With Cochrane the Dauntless Part 34

The next morning shortly after starting they came to a bank of a stream larger than any of those they had pa.s.sed on the previous day. Here they had a short consultation, and then Hurka and Pita set to work to cut down a large number of great rushes growing in the water, taking care to cut them some inches below its level. With the aid of some creepers a raft capable of sustaining them all was speedily made, and on this they took their places, and the Indians having cut two poles to steer by, they pushed off into the middle of the stream. The current was very sluggish, and they would have made but small way had not the two Indians poled vigorously. Stephen was thankful indeed for the change; upon the previous day he had only been enabled to keep up with the greatest difficulty, and had felt that another day's labour would bring him to a stand-still.

"They will walk quite as fast as we are going," he said presently.

"Yes, senor, faster; but they are probably still far behind, us. They will, no doubt, find our trail at the points where we have left the streams, but, thanks to the pains we have taken to throw them off, will lose much time in having to search very carefully up and down every stream they come to. It will be the same if they trace us to the spot we started from on this raft; some must go up and some down, and both sides of the stream must be carefully searched. We are going nearly as fast as they will be able to do; besides, now we can travel at night. If they do not overtake us by evening, of which I think there is no chance, we shall be so far ahead by next morning that we shall be perfectly safe."

The Indians seemed tireless; all through the next night, whenever Stephen awoke he found them still at work. Soon after daybreak they stopped at a spot where there was another great bed of rushes, numbers of these they cut down, largely increasing the size of the raft, and adding to its stability. It was now some twelve feet long and eight wide, and composed of a great bed of rushes two feet deep, and which, with their weight upon it, floated more than a foot above the water. Four days later they emerged from the forest on to the Madeira. The stream by which they had come had received on its way so many accessions that it was now a river of some size. It took them four days of hard work to make their way up to the mission-station, although the distance was but fifty miles, and it was only by keeping close to the sh.o.r.e, and utilizing every eddy and back-water, that they succeeded in stemming the current.

The mission had now its full number of occupants, and they were received with the greatest kindness. Their effects had all been carefully stowed away in case they should ever return, although none thought that there was the least probability of their doing so, as nothing had been heard of them since six months before, when an Indian brought a message from Pita begging a supply of quinine for his white companion.

They waited some days at the mission. Stephen had regained much of his strength during his journey on the raft, and was willing to make a start at once; but the good fathers of the mission insisted upon his staying with them for a few days, and he felt that he benefited a great deal by the good food and wine they gave him. There was no longer any occasion for their original raft, and although it had done them good service they were all glad when they took their places in the canoe and started with a steady stroke down the river. It was no longer a rapid stream, and the falls, though still grand, were as nothing in comparison to the scene they presented when the river was in full flood. Still, there was enough stream to help them materially, and to allow the Indians to lay in their paddles at times and let the boat drift by itself.

At the mission-house they had taken in a supply of food sufficient to last them to Barra, and as they were able to catch as many fish as they could eat, they fared well. The journey took them three weeks of somewhat monotonous travelling. There was no change in the scenery, a thick forest bordered the river on both sides; but as they got lower down there were clearings and small villages, and they met a few boats pa.s.sing between these or going up to the mission. It was a glad day indeed to Stephen when the great river entered the still mightier Amazon, which was here several miles wide. Crossing it they made their way to Barra, a place of considerable size, with churches and many large buildings. His long companionship with the two Indians had, by this time, made Stephen as familiar with the Peruvian Spanish as with the Chilian, and enabled him to pa.s.s with great advantage among the Portuguese-speaking Brazilians as a native of Peru, since, had he been known to be a Chilian, they might have doubted whether he was a good Catholic, and he would, moreover, be viewed with disfavour by the Portuguese officers as one of a nation who had rebelled against Spain, his lawful master. He therefore, on landing, made his way to an hotel close by, representing himself as a traveller who had come down from Peru by the Madeira, and who wished to continue his journey down the Amazon to Para.

Stephen's next step was to purchase some clothes; those in which he left Peru, as well as the suit in the wallets, were unfit to wear. The first had remained at the mission during his long absence; he had indeed discarded it as worn out, but was glad to find it there on his return, for the other suit had been torn into absolute rags during his journey through the woods. He had no difficulty in obtaining country-cut garments, and his host, who had looked somewhat doubtfully upon him on his first arrival, was evidently relieved in his mind when he came down from his room in his new purchases.

"How are you thinking of travelling, senor? Do you desire to have a boat to yourself, or would you travel in a public boat? There are many such constantly going up and down the river. Some go through to Para, but the greater number stop far short of it, making voyages only two or three hundred miles up or down, and stopping at all the villages; these are cheaper than the long-distance boats, and you would have no difficulty in exchanging into another when it reaches its furthest point."

"I do not care which it is," Stephen replied, "and would as soon take a pa.s.sage in a local craft as in another. Indeed, there is the advantage that if one does not find one's companions agreeable one can make a change and try one's luck in another boat."

"Then, if you are content with that, senor, you will not have long to wait. If not to-morrow, on the next day there is sure to be a boat going down the river."

"I also wish to take pa.s.sages up the river for these Indians, who have served me most faithfully and well, and whom I regard as my friends."

"There will be no difficulty about that either, senor. Boats go occasionally from here up to the frontier, and sometimes beyond it."

Stephen talked the matter over with Pita and Hurka, and found that they would prefer to make a bargain for themselves with some native boat carrying merchandise.

"We shall be more at home so, senor; we shall go at a much lower price than it would cost by a boat carrying pa.s.sengers; indeed, by offering to help at the oars when the current is strong we shall probably pay nothing whatever for our pa.s.sage; as they are glad enough of help going up stream.

All we shall have to do will be to buy our own provisions at the villages we stop at, just as the boatmen will do."

"You must give me an address where a letter will find you, Pita. Is there anyone at Lima to whose care I could send it?"

"Yes; Juan Fernandez, a merchant, in Santa Maria Street of Callao, number ten, knows me well, and has several times recommended me to traders and gold-seekers as a trustworthy guide, and if you address Pita, Indian guide, care of Senor Juan Fernandez, he will, I know, keep it for me until I call upon him."

"You will understand, Pita, that in paying you and Hurka only the balance of wages agreed on, I do so because I have no more money with me than is needed to carry me home; it in no way represents the deep obligation which I feel towards you both."

"Say no more of that, senor; we have done our duty, and should have done as much had you been one to whom we felt bound in no way beyond our agreement, but with you it has been altogether different. Had we been men of your own race you could not have treated us more kindly. We have been comrades and companions. If we saved your life, you must remember that you saved mine; say nothing, therefore, of an obligation. Hurka and I will always remember our journey with you as one of the most pleasant that we ever took. The toil has not been great, for we always went with the stream, while as to danger, we have both pa.s.sed through many vastly greater perils. If you are satisfied with our services we are content, and more than content."

Two days later Stephen took his place in a large boat, with a long cabin on deck, carrying a mast and great sail. He parted with the Indians with deep regret, and watched them as, after looking after the boat until it had gone far down, they turned and went along the sh.o.r.e to a little craft on which they had arranged for a pa.s.sage, and which was to start half an hour after he sailed. Then Stephen turned round to look at his fellow-pa.s.sengers. One end of the deck was reserved for the whites. Here was a priest who had been up at Barra on a visit, two traders who had disposed of their merchandise and were returning to Para, an old Portuguese official, his wife, and two daughters, who had, he learnt, been staying for a month with a married daughter at Barra; besides these, there were three or four petty traders, who had come up from villages on the bank to replenish their stock of goods.

In the fore-part of the vessel were fully a score of natives, among whom were several women. An awning was extended over the after part of the upper deck, and it was not long before Stephen entered into conversation with his fellow-pa.s.sengers. Hitherto he had thought of nothing but obtaining his pa.s.sage, laying in a stock of provisions-for he was warned that each pa.s.senger catered for himself-and saying last words to his Indian companions; he had, therefore, had no time to obtain news of what was going on. After telling them that he had come down the Madeira, and had been laid up for more than eight months by illness, he said to the priest:

"I have now been some sixteen months away from all news, and feel like a man who has dropped from the moon."

"Then you are ignorant," the priest said in surprise, "that the southern portion of Brazil has declared Dom Pedro emperor."

"Dom Pedro!" Stephen repeated in surprise. "Is his father, King John, then dead?"

"No, he has returned to Portugal. You know that he was driven from that country by the French, and retired here and ruled over Brazil."

"That I know," Stephen said; "also that there were incessant plots and insurrections."

"That was so. Well, the war being over in Europe the Portuguese wanted their king back among them again, and last year King John returned there, leaving Dom Pedro as his lieutenant and regent. The Portuguese having got back their king wanted to bring Brazil back to its former position as subject to Portugal. This provoked a great opposition in the southern provinces, and Dom Pedro was persuaded to throw off his allegiance to his father. In October the independence of the colony was publicly declared, and by this time Dom Pedro has probably a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of Emperor of Brazil. How long he will maintain the t.i.tle I am unable to say. Our northern provinces of Para, Bahia, and Maranham are still Portuguese, and are held by a large number of Portuguese troops. They have a strong navy, which keeps the sea and compels the few ships of Dom Pedro to remain in port under shelter of the guns of their batteries. There can be but one end to it. The insurrection will be crushed, Dom Pedro sent to Europe as a prisoner, and all who supported him executed, or, if their lives are spared, all their possessions will be confiscated.

"Truly it is a sad time for Brazil. Everywhere there are two parties, the one for independence, the other for the Portuguese; but such as hold to the former naturally keep silent. What may happen in the future no man knows; but at present none have any hope that the southern provinces can resist the great force the Portuguese can bring against them, by sea and land. The ma.s.s of the people take no interest in the struggle. The natives, who are indeed the ma.s.s, care nothing whether they are governed from Lisbon or from Rio; they have to pay their taxes whoever is master.

Of the whites, those families who have long been settled here are silent, that is to say, they are for independence; while those who have relations and connections in Portugal vehemently and loudly support its cause, and persecute all whom they suspect of entertaining opinions to the contrary.

But all these things concern the population of the great towns; we in the interior take but little heed of them. Here we cultivate our fields, we say our ma.s.ses, we carry on our trade, and politics interest us but little. If they do interest us, at least we do not speak of them. Silence is golden, my son, as you have doubtless learnt for yourself in Peru. How came so young a man as you to undertake so terrible a journey as you have made?" he asked, changing the conversation.

"It may be, father, that I did not sufficiently recognize that silence was golden. In any case my friends recommended me to take a long journey, because they thought it would be better and safer for me to travel to Brazil; and as there were reasons against my taking a pa.s.sage by sea, there was nothing for me but to strike across the continent."

"You must possess courage and resolution to have ventured out on such a journey. Nevertheless, I can understand that your risk was greater had you remained. You have heard, I suppose, that Peru is now independent?"

"No, indeed," Stephen replied. "Was there a great battle?"

"There was no fighting at all. The Chilian fleet so hemmed in the Spaniards that neither supplies nor reinforcements could reach them, so they agreed to evacuate the country. San Martin was made dictator, or rather made himself so; but so great were the oppressions and tyrannies of himself and his officers that there was a revolution some months ago, and San Martin had to fly to Chili, where he has since remained, as far as I know."

"It served him right," Stephen said. "He was an ignorant, vain, and traitorous brute, and if the Peruvians had hung him he would only have got his deserts."

"I can understand, my son," the priest said with a smile, "that Peru was not a healthy place for you; and I should doubt whether, if you come to take an interest in politics here, Brazil will be a safer place of residence for you than Peru."

The voyage was pleasant but very slow. When the wind was favourable a great sail was hoisted; when it was not, the boat drifted down the river.

The pa.s.sengers pa.s.sed the time away in eating many meals, consisting princ.i.p.ally of the bread and fruit they purchased at the villages where the boat stopped, and in sipping coffee and smoking innumerable cigarettes. Of an evening the three ladies brought out guitars, and there was much singing by them and the male pa.s.sengers, several of whom were able to take a turn at the musical instruments. Lines were put over, and occasionally fish caught. So week after week pa.s.sed. The pa.s.sengers changed frequently, but Stephen found all to be cheerful and sociable.

Twice he had to change his craft for another of precisely the same size, rig, and slowness. The sh.o.r.es afforded but slight amus.e.m.e.nt, being low, and for the most part wooded, and indeed the river was for a time so wide that the land on either hand was invisible. Once or twice they met with strong winds, and the waves got up rapidly. The craft rolled heavily, and the pa.s.sengers were for the most part prostrated by terror and sea-sickness.

At length after two months' pa.s.sage they entered that branch of the great river upon which Para is situated, and a few days later moored alongside the quays of the town. Stephen at once went to an hotel, gave a Peruvian name, and then, having indulged in a bath and a very comfortable meal, sallied out into the town. In the streets were large numbers of Portuguese soldiers; while a short distance down the bay several fine ships of war lay at anchor. A good many merchant ships were moored alongside the quays, and Stephen determined on the following day to ascertain about them. On his return to the hotel he found a Portuguese official talking to the landlord.

"This is the gentleman," the latter said, motioning to Stephen.

"I have to ask you for your papers?" he said politely.

"I have none, senor," Stephen replied. "I have just arrived from Peru, having come down by the river Madeira into the Amazon."

"But how did you pa.s.s the frontier without papers?" the official said in an altogether changed manner.

"Simply because there is no frontier line on the Madeira, and so far as I know no Portuguese official or soldier within at least fifteen hundred miles. At any rate, I have never been asked for papers until now."

"But how is it that you started without papers?" the official said sternly.

"It was a matter that I never even thought of, senor. I had been engaged in a quarrel, and the authorities wanted me to leave. My friends furnished me with money, and I left at an hour's notice. I have gone through several perils by the way, was captured by Indians, who took all that I possessed, and would certainly have taken the papers had I had them about me. I was nearly killed and eaten, and was only saved by the courage and fidelity of two native guides who accompanied me."

"Well, senor, this is not a time when strangers can travel about Brazil without papers. You may be an emissary of the usurper Dom Pedro."

"If I had been," Stephen said quietly, "I should have come up the coast, and should hardly have gone round by Peru and returned here after a journey that has occupied me some eighteen months. It was only after I arrived at Barra that I learned that King John had left the country, and that his son Dom Pedro had been appointed regent."

The officer looked doubtful. "Your story may be a true one," he said. "I shall lay it before the authorities. Until you hear their decision you will remain here in the hotel."

"I am quite willing to do so," Stephen said. "In the meantime, senor, you will hear from the captain of the _Bahia_, now lying at the wharf, that I have at least come five hundred miles down the Amazon to this place, and there is one, Senor Vaquez, who is now in this hotel, or is at any rate putting up here, who came down with me all the way from Barra."

The official at once sent upstairs for the trader, who was fortunately in his room, and who at once confirmed Stephen's statement, that they had travelled together from Barra, and had left there some nine weeks before.