Johnny"s tense, alert att.i.tude relaxed a little when he saw us.
"Well?" inquired Ward easily. "What"s the trouble?"
"Yank and I found our goods dumped out on the beach, and others in their place," said Johnny.
"So you proceeded to reverse matters? How about it?" he inquired pleasantly of the four men.
"I know nothing about it," replied one of them shortly. "We hired this boat, and we intend to have it; and no whipper-snapper is going to keep us from it."
"I see," said Talbot pleasantly. "Well, excuse me a moment while I talk to our friend." He addressed the man in Spanish, and received short, sullen replies. "He says," Talbot explained to us, "that he never saw us before in his life, and never agreed to take us up the river."
"Well, that settles it," stated the other man.
"How much did you offer to pay him?" asked Talbot.
The man stared. "None of your business," he replied.
"They"re askin" twenty dollars a head," volunteered one of the interested spectators.
"Exactly. You see," said Talbot to us, "we got here a little too early.
Our bargain was for only fifteen dollars; and now this worthy citizen has made a better rate for himself."
"You should have had the bargain immediately registered before the _alcalde_, senor," spoke up a white-dressed Spaniard of the better cla.s.s, probably from the castle.
"I thank you, senor," said Talbot courteously. "That neglect is due to my ignorance of your charming country."
"And now if you"ll move, young turkey c.o.c.k, we"ll just take our boat,"
said another of the claimants.
"One moment!" said Talbot Ward, with a new edge to his voice. "This is my boat, not yours; my baggage is in it, my boatman is on the ground.
That he is forgetful has nothing to do with the merits of the case. You know this as well as I do. Now you can acknowledge this peacefully and get out, or you can fight. I don"t care a continental red copper which.
Only I warn you, the first man who makes a move with anything but his two feet will be shot dead."
He stood, his hands hanging idly by his sides, and he spoke very quietly. The four men were not cowards, that I"ll swear; but one and all they stared into Ward"s eyes, and came individually to the same conclusion. I do not doubt that dancing flicker of refraction--or of devilment--was very near the surface.
"Of course, if you are very positive, I should not dream of doubting your word or of interfering," said the tallest and quietest, who had remained in the background. "We desire to do injustice to no man----"
Johnny, behind us, snorted loudly and derisively.
"If my knowledge of Spanish is of any value in a.s.sisting you to a boat, pray command me," broke in Ward.
The crowd moved off, the boatman with it. I reached out and collared him.
Talbot had turned on Johnny.
"Fairfax," said he icily, "one of the first things you must learn is not to stir things up again once a victory is gained. Those men were sore; and you took the best method possible of bringing on a real fight."
Poor Johnny flushed to the roots of his hair.
"You"re right," said he in a stifled voice.
Talbot Ward thawed completely, and a most winning smile illumined his face.
"Why, that"s what I call handsome, Johnny!" he cried. "It"s pretty hard to admit the wrong. You and Yank certainly looked bold and warlike when he came along. Where"s that confounded _mozo_? Oh, you have him, Frank. Good boy! Come here, my amiable citizen. I guess you understand English after all, or you couldn"t have bargained so shrewdly with our blackleg friends."
The flush slowly faded from Johnny"s face. Yank"s sole contribution to the changed conditions was to spit with great care, and to shift the b.u.t.t of his rifle to the ground.
"Now," Talbot was admonishing the boatman, "that was very bad. When you make a bargain, stick to it. But I"ll tell you what I will do. I will ask all people, _sabe_, everywhere, your people, my people, and if everybody pay twenty dollars, then we pay twenty dollars. _Sabe?_ But we no pay twenty dollars unless you get us to Cruces _poco p.r.o.nto, sabe_? Now we start."
The boatman broke into a torrent of talk.
"Says he"s got to find his a.s.sistant," Talbot explained to us. "Come on, my son, I"ll just go with you after that precious a.s.sistant."
We sat on the edge of our boat for half an hour, watching the most comical scenes. Everybody was afflicted with the same complaint--absence of boatmen. Some took possession, and settled themselves patiently beneath their little roofs. Others made forays and returned dragging protesting natives by the arm. These generally turned out to be the wrong natives; but that was a mere detail. Once in a lucky while the full boat"s complement would be gathered; and then the craft would pull away up the river to the tune of pistol shots and vociferous yells.
At the end of the period mentioned Talbot and the two men appeared. They were quite amicable; indeed, friendly, and laughed together as they came. The "a.s.sistant" proved to be a tremendous negro, nearly naked, with fine big muscles, and a good-natured, grinning face. He wore large bra.s.s ear circlets and bracelets of copper. We all pushed the canoe to the very edge of the water and clambered aboard. The negro bent his mighty shoulders. We were afloat.
CHAPTER V
A TROPICAL RIVER
Our _padrone_, as Talbot told us we should call him, stood in front clad in a coloured muslin shirt. The broad sluggish river was alive with boats, all making their way against the current. By the time the lagoon had narrowed, however, they had pretty well scattered.
We entered a tropical forest, and never shall I forget the wonder of it.
The banks were lined to the water"s edge with vegetation, so that one could see nothing but the jungle. There were great palm trees, which we recognized; and teak trees, which we did not, but which Talbot identified for us. It was a very bald sort of tree, as I remember it.
Then there were tremendous sycamores in which were ants" nests as big as beehives; and banana trees with torn leaves, probably the most exotic touch of all; and beautiful n.o.ble mangoes like domes of a green cathedral; and various sorts of canes and shrubs and lilies growing among them. And everywhere leaped and swung the vines--thick ropy vines; knotted vines, like knotted cables; slender filament vines; spraying gossamer vines, with gorgeous crimson, purple, and yellow blooms; and long streamers that dipped to trail in the waters. Below them were broad pads of lotus and water lilies; with alligators like barnacled logs, and cormorants swimming about, and bright-eyed waterfowl. The shadows in the forest were light clear green, and the shadows under the hanging jungle near the water were dull green; and the very upper air itself, in that hot steaming glade, seemed delicately green, too. b.u.t.terflies were among the vine blossoms, so brilliant of colour that it seemed to me that the flowers were fluttering from their stems. Across the translucent green shadows flashed birds. I recognized little green paroquets. I had never before seen them outside of cages. No man can realize the wonder of finding himself actually part of romantic scenes so long familiar in the pages of books that they have become almost mythical. We sat there absolutely silent, save when calling attention to some new marvel, drinking it in.
Our men paddled steadily ahead. The negro hummed strange minor songs to himself. Suddenly he flashed his teeth at us and broke into full voice:
"Oh, Susannah! don"t cry for me!
I"m off to California wid my banjo on my knee."
The accent was queer, but the words and tune were right. Talbot questioned him in Spanish.
"He says all Americans sing it. He has taken many up the river."
"Too many," muttered Johnny. "I wish we"d started three months sooner."
It was growing dusk when we came in sight of a village of bamboo huts on the right bank. To this we headed. Hardly had the boat struck the beach when both of our men leaped ash.o.r.e and raced madly toward the huts.
Pausing only long enough to slide the boat beyond the grip of the river, we followed, considerably mystified. Quick as we were, we found both the _padrone_ and his man, together with a dozen others, already seated at a _monte_ table. The _padrone_ was acting as banker!
We discovered the name of this place to be Gatun. Talbot found us a native hut in which were hammocks we could rent for the night. The hut was a two-storied affair, with a notched pole by which to clamber aloft.
I took one look and decided to stay below. My weight seemed sufficient to bring the whole thing down about our ears.
I do not know which had the better of it. My hammock was slung across one corner of the single room. A cooking fire blazed merrily five or six feet away. Some ten or a dozen natives were drinking and talking until nearly morning; and to my personal knowledge some ten or a dozen thousand fleas were doing the same. Six dogs were that hut"s allowance.