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BRAZILIAN JUNGLE Sy
CLAUDE H. WETMORE

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9 0 3 "I give thefe Books
for the founding of a College in this Colony"

Gift of
Dr. Hiram Bingham
of the Class of 1898
1907

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In a Brazilian Jungle

SOUTH AMERICAN STORIES.
By CLAUDE H. WETMORE.

FIGHTING UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS. A
Story of the Chile-Peruvian War. i2mo.
Cloth. Price $1.50.
INCALAND. A Story of Adventure in the
Interior OF Peru. i2mo. Cloth. Price $1.50.
IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE. Being a Story of
Adventure, with an Insight into Brazilian
Life and Industries. i2mo. Cloth. Price
$1.10, net.

THE LAD . . FOUND STRENGTH TO RAISE A HAND IN WARNING.

In a Brazilian Jungle
BEING A STORY OF ADVENTURE, WITH
AN INSIGHT INTO BRAZILIAN LIFE
AND INDUSTRIES

BY
CLAUDE H. WETMORE
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
H. BURGESS

W. A. WILDE COMPANY
BOSTON AND CHICAGO

Copyright, rgoj.
By W. a. Wilde Company.

In a Brazilian Jungle.

Published in July.
E h v\
0q3

Preface
Brazil, the second largest nation of the western
hemisphere, and the last to throw aside the bonds
of the Old World in order to enjoy the liberties of
a republican form of government, is a country of
infinite resource, a land of agricultural possibilities
that only future generations can appreciate, when
railroads thread the million acres where Nature now
holds sway.
The bloodless revolution which marked the de
thronement of Dom Pedro II occurred November
15, 1889, and since that day the country has been
ruled by an executive and two legislative bodies,
elected by the people. Some persons, tried as
statesmen, have been found wanting, but the ma
jority have held public esteem, and the feeling of
good-fellowship in the new republic is to-day
stronger, perhaps, than in any other state of South
America.

Contents

I. A Snake under Foot
II. A House in the Jungle
III. The Advent of Alfred .
IV. Carlotta's Discovery
V. Something about Brazil
VI. John's Second Experience on the Floresta
VII. A Day at Espirito Santo
Vin. A Letter from England
IX. Into the Organ Range .
X. The Tarantula
XI. The Beautiful Slave
XII. " Englishmen, to the Rescue !
XIII. A Letter from the " Flying Fish
XIV. The Honorable Billy .
XV. Lieutenant Atherton's Surprise
XVI. A Prophecy by Colonel Curtis
XVII. In the Valley of the Shadow
XVIII. Honorable Billy in an Emergency
7

FASE 11
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101113126
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8 CONTENTS
OHAPTEB PAGE
XIX. A Council of War  222
XX. In Camp Curtis  233
XXI. A Charge at Midnight  250
XXII. Paquinta proves True  270
XXIIL Paquinta's Reward . . .289
XXIV. The Story of a Prisoner .... 301
XXV. A Surprise at Ti.juca  309
XXVI. Addenda  315

Illustrations

" The lad . . . found strength to raise a hand in warning "
Frontispiece 20
" Jack found her . . . soothing the sailor's forehead with
her hand"  46
" The hours before bedtime were made pleasant " . .99
" Carlotta held out her hand "  175
" The whirling rope whistled as it cut the air " . . 265

IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
CHAPTER I
A SNAKE UNDER EOOT
JOHN CURTIS came to a sudden halt on the
moonlit Floresta. Beads of perspiration formed
on his forehead, and his finger-tips became cold.
Alarm urged him to run, but instinct bade him
remain perfectly motionless, and for fully a minute
he did not move a muscle.
He had been walking swiftly along that roadway
of great smoothness which bisects the jungle in
the Tijuca Mountains, BrazU, but had come to a
stop with the precision of a soldier obeying the
command of an officer, for he had felt beneath his
foot something that squirmed and wriggled, and
he knew that he had trod on a snake which would
turn' and use its fangs should he move.
11

12 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
The sensation that came through the thin tennis
shoe proved that the reptile had been pinioned
beneath the curvature of the sole which follows
the lines of the instep. A glance down showed the
head protruding an inch beyond the outside of his
foot; on the inside, striking the calf of his leg at
times, flapped the tail. This glance also proved
what he had surmised, that it was a coral snake —
marked red and white, like the growths of reefs
from which it takes the name — whose bite is the
most deadly of all things that crawl in the Brazilian
jungle. The bamboos that bordered the Floresta swished
musically, swayed by the light breeze ; from a pond
that was partly covered with large lilies came the
hoarse croakings of frogs ; the monotonous tap, tap,
tap of a woodpecker sounded like the march-tone
notes of a snare drum; and blended with all was the
ripple of a waterfall, made vigorous by a recent rain.
After the first startling sensations had passed, the
boy drew a deep breath, threw back his chest, and
called at the top of his voice, " Henry ! Henry ! "
He listened intently, but no answer came. The
sounds were only those he had heard before, with

A SNAKE UNDER FOOT 13
the exception of the woodpecker, which had proba
bly been frightened. Again he made the woods
echo with his call, and again listened. A third
time and a fourth, but no answer was heard.
" How could they have gotten so far in advance ? "
he muttered; then feeling another warning squirm,
he pressed his foot more firmly into the light dust
that covered the roadbed, and pinioned the coral
snake more tightly between shoe and gravel.
"If I only had a walking stick I could beat its
brains out," he thought, glancing down again and
looking at the protruding, arrow-shaped head from
which a threadlike tongue darted in and out. " But
I haven't anything of the kind and I'm too far from
the bamboos to reach one. My knife ! " — and he
commenced feeling in his pockets, only to exclaim,
" Pshaw ! I gave that to Carlotta when she wished
to cut off the heliotrope branch, and she didn't
return it."
Again he searched his pockets, in effort to find
something that might aid him, but all he brought to
light was a handkerchief which he dropped to the
ground outspread, covering that head which he knew
contained enough poison to kill an ox.

14 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" I might shift my heel upwards a little and crush
the thing," he thought, " but if I failed to move fast
enough, it would turn and strike. I'd better follow
father's advice and let well enough alone. I guess I
can stand here until they come back from the house,
which will be sometime before midnight."
It will be learned from this that John Curtis was
a philosopher, and once having decided there was
nothing for him to do but remain in an upright posi
tion until relief appeared, he commenced to whistle
an air from a comic opera he had heard a few weeks
before in Rio de Janeiro.
In this year, which was in the eighties, Brazil was
enjoying the last of the wise rule given by Dom
Pedro II, a monarch who believed in the republican
form of government rather than that which had
placed him in power, and was guided in his adminis
tration rather by the practices in the United States
than by the prevailing customs of the Old World.
It was midsummer beyond the equator and a month
which always finds yellow fever in the seacoast cities
on the northeast coast. This dread disease is not met
above a certain altitude, and when the danger season
approaches, those persons who can afford the change

A SNAKE UNDER FOOT 16
move from the low-lying coastal plain into the hills.
Especially is this true of the foreigners in Rio, —
American, English, and German, — who are compelled
by business to make Brazil their temporary abiding-
place. Two colonies have been formed by them, —
one in the Tijuca Mountains, back of the capital;
the other in Petropolis, a town in the Orange range,
where in the days of which this story treats lived the
emperor and his suite during six months of the year.
Colonel Howard Curtis, who represented a New
York coffee-house, had secured a residence near
Tijuca a year before, and he and his family remained
there during the rainy season, which is the Brazilian
winter, as well as during the warmer months, for
they had come to love the wild surroundings.
On this evening, a balmy night that made white
duck suits and muslin dresses comfortable, John
Curtis, a lad of nineteen, his brother Heniy, twenty
years old, and their sister Carlotta, a sweet, viva
cious girl of seventeen, had gone to a place on the
Floresta where, by parting the bamboos, they could
look over a precipice, down the stretch of a long
dark valley, and view the twinkling lights in Rio
and in the great bay where ships of all nations

16 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
rode at anchor. They had watched the fairy scene
for nearly an hour, and a far-distant chime sounded
nine when they started homeward.
While on the way, John, who was something of
a botanist, had spied a rare flower growing on a
mound that rose near the roadway, and which was
so full of color that it had not paled in the moon
light. Wishing to secure it, he had urged the others
to walk on ahead, while he went, in quest of the
attractive bloom. It was while making haste to
rejoin them that he had unconsciously stepped on
the coral snake that lay coiled in the roadbed.
At the end of a half-hour the young man found
that the position he had been compelled to maintain
was becoming painful. The cords of his right leg
ached from the strain, and the muscles commenced
to tremble.
" I wonder how long it will be before they come ? "
he asked, bending over as if he was addressing the
snake; and then, in hope that his voice might
bring an answer, he once more called his brother's
name. No reply came from down that roadway,
which sloped beyond until lost in a curve where
dark shadows were formed by overhanging trees.

A SNAKE UNDER FOOT 17
It was a beautiful night, silver laden with moon
light sparkles and filled with an air that bore per
fume from the many flowers in the jungle. Fireflies
darted here and there in the dark growth beyond
the bamboos where the rays from above failed to
penetrate, and occasionally a glowworm could be
seen crawling up the trunk of a tree. The sounds
that had been heard increased in volume as more of
nature's tropical choir joined in the mighty sym
phony. But to all this the boy who was a prisoner on the
Floresta paid no heed. He had become fearful lest
he had overestimated his strength. At first it had
seemed an easy matter to stand still for an indefinite
time, but when three-quarters of an hour passed he
confessed that he would rather run five miles than
maintain this position twenty minutes. His predica
ment and attitude brought to mind a test which he
and his brother had essayed only a few days before.
Their father had told them that neither could hold
out his arm, straight and motionless, for ten minutes.
They had tried, and to their surprise had failed.
" This is about the same thing," thought John,
"and I don't believe I can stand it much longer."

18 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
The creepy sensation that had come when he first
trod on the snake seized him frequently now, and
became shivers every time the reptile squirmed
under his foot. Perspiration was streaming from
every pore of his body. He wished that he had
not dropped his pocket-handkerchief, for his fore
head was wet and clammy.
Then he laughed, but it was a faint-hearted, bit
ter sound, bordering somewhat on despair. Could it
be possible that he was doomed to be stricken down
by that thing which wriggled under his shoe ?
Could he not suddenly bend over and wring its
head off?
" What nonsense ! " he thought. " My head must
be turning. For a fact, I am dizzy."
He looked up at the moon which was sailing
slowly through fleecy clouds, and it seemed as if
she dipped down suddenly once or twice.
" Why, I may be going crazy ! " he thought.
By this time his right leg had become numb to
the hip ; it was stiff and cold, as if frozen. He bent
down cautiously and rubbed the knee, then swung
the left leg to restore the circulation. But this
movement he stopped after a few seconds, for the

A SNAKE UNDER FOOT 19
dizziness caused him to sway, and he feared that
he might fall.
Again that squirm under his foot. Each time it
came now his heart gave a thump as though it would
break its bonds, and the blood that was sent coursing
became congealed; he was growing cold all over.
A mist came over his eyes, and through this veil
he dimly saw his mother as she sat on the broad
veranda at home. The Floresta, the border of bam
boos, the dark background of jungle, all disappeared.
He felt as though in a stupor and struggling with
a nightmare. Suddenly he saw again. The roadway came back
and so did the moonlight and the slowly swaying
trees. Sight had been restored by the aid of sound,
a sound that came nearer and nearer every second ;
he heard the noise of horses' hoofs ringing out a
gallop. Hope succeeded despair in his heart; he tried to
call, but the words would not come.
Clatter ! clatter ! clatter ! The hoof beats were
nearer now. From around the curve below two
forms swung into the moonlight and sped up the
roadway. In another half minute Colonel Curtis

20 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
had sprung from the saddle and had thrown his
bridle-rein to the young man who was on horseback
by his side.
"Jack! Jack! what's the matter?" he cried,
hurrying to his son's side. "Are you hurt?"
The lad, who had stood out the weary wait
against death, found strength to raise a hand in
warning and to whisper, " A snake — under my foot
— I don't dare move."
The white face, the swaying body, the pocket-
handkerchief which moved at times when the thing
beneath it squirmed, completed the story. Colonel
Curtis sprang to the roadside, parted the bamboos
and dashing into the jungle soon reappeared with
a forked stick which he jabbed fiercely over the
thing that wriggled under the square of linen.
Having done this he called, " Now jump. Jack ! "
But the boy could not jump. He fell to the
ground, and once more the bamboos and the moon
light disappeared.
When it all came back again, his brother was bend
ing over him and bathing his temples with water
brought in a cap from the pond. Near by stood
his father, holding by the tail the dead coral snake.

CHAPTER II
THE HOUSE IN THE JUNGLE
CARLOTTA CURTIS went upstairs on tiptoe
early the morning after her brother's adventure
and listened for a minute at the door of his room,
then, hearing no sound, she went as quietly away.
" Poor boy ! He must be worn out," she said to
Henry, whom she met when passing through the
hall. " I guess he is. Last night's experience was worse
than climbing to the top of Corcovado. Jack was
as cold as if he had been out in the snow."
" He must have been terribly frightened," said
Carlotta, shivering in spite of the warm morning.
" Not a bit. He was only worn out. I'd like to
see anybody else stand still in that position so long.
Father says he doesn't understand how Jack did it."
" Let's pick some oranges," suggested his sister.
" We may as well do our part toward keeping the
house quiet and let him have a good long rest."
21

22 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"All right. But I haven't much time to spare,
for Manuel is saddling the horses."
" Don't come, then. You may detain father."
"But I want to tell you something important."
Carlotta turned suddenly and caught him by the
coat lapel. "You are not going with Senhor
Cordero, are you?"
"Yes. Father agreed to it last night."
"But mother doesn't like the man, and neither
do I, Henry. She will feel very much put out about
this." "I'm sorry, Carlotta; but I have been offered a
very good position, and think that I should accept.
It is not right for me to ask father to support me
any longer. Besides, he sees a business opportunity
in this that will net him a profit as well as secure
me a position."
"You are employed in his office and he pays
you a salary, so I don't understand how you can
feel that way about his supporting you."
" He could hire a clerk to do the work for much
less than he pays me, sister."
" But I don't like that man, and could never trust
him ; besides, we are all so happy here that it seems

THE HOUSE IN THE JUNGLE 23
a pity to break up the family party. Shall I tell
mother ? "
"No. Let father do that. There, I hear him
talking to Manuel, and it is time to start for Rio."
Turning in the opposite direction, he repassed the
house toward the place where two horses stood
saddled, and soon the ringing of hoofs on the hard
roadbed of the Floresta told that father and son
were on their way to the city.
The House in the Jungle, as Colonel Curtis's resi
dence was known in the foreign colony, was as
modern a mansion as could be found even in the
metropolis below, and Rio boasts some very fine
residences. It was built of stone and brick, the
larger blocks extending to the second story, and
the buff-colored quadrilaterals rising above. In
front was a veranda, extending the width of the
house and floored with marble, the roof being sup
ported by marble columns of great thickness that
rose to a height unusual even in the architecture
peculiar to tropical countries. The same propor
tions were observed within the residence, the rooms
having such high ceilings as to cause remark.
Another feature was the use of gas, which was

24 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
piped from Rio, and this was the only place in the
Tijuca Mountains that was so favored. A hun
dred yards from the house and down the hillside
was a plunge bath, surrounded by a thicket of bam
boos. The long deep tank of cement was kept filled
by a little stream, which in turn was fed by a spring,
and the water was so cold that even on the hottest
day it seemed as if the drop of only a degree or
two would cause ice to form. To the right of the
mansion was an acre growth of orange trees, bor
dered by others that bore bananas, and for two
months in each season golden yellow fruit shone
through the green leaves: to the left palms and
guava trees intercepted a view of the stables.
It was a half mile to any other habitation. The
growth of vegetation prevented sight of even this
neighbor, and as the Floresta was a scenic roadway
and not a thoroughfare, a week might pass without
any one disturbing the solitude of those who lived
in so modern a manner within the wilds of the
Brazilian forest.
A Russian nobleman's whim had been responsible
for the erection of this structure so far from the city
and so remote from where other persons gathered

THE HOUSE IN THE JUNGLE 25
when they fled from the pestilential vapors of the
coast-line, and it was the sad sequel to the whim
that caused the property to fall into the temporary-
possession of these Americans.
Ten years before a prince in the service of the
Czar represented his government as minister pleni
potentiary at Rio, and while at this post he wooed
and won a beautiful Brazilian. No man knew why
he chose as a home for his bride a spot in the jungle.
Perhaps he was a lover of scenery, and certainly
there are fewer places where the poet can find
fairer works of God than in the vine-entwined
forests that top the hills back of Brazil's capital.
Be that as it may, he spared no expense in the
building of the home, having caused marble to be
imported from Italy, and interior furnishings from
the United States : he laid tribute on these same
forests for beautiful hardwoods, and brought artists
from afar to decorate the walls.
Never after the marriage was the bride seen away
from her home, and to those who visited her she
said with a little laugh, which her friends averred
stifled a sigh, that her husband had such dread
of the fever that he had asked her not to enter

26 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
the city below. After that they called her "The
Bird in a Gilded Cage."
A year later the nobleman was compelled to under
take a journey south, on so dangerous a mission that
he dared not have his wife accompany him. He was
absent much longer than he had expected, and when
he returned it was to find her dead. They said in
Rio that she had pined away, even as a butterfly
pines and dies in captivity.
The house was closed, and he departed from Brazil
forever. Years went by, and then word came from
Russia that the builder of the mansion had also
joined the great majority, and the property, com
ing into the hands of others, it became their wish
to dispose of it by sale or lease. About this time
Colonel Curtisvwas seeking a home for his family,
so he became a tenant of The House in the
Jungle. They had, indeed, been a happy family there, and
had enjoyed to the utmost the outdoor life that was
possible in the Tijuca Mountains. Each was pro
vided with a horse, and father, mother, and the three
children frequently went for long rides through the
fascinating country contiguous to their home. Nor

THE HOUSE IN THE JUNGLE 27
was there lack of society up in these mountains. A
mile away, down in the valley, was a hotel managed
by an Englishman, where tourists were guests, while
haciendas owned by wealthy Brazilians and foreigners
were within walking distance.
The subject of Henry Curtis casting his lot with
Senhor Cordero, owner of a coffee plantation thirty
miles from Tijuca, was one that had been freely dis
cussed for a fortnight. Colonel Curtis had met the
Brazilian several times in Rio, and had become im
pressed with his ability as a business man. He had
invited him to the house, and was surprised to hear
wife and daughter criticise his friend.
" Why do you find fault with him, Margaret ? " he
had asked Mrs. Curtis.
" Because I don't like him," was the reply.
"That's a woman's reason. Cordero is a gentle
man, he comes of an illustrious family, and is re
garded as one of the most successful planters in
Brazil. I have had several transactions with him
and have found him absolutely honest and upright,
even in the matter of grading coffee, where you
know the best of them drive a hard bargain if they
can."

28 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Carlotta says she doesn't trust him, because one
can never hear his footsteps ; that he seems to glide
about like a snake," said his wife. " I must confess
he impresses me in much the same manner." ,
The colonel said something about fanciful imagina
tions and the question was dropped for a time, only
to be renewed when the senhor made his flattering
offer concerning Henry. It was to the effect that if
Colonel Curtis would invest $10,000 in the planta
tion and Henry would give his services at a nominal
salary for three years as an overseer, the senhor
would at the end of that time present the young man
with a quarter interest in the coffee lands. Now all
Rio knew that a quarter interest in the senhor's plan
tation was worth much more than the sum men
tioned, and Colonel Curtis and Henry were naturally
anxious to accept the proposition.
" But why does he make us such a liberal offer ? "
asked Mrs. Curtis.
" He seems pleased with Henry's ability," replied
her husband. "Besides, he complains of the dissi
pated habits of the Europeans whom he has employed
as overseers, and says they are rendered liable to
sickness."

THE HOUSE IN THE JUNGLE 29
" Probably his plantation is unhealthful," sug
gested Mrs. Curtis.
"No, indeed. It is well above the sea-level and
the land about the dwellings has been carefully
drained. I have been all over the place and can
vouch for the sanitary conditions."
"There must be some reason," persisted Mrs.
Curtis. The matter was finally settled on the evening after
Jack's adventure, and a remark made by that young
man was instrumental in doing so.
" Father," he said, while all were seated at
the dinner table, " I'm tired lounging about the
house. Isn't there something that I can do in the
city?" " Margaret, you had better yield," said Colonel
Curtis. " The boys are anxious to fight their own
life battles, and I believe continued opposition would
be wrong. Suppose you give your consent to Henry
going with Senhor Cordero, then I can take John
into my office."
A mist came before the mother's eyes ; she had a
strange foreboding of danger, but she said softly,
" Very well."

80 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Therefore it was decided that one week later
Henry should go to the plantation and Jack should
commence being his father's companion on the trips
to Rio each day.

CHAPTER III
THE ADVENT OF ALFRED
COLUMN left. March! Hep! Hep! Hep!
Column right. March! Halt! Order,
arms ! "
Colonel Curtis, his wife, daughter, and the boys
looked up in surprise as these sharp words came to
them through the open windows of the dining room ;
they rose to their feet when the accompanying tread
of soldiers was heard, then the rattle of rifles caused
the breakfast to be entirely forgotten.
These were strange sounds in the Tijuca Moun
tains, where the air currents usually bear only the
songs of wild birds, the cries of animals in the jungle,
and the sighing of wind-waved bamboos.
After the first moment of astonishment they
hurriedly left the room, and upon reaching the
veranda their eyes were greeted with a novelty,
even as their ears had been. Drawn up on the red
clay roadway that wound past the side door from
31

32 IN A BRAZILIAN JuNGLE
the Floresta, they saw a company of men who were
in strange contrast with their surroundings. Each
was clad in a uniform of red jacket and white
trousers with a jaunty little red cap cocked to the
side of the head. The marines — for so they were
easily recognized — had become nearly as red of
face as their jackets, for the day had dawned very
warm and their suits were not at all adapted to the
climate. The officer who had been giving the
commands turned when the party appeared at
the doorway, and mounting the steps, he saluted,
saying: "I beg pardon for this intrusion. Am
I speaking to Colonel Curtis?"
" You are, sir."
" I am Lieutenant Atherton, of her Majesty's
ship. Flying Fish — at your service, sir."
" Wouldn't it be better for me to say, ' At your
service'?" remarked the colonel. "Surely, you
wish something after the long tramp you have
had." The officer laughed. " It has indeed been a long
tramp, and so far a fruitless one. We left Rio before
dawn." " In search of a deserter, I suppose ? "

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 83
" Yes, sir. And 1 wish to ask permission for my
men to look through your groves and fields. I shall
give them orders not to injure anything."
"Certainly. Search at wUl. While they are
engaged I should be pleased to have you join us at
the breakfast which we were about to enjoy. Then,
when the men have finished their task, I think we
can find at least a cup of coffee for them."
Thanking him for his interest and the kind invi
tation, the Englishman turned to the marines, who
after receiving a few brief orders started in twos
and threes, spreading out toward the circumference
of an imaginary circle, the centre of which was The
House in the Jungle. They left tlioir rifles stacked
on the lawn, carrying only bayonets, which were in
scabbards at their sides.
Mis men having been sent away. Lieutenant
Atherton returned to the veranda, where he was
presented to Mrs. Curtis and Carlotta. With Henry
and Jack he shook hands without formality, as if
they had been acquainted for some time, remarking
to the former, " You are about my age, and I'm
jolly glad to have met you."
Then they entered the dining room.

34 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"From whom did you receive information that
one of your men might be found on my property?"
asked Colonel Curtis as they drew up chairs.
" From a native down in the valley, sir. He said
that about daybreak he saw a man answering
his description on a hill back of your house."
" Is he a sailor or a marine, lieutenant ? "
" A sailor, sir."
" I cannot understand how he could have been
about the place and none of us have seen him. My
sons usually tramp around a good deal before break
fast, and so, for that matter, does my daughter.
Have any of you caught sight of a man clad in sailor
togs ? " and he nodded in gesture at his children.
"Not I, father," replied Henry and Carlotta in
unison. " Listen ! Manuel is calling ! " exclaimed John,
rising quickly. "Prince must have broken loose
again," and he hurried from the room.
" Drat that horse ! " said the colonel. " He's
always causing trouble. I'm sorry you are not in
the cavalry arm, lieutenant. I might let you have
a valuable animal at what the women folks term a
bargain."

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 35
" That is a nice way to treat a guest, Harold,"
said Mrs. Curtis, laughing. " You offer him a horse
that you admit is unmanageable." Then changing
her tone, she asked, "Is the man you are looking
for a dangerous character, lieutenant ? "
" Quite the contrary, madam. He is a young
fellow, about my age, who shipped for his first cruise
at Southampton three months ago. He was made
one of the galley boys, and probably that took the
romance out of sea life for him. 1 never saw much
of the lad except when we were mustered for general
quarters, and then he always appeared to me as if he
was trying to hide and get out of sight. Like as
not he is a runaway. We meet lots of them in the
service." " Why did he leave your ship ? " asked Carlotta.
" I think it was because some of the men poked
fun at him. He's a sensitive sort of chap; hardly
rough enough for the navy."
" And what will you do when you catch him ? "
" Take him back to the ship."
"Then what will happen?"
" He'll be put in irons, sent back home, and prob
ably sentenced to three years' imprisonment."

36 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" I hope you don't catch him." This vehemently,
and the girl's lips came together firmly.
" Carlotta ! " exclaimed her father, and he looked
apologetically toward the naval officer. But the lat
ter was smiling, as though he sympathized thoroughly
with the remark.
" Prince is all right," said Jack, returning as hastily
as he had made his exit. " Manuel was only singing."
After they had laughed at this the younger son
continued, "That's a remarkable man, that Manuel,
lieutenant." "How so?"
" Why, in his way of mixing things. I'll vow if
he wasn't singing a Spanish habanera, ' Home, Sweet
Home,' and 'Dixie,' all in the same breath. But
he does this mixing in other things than music.
The other evening I was in the kitchen while he
was eating dinner. Into a plate of soup he put
some scraps of meat, two tablespoonfuls of mashed
potatoes, some mashed turnips, asparagus — "
" Not in the soup. Jack ! " interrupted Carlotta.
" Yes, he did. And not only that, but he emptied
in a cup of coffee and a dish of custard."
"Why, Jack!"

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 37
" Honor, he did. I asked him why he made such
a mess, and he replied, ' All the same down below,'
and pointed to his stomach."
" John, you certainly are a great aid to digestion,"
said his mother, after wiping away tears that had
been born of laughter.
"He's a powerful fellow," continued the boy.
"It was only yesterday that he carried a barrel of
lime on his back from the tramway to this house,
a distance of three miles."
"Well, lieutenant, I see some of your men re
turning," remarked Colonel Curtis, and his wife,
rising, led the way to the veranda.
In twos and threes, as they had gone on the
search, the marines came to the side of the house
and threw themselves down on the grass, each re
porting that he had seen no signs of the deserter.
Coffee, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit were passed to
them as they rested, and after a half-hour the com
mand " Fall in " was given and they made ready for
departure. " My son Henry and I are going to ride to the
tram," said Colonel Curtis. "Will you accompany
us ? I can furnish you a mount."

38 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Thank you kindly, sir. Will it not be •incon
venient? And may I ride Prince?"
" Yes, if you wish, and you will not find him so
bad as my remark might have led you to believe,"
replied the colonel, laughing. "Manuel will have
him ready in five minutes."
Lieutenant Atherton despatched the marines under
command of a sergeant, then turned to bid good-by
to those who would remain at home.
" Our deserter has given us the slip," he said,
"and I'm not very sorry, for he was miserable on
board ship. Indeed, I feel very grateful toward
him, for he was the cause of my having passed such
a pleasant morning," and the young officer glanced
at Carlotta as he bowed.
The girl blushed, and Henry frowned as he saw
the color come on his sister's cheek.
" You must visit us when not on business bent,"
said Mrs. Curtis. And then they rode away.
Fifteen minutes later Carlotta spied her younger
brother in the orange grove.
"Jack, come here," she said; and when he was
by her side she continued, " I never knew you were
such a conversationalist."

THE ADVENT OP ALFRED 39
" What do you mean ? "
" Why, usually, when company is present, you with
draw into your shell and have nothing to say; but
while we were at breakfast, after you had returned
from seeing about Prince, you didn't give anybody
else a chance to say anything. I've a notion you
didn't want a certain question repeated. And, Jack,
you winked at me."
He nodded his head in affirmation.
"You've seen liim, then — the deserter?"
Another nod.
"And that's why you jumped up, so as not to
answer father?"
Once more an affirmation.
" Do you know where he is now ? "
"I'm off," and he started on a run through the
orange grove.
It was not ten minutes before he returned at the
same speed, this time pale and out of breath.
"Here, Carlotta — Quick! Get me some linen
rags — and some of that surgeon's plaster from
father's room."
"What — what — "
" Oh, hurry ! He's hurt — been cut or something.

40 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Get those things and don't teU anybody. I'm going
after a pail of water."
Jack was waiting, bucket in hand, when his sister
came downstairs.
" Thank you. Here, give them to me."
"No. I'll carry them."
"But I want them for him."
" Of course. I'm going with you."
"He's an awful sight; all bloody."
"I don't mind that, Jack. He's suffering, and
perhaps he's got a sister somewhere."
"Come on, then," and they started, running
through the orange grove. Beyond was a thick,
bushy hedge. "He hid in that while the marines
were searching," said Jack.
" In that prickly hedge ? Didn't it cut him
terribly?" " I should say so. Come this way, where we can
get through."
They went parallel with the green barrier for a
hundred feet, then to the other side. Carlotta saw
what resembled a bunch of blue rags, and a moment
later was on her knees, exclaiming, "He's dead,
Jack! He's dead!"

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 41
"No, I guess not. It's only a faint," and he
dashed a cup of water on the upturned face.
The body quivered, the eyes opened, and a low
groan came from the lips. Those eyes, a deep, dark
brown, stared straight at Carlotta, and then the face,
dirty and blood-stained as it was, became light with
a smile. She passed a hand through the tangled,
clotted hair and said, " There, do you feel better ? "
"Yes," he replied feebly; and turning his head
toward Jack he whispered, " I know they are gone,
because she's here."
" Yes, old chap, they're gone. Don't worry any
more on that score. Tell me where you are hurt the
most." The sailor endeavored to raise his right arm, and
gave a cry of pain.
"Never mind. I see," and Jack took hold of a
sleeve that was partly dyed red. " The scissors,
Carlotta. There, I will soon have it off."
But the blue cloth was coarse and thick, and it
was several moments before a circular incision could
be made below the shoulder. When this was done
a new difficulty arose. The sleeve had stuck to the
wound, and even a gentle pull at the wristband

42 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
caused suffering, as could be told by the sailor's
gritting his teeth which he had closed tightly to
gether, evidently determined not to cry out again.
Then Jack adopted new tactics. He poured cupful
after cupful of water slowly upon that part of the
sleeve where the most blood had congealed, and after
working for five minutes it came away. The de
taching of the cloth opened the wound anew, how
ever, and the crimson fluid spurted from an ugly
gash in the forearm, immediately below the elbow.
"He's bleeding to death! " cried Carlotta. "Shall
I run for a doctor?"
"No. I'll try the tourniquet," answered her
brother, quickly, as he tore some of the linen into
long strips. "I've read how this should be done,"
he continued, as he fastened some of the strips to
gether. "One of those books which teUs how to
aid drowning persons and those who have been shot
or cut is in Henry's library. It contains illustra
tions of this method of stopping the flow of blood.
See, I am winding this cloth around the arm above
the elbow, and rather loosely. Now this stick," and
he picked one up, "I insert under the bandage
and commence to twist it. Look how it tightens the

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 43
cloth into the flesh and presses on the arteries ! It's
the principle of the lever. There, now ! The blood
will soon stop flowing."
And after a few minutes it did, only a drop or so
oozing from the lips of the wound.
"Where did you get that?" asked Jack, as they
sat waiting for the tourniquet to do its work.
" In the hedge, " replied the sailor, feebly.
" How ! In the hedge ? "
The lad nodded his head.
" But I don't understand. How could you have
received such a wound while in the hedge ?
Scratches, yes, but this — "
" They poked into the hedge with their bayonets,"
said the lad, feebly. "And one of them jabbed
me." Jack said something under his breath. Carlotta
couldn't quite make out what it was, but she noticed
that from that moment her brother's manner changed
toward the young deserter. It had been kind
enough, had Jack's attitude, but it had been one
of condescension. Now he said : —
"All's well that ends well, old man," and fell
to work sponging the arm and binding it with

44 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
pieces of linen held in place with strips of surgeon's
plaster. " How does it feel? " he asked finally.
" Like pins and needles in my fingers," was the reply.
" That's because the circulation has been stopped
below the tourniquet. I'll loosen the stick slowly
and let the blood through the arteries again."
He did so, and no sight of crimson appeared in the
neighborhood of the wound.
" Now let us try for the house. Carlotta can help
you on one side and I on the other."
" No, no," said the sailor lad, struggling to his feet.
" I see," quoth Jack. " You don't want to lean
on a girl. Right you are. Carlotta, you run on
ahead and tell mother, and I'll help Alfred along.
Alfred is your name — no ? "
" Yes."
" And your last name ? "
" Simpson."
" All right, Alfred Simpson. You're the sort I
like. Let a marine jab a bayonet into your arm
and never cry out! I'll stand by you as sure as
my name's John Curtis," and they walked slowly
through the orange grove.

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 45
"Mother has gone for a walk," said Carlotta,
meeting them halfway. "You had better put
Alfred in your room, and I'll see her and explain."
Jack followed his sister's suggestion. He aided
the sailor to undress, gave him a suit of his pajamas,
and then said he would get him some breakfast. As
he was turning to leave the room the boy said : —
" Won't you please look in my trousers pocket.
There's something in there I would like you to take
care of for me. Oh, I can't ever thank you enough,"
and then, for the first time during the terrible
ordeal, he broke down.
"Now, now, brace up, old man," said Jack,
cheerily. " You would have done as much for me,
I'm sure. Here, is this it?" and he pulled forth
a gold locket from the pocket in question.
"Yes. Let me look at it a moment," and with
trembling fingers he opened the case. "It's my
mother's picture," he added, pressing the crystal to
his lips ; then, closing the locket, he handed it to
Jack again.
" I'll put it in my mother's jewel-box ; it will be
safe there," said Jack. " Now I'm going to fix you
some eggs, toast, and coffee. I'm your doctor, you

46 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
know, and I don't think you should eat very much
yet awhile."
Mrs. Curtis returned as he was preparing the
dishes on a tray. She gave him a glance of approval
and went directly to the room where the wounded
boy lay. There Jack found her, leaning over the
bed and soothing the sailor's forehead with her hand.
"When he has finished breakfast, darken the
room. Jack, and let him sleep. Rest is what he
needs now," she said.
Later in the day, at the luncheon table, she voiced
something that had been in all their thoughts :
"I don't know how your father will like this.
While in the army he was very stern toward
deserters." " Father was a martinet, wasn't he ? "
" I don't know as I would call him that, Carlotta.
He was strict, but not harsh."
" I'll tell you what I'll do," said the girl, after a
minute. "I'll ride down to the tram this evening
and coax him all the way home."
The mother smiled, and Jack exclaimed, "Bully
for you ! "
His daughter's words evidently had their effect.

JACK FOUND HER

. SOOTHING THE SAILOR'S FOREHEAD
WITH HER HAND

THE ADVENT OF ALFRED 47
for when Colonel Curtis came riding up the hill at
six o'clock and Jack went out to hold the horse, he
said to his son : —
" Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't have
approved this, but as it is, I reckon you did right.
At first I was angry, for I thought you had told
me a falsehood at the breakfast table, but Carlotta
reminded me that you did not answer my question
concerning the deserter, and I at once recalled the
fact that you had left the room. Take the horse to
Manuel, and as soon as I get my riding-boots off I'll
go and see your salt-water patient."
Jack was surprised at so easy a victory, but he
was even more surprised when, upon reentering the
bedroom, he heard his father say : " There now,
my boy, don't worry. I promise nobody shall take
you away. You are to remain here until perfectly
well, and then we shall see what is best to be
done." Beckoning Jack to follow him, Colonel Curtis
said, when they were in the hall : " Saddle one of
the horses and ride down to Dr. Campions'. Your
patient has a fever and needs medical attention."
"Margaret," he remarked to his wife, "that boy

48 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
has as refined a face as any lad I ever saw. There
is a mystery here."
" Yes," she said ; " and you must look at the
portrait in the locket which he gave Jack to keep.
He said it was his mother's. The woman is beauti
ful and richly gowned."

CHAPTER IV
carlotta's DISCOVERY
A COBRA and a hammock were instrumental in
Carlotta's discovery of the monocle.
Native Brazilians term all large snakes " cobras " ;
and a monocle, you know, is a single glass which cer
tain persons squeeze into the eye socket — it is quite
a fashionable object in England.
But before this discovery several things happened
at The House in the Jungle : Henry Curtis went away
to fill his position as overseer on the plantation of
Senhor Miguel Cordero ; John took the desk left va
cant by his brother in his father's office ; and Alfred
Simpson became a temporary member of the family.
How this came to pass can best be told by relating a
conversation between the sailor and Colonel Curtis,
which took place one evening after the fever had
gone and the wound was so far healed that the
young Britisher could sit up in bed.
" My boy," said the ex-army officer, kindly, " why
did you run away from home ? "
E 49

50 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"I would rather not tell, sir; not just yet."
"Don't you think that I am entitled to know?"
" Yes, sir. Yes, sir," he repeated hastily; "but — "
and then he was silent.
"Did you do anything wrong?"
The young sailor shook his head, adding, "Un
less it was wrong to leave the navy, and life was
horrible on that ship."
" Then you left home because some wrong was
done you. Or perhaps you imagined that it was
a wrong, and may have been mistaken. We all
make mistakes. Had you not better tell me the
circumstances ? "
" Colonel Curtis, I would tell you sooner than I
would tell any one else. But this is all that I can
say just now. My mother knew that I was going,
although she didn't know how I left. She thought I
had money with which to travel, but I made other
use of what was given me. That's all part of a story
which I shall tell you some day. When the Fly
ing Fish stopped at certain ports I sent her letters
that were written just as though I had plenty of
everything and was not scrubbing floors and brass
work under the direction of some petty officer.

carlotta's discovery 51
I mailed her a letter the day I deserted, and I must
write another as soon as my arm comes out of this
bandage. I can never repay you, colonel, for what
you have done for me, but she will thank you when
she knows. It will all come right before long, and
then you will understand. As soon as I am able
I shall seek work in the city, or on one of the
plantations, then I can pay my doctor's bill and
the other expenses which you have incurred."
Colonel Curtis walked up and down the floor
several times, then, after looking the young man
earnestly in the face, he said, "How would you
like to remain here?"
"I — I don't understand what you mean, sir."
" How would you like to live with us, for a time
anyway, until you can think this matter over?"
A flush came to the boy's face. " Oh, I couldn't
think of that. I've been too much of a burden
already." " Very little, my boy. And, moreover, your
presence here is something I desire. Henry has
gone. Jack accompanies me into town, and there
is no man near the house during the day except
Manuel, and he is partly deaf."

62 in a BRAZILIAN JUXGLE
"If I could do something, colonel, something to
earn my living, as some people say, I should like
nothing better. Now," he said joyously, "if I
could attend to the garden and the orchard. I
had a good deal of experience on my — " then he
compressed his lips and said no more.
Colonel Curtis laughed. " Want to be a scenic
artist, or a head gardener? Very well. The place
needs one badly, and I have been thinking of em
ploying another man. The work will be good for
you. But I wish you to consider yourself a member
of the family."
So it was agreed, Alfred stipulating that if he
proved incompetent he should be discharged like
any other workman.
Mrs. Curtis and the children marvelled at the
colonel's kindness toward the lad who had come
so strangely into their lives. They would not have
done so had they seen, as he had seen, the inscrip
tion on the reverse side of the portrait which was
in that locket handed Jack for safe-keeping. He
kept his own counsel, and wrote a long letter to a
friend in London.
The Sunday after this arrangement had been

(jaklotta's disoovbuy 53
made was an extremely warm day, so warm indeed
that the brilliant-hued butterflies sought only the
(lowers that were in the shade. As the hours
gi'ow long in the afternoon, mombora of the family
eaiiio out ou the veranda or camped under trees,
seeking such air us might be stirring. Carlotta
sought a hammock, which was swung between two
palms, and resting there she road the latest magazine
from the States, or looked up at the few white
clouds that wore drifting, lazily, so high that they
seemed a part of the blue. Mrs. ('urtis was seated
ill a steamer chair ; a Bible lay open on her lap.
She had been residing the chapter for the day,
which was proelaiinod in advance by a publication
issued by tho church to which she belonged. It
was a great satisi'iietiou to her that in far-away
Urazil she could thus join with her relatives and
I'riends at home in reading the very verses they
turned to, and every Sunday about the time the
boll for worshij) would ring out in the village far
to the north, where her early life was spent, she
would bring out the divine book and read the Word
even as they did. This had been done a half-hour
before, and she had fallen asleep. Colonel Curtis

54 in a BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
was seated astride a chair, leaning on the back, and
smoking a long, black Bahia cigar. Jack was lying
on the marble floor, and was writing a letter to his
brother. Presently Alfred came into the front doorway
and looked around. He was dressed in white
duck, and no one would have recognized in the
trim, neat figure and the handsome face the de
serter who had crawled for refuge into the prickly
hedge. He glanced at those who were on the
veranda, then toward Carlotta. The instant his
eyes fell on her he turned ashen pale, and great
beads of perspiration came out on his forehead.
His mouth opened as if to emit a scream, then he
clapped his hand over his lips and stepped quickly
to the side of Colonel Curtis. Seizing him by the
arm he whispered, " Don't cry out, but look at
your daughter, sir ! "
The colonel turned quickly. He saw Carlotta
lying on her side, reading, the profile of her face
visible under a bare arm which was thrown over
her head. The hammock swayed gently in a soft
breeze that had sprung up.
On the ground, beneath the hammock, partly

carlotta's discovery 55
coiled, was a large green snake, its head, which
was the size of a man's hand, on a level with the
meshes, and a forked tongue was playing in and
out. "Fred," whispered Colonel Curtis in turn, "keep
the others still."
The sailor hurried to where Jack lay and whis
pered : " Your father says that if you move, your
sister will be killed. I can't explain ; " then he
sprang to the side of Mrs. Curtis, to be ready should
she awaken.
" Carlotta," said Colonel Curtis, in an ordinary
tone, as he stepped to the low wall, " don't move a
muscle, don't change your position even a trifle, and
don't stop reading. You have naturally taken a
most beautiful pose, and I want to take a snap-shot.
Remain quiet until I give the word."
A smile came to the lips of the beautiful girl ; that
was the only change, and it made the picture more
horribly fascinating than ever.
But the father did not see the smile. He was
speeding through the hall, then up the stairs, four at
a bound. Alfred gazed at the hammock scene as if hypno-

56 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
tized; Jack remained motionless, an expression of
dread on his face; Mrs. Curtis still slept.
A rush of feet and the colonel was back on the
veranda, a rifle in hand, not a camera, and even
quicker than a snap-shot could have been made the
weapon was discharged, ringing out with a deafening
crash. Mrs. Curtis jumped to her feet, screaming. Car
lotta, frightened, rolled out of the hammock on to
the grass, from where she was lifted an instant later
by her father. Jack, and Alfred, who had jumped
over the low wall and to her side. The snake was
writhing on the ground, its back broken.
There was not much to be said. The smoking
rifle and the wounded cobra told the story. A hys
terical girl threw herself into her father's arms, and
as he comforted her, he said : —
" You owe as much to that young man there as
you do to me. His presence of mind was remark
able," and he held out his hand to Alfred.
That determined the fate of the hammock as a
means of out-door recreation. Manuel insisted that
a cobra had never been seen in the garden before,
and that probably one would never appear again, but

carlotta's discovery 57
all agreed that another such experience could not
even be tempted, so the swinging couch was un-
lashed from the palm trees and suspended by hooks
in one of the rooms on the second floor.
The very next afternoon Carlotta was enjoying a
siesta in its folds, this time safe from things that
crawl, and she was about to close her eyes for a
short nap, when, looking through the half-opened
doorway and across the hall, she spied Alfred, stand
ing before a mirror. She knew she shouldn't look
any longer, but she did, and her astonishment at
what she saw was so great that she forgot all about
sleep and hurried from the room as soon as he had
gone downstairs.
" Jack, come for a walk," she said that evening
when at last she could whisper to her brother with
out attracting attention. And when they were out
of earshot of the house she told him what she had
seen. " You don't mean it ! A monocle ! Putting a
monocle in his eye ! "
" Yes, and throwing his head back to see how he
looked." " A monocle ! A monocle ! " Jack couldn't get

58 IN a BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
away from the word. "Why, he must be a young
English swell ! "
"Indeed, he looked like one. Why, Jack, the
Alfred I saw in the glass and the Alfred we know
are two different persons entirely."
" Which do you like the better? "
"Our Alfred, of course."
" Sister, sister, be careful. He may be a pirate ! "
" Indeed, you don't understand him at all," and she
took her hand from her brother's arm.
Jack chuckled, then picked an orange as a truce sign.
Colonel Curtis became reminiscent a few evenings
later while they were seated on the veranda, and
after recounting some of his war experiences he
said: "Once, below Cumberland Gap, I found my
battery completely surrounded by Confederate cav
alry ; again, at Gettysburg, one of the enemy seized
my sword and another snatched my revolver. But
on neither of these occasions did I have to think
faster and act quicker than Sunday afternoon when
Alfred pointed to the cobra under Carlotta's hammock.
" And now that I am on the subject I want to com
pliment you all upon the way you acted. Alfred, I
have already spoken of your presence of mind ; it is

carlotta's discovery 59
indicative of a strong character. Carlotta and Jack,
you deserve praise for the strict obedience you gave
me. Some girls, yes many, when told to remain
quiet as I told you and for the reason that I gave,
would have entered some protest about wishing to
brush the hair or change a dress. That you might
possibly interfere with my plans passed through my
mind, but I thrust the thought aside because you had
never been disobedient.
"Children should always obey their parents,
quickly and in every particular. If this was always
done a great deal of misery would be avoided ; yes,
and pain and death. Think, where would Carlotta
have been to-night had she not obeyed me implicitly ?
That cobra was waiting for a move to be made by its
intended victim."
A low sound, like a partly stifled groan, came from
where Alfred was seated. The young Englishman
rose and walked to the end of the veranda.
" It is time for us to go in," said Mrs. Curtis.
"See, the mist is coming from the valley."

CHAPTER V
SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL
EVERY evening, except when the rain fell,
residents of The House in the Jungle could be
found on the broad veranda, where they enjoyed the
strange sights and sounds that are accompaniments
of night-time in these tropic climes. From the land,
which was hugged tight in vegetation's embrace,
came shrill pipings of tree-toads, hoarse croakings of
frogs, notes like the raspings of a saw, made by a
bird of prey that stalked during the dark hours,
again high staccato sounds of other wild things —
a chorus that one would not believe could be musi
cal unless one heard it ; yet it was always in harmony
— a grand Eolian harp, the strings of which were
in the throats of God's creatures, all singing in their
own tongues and forming a volume of sound that
was a paean of thanksgiving for such glorious exist
ence. On moonlit nights grotesque arms of wind-waved
60

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 61
trees cast fanciful shadows. On nights when the
skies were dark, nature's illumination in miniature
shone forth, pulsing lights appearing here and there,
only to disappear even as the eye seized the ray,
while occasionally a steady glow shone on the bark
of a tree, the leaf of a fern, or the petal of a flower.
The will-o'-the-wisps that played pranks with the
sight were fireflies and phosphorescent beetles, the
lighting power of which has caused many an ex
pression of surprise, even in the world of science.
One which Jack caught he placed in a glass, and the
radiance that was suffused when the jar was placed
on an open book threw into plain view all the words
on the page, and mother and sister, leaning over
his shoulder, read the text aloud. The other crea
tures, those whose tiny lanterns burned steadily,
like pin-head eyes in the night, were glowworms,
some of which shone brilliantly from more points
than one. Eleven distinct places of radiance were
counted on a worm that was found crawling up a
palm tree, and when it was transferred to the floor
and moved along the surface Mrs. Curtis ex
claimed : —
"If Gulliver had lived in the age of steam, and

62 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
had seen that thing moving in the land he first
visited, he would have pronounced it a Lilliputian
express train."
Alfred was always a companion in these family
gatherings. He had fallen naturally into the ways
of the household, and every one recognized that
similar associations must have been his in England.
"I wish I knew more about Brazil than I do,"
said he, when Colonel Curtis spoke one evening
of a railroad which an American syndicate proposed
to build in the province of Bahia. " Of course, I
know in a general way that it is one of the largest
countries in the world, that it is sparsely inhabited,
and that coffee and rubber are the principal exports.
I also know that it is remarkable for the luxuriance
of its vegetable life, but beyond this I have little
knowledge." " Same here ! " said Jack, and when Mrs. Curtis
suggested that slang was never in place, he amended
his remark by one even as concise: "Ditto, ditto.
There, mother, dear."
"I must confess that the ditto marks appeal to
me also," she added.
" And to me," said Carlotta. " We've all been

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 63
taught that Columbus discovered America, but who
discovered Brazil ? "
" One of that noted voyager's companions was the
fortunate man," answered her father. "His name
was Pinzon, and he sighted the north shores early in
1500. He never set foot on the soil, however. That
honor was reserved for the Portuguese admiral
Cabral, who, on May 3 of that year, sailed with his
squadron into a harbor which he named Porto Seguro.
Cabral's visit was entirely an accident, and he was
very much surprised to see the land which one morn
ing loomed up under the bows of his flagship. He
had set sail for India, and for weeks had met adverse
winds, being blown entirely off his course. Surely
the old adage, 'It's an ill wind ! ' etc., holds true in his
case, for he gained great renown by annexing this
country in the name of the king of Portugal."
"Please tell us more, father? I know that you
are better acquainted with this country than are
many Brazilians."
" Mainly through reading, my dear. Of course I
have talked at length with some well-posted men, for
it has been necessary in my business to become ac
quainted with all the phases of this life. Aside from

64 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
that, I have a great interest in Brazil, which I am cer
tain will develop into a strong commercial country."
" Suppose you give us a general sketch, Harold.
I should be delighted to listen. We will draw our
chairs closer," and Mrs. Curtis moved to his side.
" On what lines would you like this lecture ? " he
asked, laughing.
" On general lines — historical, political, commer
cial, the interior industries. The evening is young."
"Very well. Then I shall resume with Admiral
Cabral. He named this new land Vera Cruz, then
changed it to Santa Cruz, but soon after it became
known as Brazil because of a dyewood which bore
that name. This new country was divided by the
king of Portugal into provinces which were dis
tributed as marks of special favor among noblemen
who had merited reward by devotion to the crown.
It was nearly a century before a central government
was established and Bahia was chosen the capital.
Then followed a number of wars between the colo
nists and adventurous people from nations who sought
to annex portions of the new territory. The princi
pal conflicts were with English, Dutch, and Span
ish forces, and they increased in violence when the

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 65
famous gold and diamond mines were discovered.
Peace with these powers was not made until 1777,
when the treaty of Santo Ildefonso was signed, and
even this document did not accurately determine the
boundaries of the new country, territorial disputes
still continuing. ^
"The first sign that Brazil wished to become in
dependent was made in 1789, when there was a
strong movement on foot in Minas Geraes Province
to throw off the Portuguese yoke. But the leaders
of the revolt lacked numbers of adherents, and the
conspiracy was nipped in the bud. Nineteen years
later something happened that ultimately brought
about the separation of Brazil and Portugal, although
when the first step in the new system was taken it
looked as if the ties had been made even stronger.
In 1808 Brazil enjoyed the unique distinction of be
coming a mother to the country of which it had been
the offspring.-** In other words, Portugal and Brazil
changed places.
1 The western boundaries of Brazil were not definitely deter
mined until 1895, when they were fixed by President Cleveland,
who acted as arbitrator at the request of the nations interested. —
The Authos.

66 TS A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"This was brought about by the flight of the
Portuguese court before the advancing army of
Napoleon. Donna Maria I, queen of Portugal,
was insane at the time, and Prince John was regent.
Soon after leaving Europe he became King John IV.
" Brazil thereupon supplanted Portugal as the seat
of the Portuguese monarchy, and Rio de Janeiro be
came the residence of the court, nobles, and promi
nent men of the kingdom. The country was visited
by large numbers of foreigners, including distin
guished scholars, and trade relations were directly
established with the world, all of which changed the
customs and the manners of the people. The Cortes
of Portugal tried to put an end to this sort of thing,
recalling the king in 1821, and he departed for Lis
bon, leaving behind him as regent of the kingdom of
Brazil his eldest son, Dom Pedro I.
" The Cortes then directed the dissolution of the
central government at Rio, with the view of attach
ing the provinces directly to the home government.
Brazil was not disposed to return to the colonial
period, and a revolutionary movement, enthusiasti
cally welcomed by all classes, found a powerful ally
in the person of the prince regent, who, young, im-

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 67
petuous, and with a keen mind, was pining for an
opportunity to act and distinguish himself. He was
guided in this emergency by J. B. Andrada, who is
known to this day as the father of Brazil, even as
Washington is the father of the United States.
" No such bitter struggle followed this declaration
of independence as marked the breaking of Old
World ties by our thirteen original colonies. A few
garrisons remained loyal to the crown, but they were
soon overwhelmed, and in 1825 Portugal recognized
as an independent empire the country which had
occupied the dual position of child and mother.
" Dom Pedro I, the first ruler of Brazil as an in
dependent state, did not prove a popular monarch.
He was autocratic and overbearing toward his min
isters, and, moreover, was unsuccessful in war with
countries on this continent and also in diplomacy.
Indignation finally reached such a white heat that in
1831 he abdicated the throne, and his son, Dom
Pedro II, became emperor. The new ruler was
scarcely five years old when this honor came to him,
and of course a regent had to be appointed. More
tumultuous scenes followed, and in order to prevent a
serious revolution the emperor's majority was antici-

68 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
pated, and he came into full possession of the throne
when only fourteen years of age. The first part of
his reign was disturbed by two serious wars, one with
the Argentine Republic and the second with Paraguay.
The latter was perhaps the most bitterly contested
conflict ever waged in South America. It cost Brazil
$ 315,000,000 and thousands of lives, and when peace
was finally obtained, it was admitted that the white
flag flew only because there were no adult male
Paraguayans left to carry on the fight. To such a
stress was that small country brought that women
were compelled to work in the fields, and even to
this day Paraguay has a smaller male population
proportionately than has any other country on the
face of the globe.
" These wars having been brought to an end, Dom
Pedro sought to better the interior conditions of his
country. First he listened to the voice which was
whispering all over the world, that all men are born
free and equal, and acting on his suggestion the
Parliament passed an act that all children of slaves
born after a certain date should be free. Then other
legislation, which gave freedom to thousands not
favored by the first law, was adopted.

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 69
" As the emperor advances in years he has be
come more and more liberal in his views, and since
his visit to the United States in 1876 he has sur
prised men of the old school by advocating republi
can doctrines."^
Colonel Curtis paused after thus mentioning Dom
Pedro II, and Carlotta asked if he would not con
tinue, saying that such talks made her feel more at
home in the land where they were destined to remain
for some time.
"Please tell us about the country itself, in addi
tion to its history," she urged.
"Very well; that is, provided the others are not
tired of listening."
" Indeed we are not," they said in unison.
" Then I will first speak of the immensity of the
nation," and he waved his hand in the direction of
the dark forest that bordered the Floresta. " It
occupies nearly one-half of South America, and is
fifth in size of the nations of the world, being out-
1 The reader must bear in mind that Colonel Curtis was talking
early in the eighties. The story of Brazil's evolution from an empire
to a republic, which in fact is a continuation of this brief historical
sketch and similar passages to be found elsewhere, is given in the
preface to this volume. — The Auihok.

70 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
ranked in area only by Russia, China, the British
Empire, and the United States. Take Alaska from
the latter, and Brazil would be larger ; take Siberia
from Russia, and Brazil's area would be greater than
the land of the Czar.
" There is a curious resemblance between this
country and the United States. Both occupy the
central parts of symmetrical continents, both are
drained by mighty rivers, both are bordered on the
east by narrow chains of mountains running parallel
with the coast, and both are supported in the west
by the great Cordillera chain, which is known in the
United States as the Rockies, and in South America
as the Andes. The two marked differences are that
the United States has an opening to the Pacific,
which Brazil has not, being barred by Colombia,
Peru, and Bolivia ; and again, the great river in this
country — the Amazon — flows from west to east,
whereas the Mississippi flows from north to south.
" There are twenty states, or provinces, in Brazil
and about fifteen million inhabitants.^ By this you
will see that there are thousands, yes millions, of
acres that have not been claimed by man.
1 The population in this year (190.3) is about 22,000,000.

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 71
" One would not be correct in speaking of Brazil
as mountainous, nor yet as level ; it is a combination
of both. Along the seacoast there is a plain, bor
dered by mountain ranges, which in places is sev
eral miles wide, and in others only a few hundred
feet. Jack, you remember the peculiar elevators at
Bahia?" "Yes, sir."
"They are necessary, because the hills come so
close to the water that there is not room for the
city on the coastal plain. Therefore, stores and
offices have been built below, and the residences
above. The ascent is so precipitous that tunnels
have been bored in the solid rock, and up and
down through these run passenger and freight ele
vators, or lifts, as you call them in England, Alfred.
" Proceeding inland, we find another dissimilarity
with the United States. You know that after
crossing the summit of the AUeghanies, one descends
to about the same altitude as New York and other
Atlantic ports, and many of the interior states are
only a few feet above sea level. Not so in Brazil.
Beyond these coast-range mountains stretch enor
mous plateaus that roll higher and higher over half

72 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
the width of the continent. These plateaus are
covered with millions of acres of forest that never
have been penetrated by man. In other parts are
vast plains. Therefore one-half of Brazil is a table
land that is inclined at an angle toward the sea.
"Now a word or two about the mighty Amazon.
This majestic river rises in Peru, and is known as
the Marafion until it reaches the Brazilian boun
dary. Because of the change in name it is not con
sidered as long as the IMississippi. But the Brazilian
stream is of much more magnitude than the Father
of Waters in the north, because of the number and
size of its tributaries, and the volume that pours
through its channel. It empties into the Atlantic
through several estuaries, three of which are so
wide that a man cannot see without the aid of
telescope lenses from one bank to the other; and
the current is so great that the salt water of the
ocean is pushed back seventy miles from land.
" The rainfall is very heavy all over the country,
and it is peculiarly distributed. As you know, the
rainy season here, near Rio, is from November to
March ; in the vicinity of Pemambuco it rains from
April to June; and at Para it rains every day.

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 73
All meteorologists are interested in the conditions
at the latter city, which is near the mouth of the
Amazon. There the mornings are always bright
and hot, human beings suffer and vegetation droops.
Between one and three o'clock heavy clouds darken
the sky, frequently there is sharp play of lightning,
and then comes a downpour. The storm is usually
over by five o'clock; leaves shine resplendent with
a frosting of moisture, flowers seem to have pearl
drops fastened to petals and stamens, a soft breeze
blows, and all nature rejoices. The night is cool,
coaxing refreshing sleep, and persons awake ready
to combat the debilitating effects of the sultry
morning. The records show that not oftener than
once or twice in the year does the welcome rain
fail to come.
" It is this heavy rainfall and the alternating rays
of the sun that cause such a profusion of color in
both the animal and plant life, or the fauna and flora,
to use the technical terms. The former is very rich,
especially in birds and insects. This you have seen
demonstrated in the Tijuca Mountains, and it is even
more gorgeous further inland, and especially in the
neighborhood of the great rivers.

74 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Ferocious animals, such as are the terror of ex
plorers in Africa, are almost unknown here. The
most terrible is the jaguar, a species of tiger, having
a spotted instead of a striped skin. The largest and
the most powerful is the tapir or ant-eater. The
forests abound with monkeys, wildcats, foxes, wolves,
deer, wild hogs, guinea pigs, and hares. Reptiles are
abundant, as you have seen even in this semi-culti
vated district. Further inland are boa-constrictors,
anacondas, and rattlesnakes. Alligators are numerous
in all the large streams, and some rivers swarm with'
turtles, l^the eggs from which make most savory
dishes. " Then there are birds of gorgeous plumage, such
as parrots, macaws, and humming-birds, also butter
flies unsurpassed for beauty, and brilliant-hued in
sects which resemble rays from a rainbow as they
dart about.
" It is well known that the plant life of Brazil is
the most wonderful in the world. In these forests
are found the orchids which attract so much atten
tion and command such high prices in Europe and
America. In the Amazon region plants grow to the
height of palms, and in the forests are found fruit

SOMETHING ABOUT BRAZIL 75
trees, medicinal herbs, cabinet and dye woods. And
it is my belief that the forests of Brazil will con
tribute greatly to the wealth of the nation in the
future. Years ago, gold and diamonds attracted the
adventurous ; to-day, coffee and rubber are the chief
exports ; but before long man will master the secrets
of these gigantic timber lands and will find more
treasure in them than he has in all else he has placed
under tribute. It would be impossible to cite all the
uses to which the plant life could be put, even with
the meagre information at hand at this time ; but I
shall mention one remarkable tree, a palm known as
the carnaubeira, which yields honey, wax, wood, and
a strong fibre.
" Speaking of the various colors of plant and in
sect life, have you noticed the many different hues
of the Brazilian people ? "
" Yes, sir," said Carlotta. " Is that due to the rain
and the coaxing sun ? "
" Perhaps, in part," he said with seriousness.
"Some learned men hold that it is caused by
intermarriage of the Portuguese with the native
Indians and later with the negroes, but other savants
maintain that climatic conditions have affected the

76 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
human rac.e as well as the fauna and flora. We have
all seen in the streets of Rio men and women whose
skins are of remarkable colors. Some are a brilliant
yellow, others brown, and others almost red."
" For a fact," said Alfred, " I saw a red-headed
negro the day I left the Flying Fish."
"Yes. There are several of them in Rio. But
they are not confined to this locality. I noticed a
number of them in Martinique when I visited there
several years ago. Now I move we all turn in, as
they say on shipboard."
"But, father, you have said nothing about the
coffee of Brazil," protested Carlotta.
" No, dear, and the omission was intentional. We
have been invited to visit Senhor Cordero's planta
tion Saturday, and I am sure that there you will
learn all you wish to know about what is called the
succulent berry."

CHAPTER VI
JOHN'S SECOND EXPERIENCE ON THE FLORESTA
THIS time it was not a snake, but an elderly
gentleman, that Jack encountered on the
Floresta. It was a saint's day, business houses
were closed in the city below, and all the members
of the family remained at home in the Tijuca Moun
tains. Toward evening some one suggested a walk,
but when the time came for starting John was the
only one ready, and so he went alone, cane in hand,
for a stroll along the beautiful roadway, that was
like a platform from which one could look to both
sides on the gorgeous life that crowded color upon
color in forest and on hillside.
When the young man returned, dinner was being
served, and after he had taken his seat he asked
his father if he was acquainted with a tall, elderly
gentleman, one about sixty years of age, whose
carriage was erect, whose lower face was covered
with a beard almost snow white, who spoke Eng-
77

78 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
lish fluently, and yet was apparently a native of
Brazil. " He must be stopping at White's Hotel," said
Jack, when Colonel Curtis failed to recognize the
individual by the description.
"Why are you so anxious to know?" asked his
mother. "Because he invited me to visit him, then forgot
to tell me where he lived."
"That was a Spanish invitation rather than a
Portuguese," remarked Carlotta.
" No. He was in earnest, and he probably thought
that I knew him."
"You seem much impressed with your chance
acquaintance, son. Did you meet him this after
noon ? "
"Yes, while I was walking. He was sauntering
along, cutting the leaves off plants with his light
cane, and I overtook and was about to pass, when
he said, ' Are you an Englishman ? '
"Then, when I told him that I was born in the
United States, he laughed and said: 'A Yankee,
eh? I wish we had more of them in this country.'
" He asked me where I lived, what business my

JOHN'S SECOND EXPERIENCE ON THE FLORESTA 79
father was engaged in, and said he had heard of
you. By this time I was walking by his side, talk
ing with him as if we had been acquainted for a
long time. He had a way about him that made
me feel at home. He asked if I had visited Pe
tropolis, spoke of the large plunge baths there, and
said nothing was so healthful as a swim in cold
' water before breakfast. And, father, is it a fact
that one of the evils we have to contend with at
home is a policy that tends toward paternalism by
the government?"
"Yes, Jack. But why do you ask me such a
curious question?"
"Because of that conversation. He talked a
great deal about the United States, and congratu
lated me upon being a citizen of the country that
enjoyed the most perfect form of government.
Then he said that the only obstacle to a success
ful outcome of the plans formed by Washington
and Jefferson was the attitude of certain statesmen
who would limit the powers of the different states
and foster a spirit of paternalism at the nation's
capital." " What was your answer to that ? " asked Colonel

80 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Curtis, and there was a merry twinkle in his eye
as he spoke.
"Oh, I frankly confessed that I did not know
much about politics, and then I quoted Lincoln's
words about not being able to fool all the people
all the time, and added that I guessed the voters
would take care of the matter when it came to
them." "Then what did he say?"
" He laughed, said that I had answered him well,
and added, 'The ballot, the free ballot; yes, that
is the solution of all questions.' I remember his
words quite well, for he repeated them several
times, and seertied to be thinking of something
else than what we had been talking about."
"What did you say this man looked like?"
asked Colonel Curtis again.
Jack described him once more.
"A white beard?. Was it trimmed in French
style? something of a V-shape?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you notice his eyes?"
"They were blue and very kindly."
"And where did you leave him?"

81
"About a mile from the house. He was met
by a carriage, a handsome turnout with men in
livery. I imagine that he is quite wealthy. It
was then that he asked me to eome and see him."
Carlotta leaned over to her father, in reply to
a gesture from him. He whispered in her ear and
she opened her eyes wide in astonishment. Then,
leaving the head of the table, she walked to where
Jack was seated. There she courtesied, and itt reply
to her brother's expression of surprise she said : —
" Permit me to take the hand of the young man
who has enjoyed a half-hour's conversation with
Dom Pedro the Second, emperor of Brazil, who by
many is considered the most enlightened monarch
of the age."

CHAPTER VII
A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO
SENHOR CORDERO met them on the broad
roadway leading to his country seat, which
was an acre of garden with house in the centre
situated on the borderland of thousands of acres that
comprised the plantation Espirito Santo.
An oleaginous man was Senhor Cordero. In
everything he did and everything he said one was
constantly reminded that the senhor considered
himself under an obligation. When he answered a
question, when he explained even a seeming trifle,
and when he provided entertainment, no matter how
simple or how extensive, he let it be understood that
he was the recipient of generosity. He was small of
stature, quick of action, rapid of speech, yet soft
voiced. Black hair on head and black beard, both
cropped close, heavy black eyebrows and black eyes
were prominent features of a face the skin of
which was the color of well-worn russet leather.
82

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 88
Credited with great wealth, he seemed only anxious
to amass more riches, and except when business
called him to Rio he was constantly on his coffee
lands, directing the overseers and inspecting fields,
machinery, and warehouses.
"You honor me with your presence," he said to
Mrs. Curtis as he assisted her to alight from the
carriage which had been sent to the railway station.
They had come on the short, narrow-gauge line that
connected the plantation with the head of Rio Bay,
to which latter point they had proceeded on horse
back and by tram, leaving Tijuca at daybreak.
"You must feel greatly fatigued after the journey.
That you have undertaken such a task confers
renewed obligations upon me ; only I am certain that
it was not the place that tempted you, but your son.
Is he not looking well, madam ? "
Henry was there by his side, extending greetings,
and a few minutes later they were seated on a broad
veranda, drinking delicious black coffee, which was
so thick as to be almost the consistency of syrup.
This veranda entirely surrounded the large frame
house of one story, and it was evident that here the
senhor passed much of his time. Grass mats brought

84 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
into relief the highly polished hardwood floor, and
weapons of the chase, both modern and ancient,
decorated the walls, where also could be seen
streamers of moss, palm leaves, and other products of
the vegetable world, which had been preserved in
some manner that kept them natural as if in life.
Between posts hung rare orchids; on tables were
other plants. Directly in front of where the visitors
were seated a fountain played above a pool of crystal
water, and the drops fell upon the outspread leaves
of a large victoria regina, a giant of the lily species
that is indigenous to the Amazon country, and which
must have been transported at great cost. In the
garden color ran riot ; beyond grew oranges, tanger
ines, and mangoes.
" Is it not a pity that so beautiful a place should
be so far from the city ? " said Mrs. Curtis.
" Not when it can tempt a visit by you and the
other members of your charming family. But
surely, madam, that is not your son — that tall
youth?" "No. I quite forgot. Alfred!" and when the
young man had come to her side she apologized to
the senhor.

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 85
" Alfred I " he repeated, gazing earnestly into his
face. "And what other name have you?"
" Simpson, sir. Alfred Simpson."
" Oh, yes," continued the Brazilian, slowly, still re
garding the young man intently. " Your features are
very fanuliar, but older, older," and he turned away.
" I beg pardon, sir ? "
" The resemblance, I mean. It is to some person
older, whom I met in England, I think. No, I can
not remember where. And now for a day of enter
tainment," he added, abruptly changing the subject,
while his brows, which had been knit in thought,
suddenly cleared. " Miss Curtis, what would you
prefer to do ? "
" It is so lovely here," replied Carlotta.
" On the veranda ? Yes. And you ladies must
be very tired. Suppose you rest while Henry and
I show your father and the young men something
of the plantation. Consider the entire house at your
service, and act as though you lived here. Will you,
please?" Then the four male members of the party went
with their host out through the garden, and were
soon lost to view behind the shrubbery.

86 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
An hour later they returned, and Carlotta, spying
something in Henry's hand, called, " Where did you
get that branch from a cranberry bush ? "
" They do look like cranberries, that's a fact,"
said Colonel Curtis, as he picked one of the little red
balls from a stem. " But they are the great Brazil
ian staple, not the fruit that is served at home with
turkey during the holidays."
"What! Coffee?"
" Yes. Nothing else. Senhor Cordero has kindly
agreed to tell us something about this wonderful
product, and we brought the branch to serve as an
illustration." " It will give me great pleasure," said the senhor.
"Surely no lecturer ever had a more delightful
audience." Taking the branch from Henry, he commenced
in a novel manner, but with an apt illustration, and
until a sweet-toned gong announced the luncheon
hour he spoke of the preparation that was nec
essary to lay the grotmdwork for that delicious
beverage which is partaken daily by millions and
millions of people. He spoke English fluently, and
became enthusiastic on the topic which was of such

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 87
great interest to him. This, in part, is what he
said : —
" A passenger locomotive of average size weighs
about twenty tons. Now a moment, please," and
taking paper and pencil from his pocket he figured
for a short time, then continued : " such a locomo
tive would be about thirty feet long. If it could be
possible to string twenty-four thousand five hundred
locomotives in line, all close together, they would
stretch over a distance of seven hundred and thirty-
five thousand feet. Divide this by five thousand two
hundred and eighty, the number of feet in a mile, and
you have approximately one hundred and thirty-nine
miles. Can you imagine one hundred and thirty-
nine miles of nothing but locomotives, placed end to
end ? Yet that is what you would have if you wished
to represent in locomotives the amount of coffee
which was exported from Brazil last year, for the
total shipped was four hundred and ninety thousand
tons ! ^
" Coffee," he continued, after a moment's pause,
1 Since the year mentioned by Senhor Cordero the exportation
has greatly increased. The total for I90I was 580,000 tons. — The
Author,

00 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
taken, evidently, that his listeners might grasp the
magnitude of facts relating to the export trade, " is
not indigenous to Brazil, although this is preemi
nently the coffee-producing country of the world.
It was introduced from Cayenne in the year 1727,
and the first plants were cultivated in the vicinity
of Para.
" Although the trees are grown in nearly all parts
of Brazil, the best results are obtained in a compara
tively limited zone. These table-lands near Rio are
excellent, perhaps among the best, and I believe this
plantation to be the choicest in this district. Other
excellent growing lands are in the states Espirito
Santo, from which comes the name of my property,
Minas Geraes, and Sao Paulo. From these states
and Rio district is furnished the greater part of the
world's supply, some claim as high as seventy per
cent. " I have here figures which prove my assertion,"
and he drew a paper from his pocket. "A few
minutes ago I said that the exportation last year
amounted to four hundred and ninety thousand tons.
Let us see what was exported from other coffee rais
ing lands. Here we have it : From Central America

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 89
and Mexico, eighty thousand tons ; from Java and
Sumatra, sixty thousand ; from Haiti and Santo Do
mingo, forty-three thousand; from Cuba and Porto
Rico, thirty-five thousand; from India, thirty thou
sand ; from Africa, twenty thousand ; from all other
countries, one hundred thousand tons.
" As you say in America, I have started the cart
before the horse in telling about the shipments of the
finished product, but I wished to first interest you in
the magnitude of the industry. We will now go
back, and like all good story books, commence at the
beginning. '• The best lands for the cultivation of the coffee
trees are those that are wild and never have been
cultivated, for their soil has the richness of ages to
give to the plants. Hillsides and table-lands are
preferred to the hot, moist country near the sea
coast, where the tender shoots rot and the berries
are not healthy. This land is admirably situated. It
is about two thousand feet above sea level and its
altitude makes the climate almost that of a tem
perate zone. I should say that it is very much
like the climate of Los Angeles in California, al
though I have never been there.

90 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" After the lands have been cleared of timber and
underbrush, and cultivated with plough and harrow,
the plants, which have been carefully raised in
nurseries, are put into the ground, about four hun
dred to the acre. They are then one year old. This
method is very similar to grape culture in the north
ern and eastern states of your own country, and the
coffee plant, like the young vine, yields no returns
for some time ; indeed, it is a constant expense, for
weeds have to be kept down and the soil must be
frequently cultivated. The plant produces nothing
until it is four years old, and then year by year its
production increases, until it is between sixteen and
twenty, when it gradually diminishes in productive
ness. After forty years the yield ceases entirely
and new plants must be put in.
"The greatest enemy to these plants is a cold
wind, which sweeps at times over the high table
lands. Our plantation is not sufficiently high for
these blasts to do much damage, and we have lost
very little through this cause. There is a worm,
however, that in certain years gives some annoyance.
The moment the little invader appears we summon
all our forces, and commence a war of destruction

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 91
that does not cease until the enemy is completely
routed. " The trees, which you all wiU see when we take a
drive this afternoon, attain an average height of ten
feet and the top is five feet in diameter. From each
tree an average of two pounds of hulled coffee is
taken each season, although some of them yield
much more, and I have taken thirty-two pounds
from one plant.
" Now for the berry," and picking one of the little
red balls from the branch which Henry had handed
to Carlotta, he proceeded to divide it with his pen
knife. " Look, we have here two coffee grains, the
same as those sold in stores, only lighter and
softer. They lie in their spherical home with their
flattened sides together. Each of the two, you will
observe, is covered with a closely adhering mem
brane, which is called the pergaminho — and outside
this is a more loosely fitting membrane, termed the
casquinha. The two grains, with their coverings,
which are like a shirt and a coat, are contained in a
tough shell, known to planters as the casca, and this
again is surrounded by a white pulp and the outer red
skin which gives the resemblance to the cranberry.

92 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" You can readily understand that with all this
clothing in the way, it is no easy task to prepare the
grains for market. In the old days, when much of
the labor had to be performed by hand, it was a
tedious process, but now machinery takes the place
of much manual labor. We Brazilians are indebted
to Yankee ingenuity for these labor-saving devices,
nearly everything in this line having been invented
in your country by men who had watched the pro
cess here; and material for our mills is practically
all manufactured there.
" It is plain, of course, that to prepare the coffee
for market all these coverings must be removed, and
the grains must not be broken nor even bruised
during the process. Colonel Curtis, who inspects
the coffee for his large house, will tell you that he
would immediately reject a lot that was anything
but smooth and perfect.
"The first machine used is called a despolpador.
Notice the similarity to your English word, despoil.
That is what it does; it despoils the berry of the
outer skin and pulp. A trough, lined with cement,
is placed on a hillside above the mill, and a stream
of clear water constantly runs through this channel.

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 98
The berries are poured in at the head of the stream
and are carried by the current down into a large vat.
Imperfect berries bob to the surface in this vat,
while the perfect ones, which are heavier than water,
sink to the bottom and are drawn off through a pipe
into the despolpador proper. Here an ingenious
mechanism removes the pulp, and grains and pulp
are carried by a second stream into a second vat,
where the pulp is thoroughly washed away and
carried off by a third stream, while the grains sink
to the bottom. From there they are carried to the
strainer, where all water is drained off, and then
begins the process of drying.
" This stage of preparation once lasted a very long
time. In those days the grains were spread on a
cement-covered pavement in the sun, where they
had to remain about two months. It was necessary
to rake them over during the day, and remove them
to cover at nightfall and whenever a shower threat
ened. No farmer with his hay ever had such worry
as the coffee raisers of that period. Now the grains
are placed in shallow zinc pans, under which passes
steam in coils of pipe, and the process that once con
sumed sixty days only occupies a few hours.

94 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Even after drying there remains a great deal to
be done. The despolpador has removed only the
overcoat, that pulp which is without the inner shell.
The shirt and coat, or the pergaminho and the
casquinha, still remain. These skins have been
made quite brittle by the drying process; still the
mechanism for their complete removal is complicated
and very expensive, the one on this plantation hav
ing cost over 125,000.
"The grains are brought from the drying house
and placed in bins. From there they are taken to
a ventilator, through which a strong current of air
is constantly passing. Thus bits of dust and rubbish
are blown away. The next receptacle is called the
desoador, or sheller, and it is here that the skins are
thoroughly removed. Grains and broken husks are
then carried by a pipe to a second ventilator, where
the latter are sifted out and fanned away, and the
former are carried by an elevator to the separator.
This is composed of hollow copper cylinders, which
are pierced with holes of different shapes and sizes.
These cylinders are kept revolving, and the coffee
grains, passing through holes, fall into separate bins,
being thus assorted according to size and shape.

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 95
"Now, Mrs. Curtis, I am going to tell you a
secret of the coffee trade, which I daresay your
husband has not revealed. Have you, colonel?"
" No," said the American, laughing. " I don't be
lieve I ever entered into the details of the classification."
"Then, madam," said the senhor, turning to her
again, " will you please tell me what kind of coffee
you order from your grocer when you are at home
in the United States?"
" Half Mocha and half Java," she replied.
"I thought so, and your selection is wise, for
you are thus served with the very best of the
Brazil coffee, every grain of which undoubtedly
came from this country.
" That is what I term an injustice to my native
land, for we are not given credit for the goods
which we place on the market. I have described
the cylinders, which are known as separators, and
through which the coffee passes into different bins
according to the size and shape of the grain.
Well< the moment the grain drops, presto ! the
scene changes in the mind of the coffee merchant
to Asia or Africa ; the small, round grains are thence
forth known as Mocha and the large flat grains as

96 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Java. What is left in the cylinders is graded as
Rio No. 1, Rio No. 2, Rio No. 3, etc.
"We are not the only sufferers because of this
manner of classification. The people in the United
States and Europe are compelled to pay importers
fancy prices for goods which could well be sold
for less, and yet allow considerable profit. Some
houses carry out the humbug to such an extent
that they ship Brazil coffee to Asia, and then re
turn it to America, disguising it Avith Oriental
coverings. That this is frequently done is not
a matter of hearsay with me. Two years ago I
spent several thousand dollars in order to deter
mine for a fact what I had long suspected and
heard. "A European firm ordered a shipment of coffee
from me, and as the bags were filled I had them
marked in a special manner that would attract the
attention of no one except an agent whom I had
taken into my confidence. He was provided with
funds, and instructed to follow those bags the world
over if necessary, and not to report to me until the
coffee was in the hands of the actual consumer.
" He started on his travels, leaving Rio de Janeiro.

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 97
Southampton was the place where the bags were
unloaded, and then they were put in the hold of
another steamer, destined for Egypt. From there
they went to Arabia, via Aden and Jeddah. In
Arabia my grains were packed in Mocha fashion,
shipped back to Egypt again, once more to South
ampton, from there to New York, and my agent saw
some of the identical coffee that had been grown
on Espirito Santo plantation sold to residents of
Fifth Avenue as the product of the Orient, and
nothing had been done to improve it; in fact, it
must have deteriorated to some extent during the
many voyages.
" To prove how the final purchasers were imposed
on, my agent furnished a complete statement in
which he had entered the various prices charged
by middlemen. One package of mj^ coffee, con
taining twenty-two pounds, for which I received
1 1.25 United States money, fetched 1 2.10 in Egypt,
and then in New York brought 1 10 as ' Real Arabia
Mocha.' "Not for an instant. Colonel Curtis, do I wish
to infer that your house would resort to such
tactics, for I know it to be one of the most

98 nsr A Brazilian jungle
honorable firms with which I have transacted busi
ness; but I am certain that you are aware that
methods such as I have described are practised."
"Yes, sir, I am; and it is to the shame of the
trade. But as to the classification of certain grades
of Brazil coffee as Mocha and as Java, I don't see
how that could be avoided. These are standards
known and used the world over, and for one house
to attempt a change of the classification would
result disastrously."
"Of course. I am not blaming you for main
taining the classifications. In fact, I am compelled
to do so myself. You will see bags in my ware
houses labelled Mocha and Java. I only deplore
conditions which do not give to Brazil the credit
in the world at large which she so richly deserves.
"Permit me to resume, however, and carry the
coffee to market.
" After the grains are mechanically assorted by the
cylinders, the choicest grades are carefully gone over
by hand, then they are placed in bags and shipped
to the big warehouses in Rio and other ports, for
loading in vessels. Now you have had the story of
the berry from the soil to the grocer's counter."

the HOURS BEFORE BEDTIME WERE MADE PLEASANT.

A DAY AT ESPIRITO SANTO 99
"A charming story it has been, senhor," said
Mrs. Curtis, thanking him in the name of all who
had listened. "I have heard that the plantations
are beautiful during the flowering season."
" Yes, the tops of the trees resemble white, fleecy
clouds, but unfortunately the flowers soon die, and
within a week the snowlike effect has passed."
After luncheon a large open carriage was driven to
the door, and all started for a drive over the planta
tion, or rather over a part of it, for Senhor Cordero
said it would take days to inspect the entire property.
They drove through miles and miles of coffee
trees, and then visited the large mills, where they
were shown in operation the machinery described
by their host during the morning.
It was late evening by the time they returned, and
when dinner had been served they again sought the
veranda, where the hours before bedtime were made
pleasant by several plantation hands, who played on
curious instruments fashioned from gourds, singing
odd songs that had come to them from the native
Indians. Early the next morning the start was made
on the return journey, but before they left Senhor
Cordero and Colonel Curtis exchanged the final

100 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
papers which would give Henry an interest in Espi
rito Santo when three years should elapse.
" What do you think of Senhor Cordero ? " Car
lotta asked Alfred, when they were again seated in
the railway car.
" He is a charming conversationalist, and he enter
tained us royally, but I cannot say that I like him."
Then later he added, " I wonder what caused him to
look in my face so curiously ? "

CHAPTER VIII
A LETTER FROM ENGLAND
UNDER Alfred's care the garden attached to
The House in the Jungle bloomed again, and
rare plants which he found in the forest added
with their color to the vegetation that had been
there prior to his arrival. The young man was
very fond of the work, and only twice during the
three months that passed between the date of his
coming and the event which it now becomes neces
sary to chronicle did he visit the city of Rio. The
first time was a week after he left the bed, and the
second was this day, when he went to the capital
for the purpose of making inquiry as to why no
letters had been forwarded. He left the house
early, even before Colonel Curtis and John had
started for the city, and he told Manuel that he
would probably return before noon.
Arriving in town, the young man went to the post-
office and enlisted the services of an English inter-
101

102 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
preter. The latter made diligent search, and re
ported that no mail for Alfred Simpson could be
found. "Will you permit me to look over the English
mail that has come addressed care of the general
delivery ? " he asked.
" Certainly ; but you wiU not be more successful,"
and a small package was taken from a revolving
shelf. The letters were thumbed, and when the fourth
was reached the lad gave an exclamation of joy,
eagerly saying: "Please let me have that. I am
certain it is for me."
" This is addressed to the Hon. Alfred de Forest,
and you gave the name of Alfred Simpson."
" Yes. I know. De Forest is pay name, and the
letter is from my mother. You see, I have been
travelling incognito."
" How do I know that you are entitled to the
letter ? " came the inquiry from behind the window.
" Can you prove it ? "
For a moment Alfred did not answer ; then, draw
ing forth the locket from its hiding place, he re
moved the portrait and asked the clerk to read the

A LETTER FROM ENGLAND 103
writing on the reverse. "You will see that the
same hand wrote the address on the envelope and
penned the inscription on the picture. She is my
mother." " True," was the rejoinder, and the letter changed
hands. It was very thick, so thick that it had required
triple postage. Alfred started to tear the envelope
then and there, but desisted, and leaving the build
ing, took passage on a tram car that would carry
him up in the mountains again. At the terminus he
mounted the horse that had been his while in Tijuca,
and started up the winding way.
Neither on tram car nor on horseback did he take
the letter from his pocket, and it was not finally
opened until he had stabled the animal and had
sought a quiet nook under a mango tree, some
distance from the house.
First a check fell from the envelope. He barely
noticed the amount, — it was for .£200, — but thrust
it in his coat pocket and spread open the sheets
that had come across the seas from home. This is
what he read, with varying emotions, as he turned
page after page : —

104 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Eaglesnest, Crowninghuest, Kent.
"Sunday afternoon.
" My darling, darling boy : Your father and
I only arrived from Mentone last evening, and it was
not until this morning that I was handed the letter
you wrote several weeks ago from Rio de Janeiro.
I fear that all the letters I wrote you from southern
France have gone astray, because they were addressed
to Bermuda, where I understood you had decided to
remain some time. How about your travels, Alfred
dear? " I have heard strange tidings since I reached
home, and they lead me to believe that you must
have been hard pressed for funds. Why have you
not cabled me? You know our address is always
registered. I enclose a cheque which will cover any
immediate needs, and if you have incurred obliga
tions beyond this amount, do not hesitate to use
the wire. How did I learn of your straitened cir
cumstances ? Indirectly through Billy. Elizabeth
told me Billy had confessed to her that the money
with which his lawyers were paid was given by
you. " Alfred, Alfred, that generous heart of yours ! I

A LETTER FROM ENGLAND 105
fear it will lead you into serious trouble, my son ; yet
I don't know as I would have you different.
" But I must tell you the news. Billy was ac
quitted a week before we reached home. He will
tell you all the particulars, for Elizabeth said this
morning that he intended leaving for Rio on the next
steamer sailing after the one which carries this letter.
You had perhaps better look him up, as he might
have difficulty in finding you, while you, of course,
by this time know the hotels where Englishmen are
most likely to stop.
" Your father is not nearly so bitter as he was the
day you left home, and I believe that he will never
mention the subject after your return. He has missed
you sadly, and that he has not written is only because
he has not heard directly from you.
"I know, dear boy, how his words must have
wounded you, but he had been greatly worried by
other matters that day ; and then, you know, that a
child should make overtures to a parent, not a parent
to a child. I don't believe you ever clearly under
stood his position. It was not that he blamed you
for the part you had taken in the matter with Billy,
nor did he think that Billy had done wrong, but he

106 LN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
blamed you for refusing to testify to what you had
seen, and he thought that Billy should have taken
such punishment as the court might have meted out
to him. Your father, you know, is a believer in the
strict enforcement of the law.
" I know you are saying to yourself, Alfred, that
Billy was perfectly willing to take the punishment,
and that he did not ask you to go away, in fact did
not wish you to do so. All this I had from your
lips. But your father did not understand, and those
bitter words were spoken when it seemed so very
dark for both you and your cousin. As to the
money which you paid for Billy, there is no necessity
for your ever making mention of the circumstance.
The sum was from my private bank account, which
I freely spared you for your travels, and I ,know
that he will soon repay the loan. Your aunt, Lady
Jane, misunderstood the case even as your father
did, but the support which she withheld from Billy
will soon return, if it has not already, and even if he
be an adopted child, I know the ties are very strong ;
although they may stretch a great deal, they never
will break.
" That reminds me, you are in the land and per-

A LETTER PROM ENGLAND 107
haps near the spot where your cousin Arthur died.
That was three years ago. You never saw much of
Arthur, if I remember right, for you were at Eton
when he visited Eaglesnest. He was a tall, hand
some young man, Alfred, and his features were very
much like yours ; indeed, there was a striking re
semblance. Lady Jane was much opposed to his
going to South America, but Lord Hope said it was
well in this age of the world for a man to seek a
business career rather than enter the army or navy.
I was told at the time that a very advantageous
offer had been made. A Brazilian planter, who was
well recommended by London houses, desired to
secure a partner in his enterprise. His proposition
was that Lord Hope invest £2000 in the plan
tation, that Arthur study the business of coffee
raising by acting as overseer for three years, and at
the end of that time he would be given a quarter
interest in the lands. It was four years ago that
your cousin went away, and a year later he died of
that terrible scourge, yellow fever.
" Oh, Alfred, do be careful not to expose yourself
while in Brazil. I understand that the germs of
this disease cannot live at a certain altitude above

108 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
sea level, and I implore you to remain in the moun
tains. Never pass a night in Rio de Janeiro. Even
in the short time that I have been at home, I have
learned a great deal of the country, and I must send
you these words of warning. Elizabeth has told me
of a very sad case, the details of which she recently
learned from Mrs. St. John, who was the wife of
the British minister to Brazil several years ago.
"It appears from the narrative that the court
of Dom Pedro and the foreign diplomats seek refuge
in a high city named Petropolis, when the season
approaches that sees the fever at its worst. You
probably know the place ; perhaps you are living
there now; I sincerely hope so. It happened that
Mrs. St. John was living in Petropolis, and that her
very dear friend was the wife of the German min
ister, who was of English birth — Lady Somerset, I
believe. One day Mrs. Skalkenberg — that was her
name, or something like it, for she abandoned her
title after marriage — told Mrs. St. John that when
she closed the legation in Rio she had forgotten a
pet dog, and that unless she visited the city it would
starve to death.
" Mrs. St. John urged her not to go, saying that

- A LETTER PROM ENGLAND 109
the fever had increased alarmingly, but her friend
was obdurate and ridiculed the idea of danger. She
went to Rio, and that night a telegram announced
that she had been stricken with the fever. So
rapidly did the disease work that she died two
days later.
" Do you notice, my dear boy, that my hand is
trembling as I write these lines? The thought of
the dangers to which you are subject, and the thought
that you might be taken ill and not have your
mother near you, fills me with dread. Oh, I wish
you would come home ! Come, please come with
Billy, as soon as you can arrange to leave. And
that reminds me, your only punishment for evading
the service of the court will be a light fine. The
judge understands the case thoroughly, and has
intimated to our lawyers what course he will
pursue. " But I quite lost the thread of what I was writ
ing concerning Arthur. When the news came that
he was dead they cabled the British consul at Rio,
asking that the body be sent home. Word came
back that it had been buried on the plantation and
interred in quicklime, for such had to be done in

110 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
compliance with the law. Lord Hope had a hand
some headstone sent out, to mark the grave, and
both he and Lady Jane have planned many a time
to visit the spot, but never have been able to under
take the journey. You might go there, Alfred, and
place a wreath on your cousin's grave. Your aunt
would greatly appreciate it ; and take Billy with you.
The name of the man was Cordero. He was — "
The letter fell from Alfred's hand, and an expres
sion of amazement that changed to horror came over
his face. Could it be possible that there was more
than a similarity in what he had heard concerning
Henry Curtis and what he had read in this letter
from his mother ? He would ask the colonel's opin
ion the moment he returned from the city. These
dear friends who had been so hospitable should be
apprised of all he knew, and warned if a warning
was needed.
Carlotta's voice came to him as he sat there. She
was singing an Ave Maria, and the notes floated
through the orange grove.
No. Why should he worry them? Was he not
able to investigate further? And then it would be
time to tell. He would visit Espirito Santo.

A LETTER FROM ENGLAND 111
But first he finished his mother's letter. There
was little else of interest to any one save himself,
another warning concerning his travels, messages
of love, and a detailed account of a party that had
been given his sister at Mentone. He folded the
sheets, placed them in his pocket, and went into the
house, arriving just as luncheon was being served.
" Mrs. Curtis," he said soon after taking his seat,
" I should like to attend to some business this after
noon and evening. I have received a letter from
home, the first in many days, and I believe that very
soon I can explain a great deal that must seem
strange to you."
" Not a word, my dear boy, until you are perfectly
ready. Colonel Curtis and I have the greatest con
fidence in you, and we are perfectly willing to bide
our time. Do you think you wiU be gone long?"
" Perhaps until to-morrow evening."
"Will you promise me not to sleep in the city?
I ask it for your mother."
" For mother ! Have you heard from her ? "
She shook her head in negation, adding, " I know
what a mother would ask, and therefore I take the
liberty."

112 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" And I gladly promise, Mrs. Curtis, both you and
her." He prepared for his trip immediately after luncheon,
and among other articles he placed in his pocket was
a revolver that had been given him by Colonel Cur
tis the day following Carlotta's experience with the
cobra. " There is no telling what may happen," he said,
as he examined the weapon to be certain that all
chambers were loaded.
When a half mile from the house he stopped sud
denly and burst out laughing.
"A check for £200 in pocket and not even a
milreis for tram fare ! "
He thought of returning for money. "No. I
won't ask them. It's only thirty miles to Espirito
Santo, and the tramp will do me good," and off he
started, swinging rapidly down the hillside.

CHAPTER IX
INTO THE ORGAN RANGE
IT was down the Tijuca Mountains twenty-four
furlongs to the head of Rio Bay, then over roads
which ran in the same direction as the Leopoldina
narrow-gauge railway for a distance of twenty-seven
miles to Espirito Santo.
Alfred knew the general route he must travel, and
felt certain that he could have three-quarters of the
journey done by midnight, then seek a lodging some
where and push on at daybreak, arriving at the
plantation during the early forenoon.
Expecting delays, even when journeying by train,
he had taken with him a substantial luncheon, so
he felt no uneasiness on the score of hunger. In
deed, had he not been seized vrith some indefinable
dread while reading the latter part of his mother's
letter, he would have been quite happy this afternoon.
News from home told that an end was at hand
to a bitter family quarrel. It brought the pleasing
1 113

114 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
assurance that his schoolboy chum had been ac
quitted of a charge that had threatened to mar his
entire life, and that this very chum would soon
join him in beautiful Brazil.
And it was beautiful, this flora-swathed land of
the tropics. Below, as he descended the mountain,
was spread the panorama of Rio de Janeiro and
the bay of that name, a bay more picturesque than
even the famed inlet of Naples. Island-dotted water
and variegated metropolis, both were within the
arena of a gigantic amphitheatre, around which
rose mountains in tiers, their sides covered with
the greenish yellow of verdure, their peaks fading
into the blue of distance. Circling behind were
the Tijuca hills ; circling in front, the Organs, their
slender-pointed spire-tops piercing the clouds.
Rio Bay slumbered in the afternoon sun. Here
and there could be seen the birdlike V, as a
steamer moved lazily across water that was land
locked, except the narrow entrance between the
forts of S§LO Joao and Santa Cruz, the tip ends of
peninsulas which stretched hands across and were
on the point of meeting, when nature decreed
that no bridge should form.

INTO THE ORGAN RANGE 115
The far-famed Sugar Loaf stood out from the
deep in attractive ugliness, even as an ungainly
cactus adds charm to the soft vegetation upon
which it intrudes. From a wing of the city rose
Corcovado Mountain, alone, majestic, a brother of
all those peaks yonder, yet cut off from them for
ever by a moss and fern-strewn valley, through
which ran a silvery stream. Beyond to the left
was the verdure of the Botanical Gardens, and
to the left again the tree-dotted suburbs Laran-
jeiras and Botafogo.
From thoughts of the scenic beauty, Alfred turned
again to those which were fruits of the morning's
mail. What was the fear that had seized him as
he sat reading the letter from England? He asked
himself this question many times as he swung
down the mountain side and mentally reviewed
the events that had followed in quick succession
since he had deserted from the cruiser.
It was not the similarity of Henry Curtis having
been offered the position which his cousin had held
when death came to him; it was not the fact that
the terms had been the same in both instances ;
no, it was the new light in which he had read that

116 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
look given by Senhor Cordero on the morning when
they visited Espirito Santo.
"I remember his eyes," thought Alfred. "For
a second they were like the eyes of the cobra that
waved to and fro beneath Carlotta's hammock.
Arthur may have died from yellow fever. I am
going to find out."
Next came memories of the dark hours in Eng
land, when he had prepared for a flight that would
prevent his giving testimony against William Hope,
Arthur's foster-brother, a lad who had been his
boon companion in many a prank, who had stood
by his side at Eton, joining him in battles with
older boys and in cramming for exams.
He had seen Billy's white face the afternoon the
ticket-taker fell, struck from behind. And although
the cheeks were blanched, the expression was not
that of guilt. No, Billy had never struck such a
cowardly blow; that he knew without reassurance
— moreover, Billy had told him that he had no
part in it, and he knew that Billy would not tell
him a lie.
But he had witnessed one encounter between
the two, when the undergraduate had slapped the

INTO THE ORGAN RANGE 117
face of the burly gatekeeper, who had needlessly
insulted him, and he had also overheard the bitter
words exchanged. The detailing of this scene and
the repeating of the words, said the lawyers, would
furnish the crown with proof of motive, and the
charge of assault with intent to kill might hold, for
the blow had been struck with a sharp instrundent.
Ridiculous ! As if Billy would use anything but
his fists !
Then had followed those bitter days when the
worst side of everything was presented to his father,
and he and his comrade were held responsible for a
crime. Those were days when his mother was the
only one who believed in him, and when everybody
turned against Billy, even the persons who had
taken him as a waif during babyhood, and had
promised to care for him as one of their own.
Billy had stood in the shadow of a jail, for he
had no money, and his best friend was only able
to give evidence that might cause him to cross
the threshold. So he had gone away, giving to
the lawyera every shilling he possessed, except five,
— and the sum total was several hundred pounds,
a present from his mother that he might take a

118 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
trip abroad, — receiving from them the assurance
that by their efforts and his absence the verdict
would certainly be acquittal.
It had all come to pass as he had hoped and
wished. But how many things had happened since
then! and his thoughts flew to The House in the
Jungle and the persons who lived therein, particu
larly to those who had bent over him that morning
when he lay wounded near the hedge.
By this time he was ascending the slope of the
Organs, on the other side of the bay. Minutes had
lengthened into hours, and he found that he was
making good progress, the road being smooth and
the gradient less than that on which he had de
scended. After gaining an altitude equal to Tijuca's
he stopped for a short rest, and looked backward,
down the path he had come, and upon a second
panorama spread far below.
Now the bay lay closer and the city was beyond.
As he watched, a faint glow spread over water and
town. It was like a thin fog of gold dust, creeping
toward the base of the hills. The sun was setting
behind the mountains, and these were the last shim
mers of the day king, before he should give place to

INTO THE ORGAN RANGE 119
the night queen, already hanging pale white in the
blue of sky which each moment was taking on a
deeper color.
" I should like to remain and watch the moon
beams play," thought Alfred ; " but there is no time
to waste," and unstrapping his lunch basket he sat
down by the roadside for supper. This finished, a
drink was taken from a spring, and he was off once
more on his journey, following a path that soon
would be lost in the dense woods which loomed
black ahead. But before starting he glanced once
more into the valley, where twinkling lights were
appearing, then overhead at clouds that could be
seen dancing over the face of the moon.
" Those may mean rain ! " he exclaimed. " I must
hasten." Fifteen minutes later he was surrounded by
shades of the forest, and his way for some time lay
through the Organ jungle, even as the Floresta
bisected the verdure wealth of Tijuca.
The first fall of evening is oppressive, especially
when one is alone, and Alfred's thoughts again
reverted to days that were in keeping with the
moment. He was again on the wharf at Southamp-

120 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
ton, only a few pence in pocket, and wondering
where the next steps would take him.
" Want to ship, my hearty ? "
"What do you mean?" he asked of the middy
who had questioned him.
"You seem lonely. How would you Uke to go
on a cruise ? We've got a fine ship, a fine set of
officers, good grub, and to-night we leave on a jolly
sail to the West Indies. Come on. Boat wiU be
'longside in a few minutes."
Alfred was tempted. The middy was about his
own age and would be a pleasant companion. A
moment before he was perplexed to know how it
could be possible for him to leave England so as to
avoid serving as a witness against Billy ; now the
problem was solved; he would visit the far-away
islands on a man-of-war, and perhaps by the time he
reached there the vexatious questions at home would
be answered to the satisfaction of every one. So
turning to the young naval man, he replied : —
" Give me twenty minutes in which to write a
note home and I'll join you."
"'Pon honor?"
"Yes. Upon my honor."

INTO THE Q^RGAN RANGE 121
" Then I'll hold the boat.'' ,
He was back within the time^,having written and
posted a short letter to his mother, the contents of
which were to the effect that he wias about to start
on his travels, and that it might be some time before
she heard from him, as he would visit the queen's
possessions in the far Atlantic instead of taking a
continental trip. He would write from every port
at which he might stop.
" Now we are off ! " shouted the middy, as Alfred
sank down to a comfortable position in the stern
sheets. " Two pun ten will come in handy I "
The stroke-oar grinned as he bent to the task and
the cutter clove a way out into the stream. It was
a pleasant though short ride, and Alfred thoroughly
enjoyed every moment. He gave little thought to
what was ahead of him. Hard work, probably, but
that could harm no one. His companionable middy
was a pleasant fellow, and there must be more like
him on board.
Alfred knew nothing about the navy, save what he
had learned from officers who had visited at Eagles
nest, and what Captain Marryat had written.
"Things might have been worse," he thought.

122 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
and just then, with a bump, the cutter came along
side H. M. S. Flying Fish, cruiser, that, with cable
hauled taut, was waiting for change of tide to drop
out to sea.
" Jump lively there, youngster ! Up you go ! "
It was the middy's voice, and Alfred turned to
see who he was talking to.
" I mean you. You ! Don't you understand? Now,
up you go ! We can't hold this boat here all night."
"Follow me," whispered a voice in his ear. "You
don't understand. There was a time when I didn't.
Come on."
One of the oarsmen was the counsellor, and
he started up the side-ladder, hand over hand.
Alfred followed, and soon found himself on the
gun-deck, and being pushed along a narrow gang
way toward the bow. A red-faced lieutenant stood
near the capstan, holding an open book. "Any
raw 'uns?" he asked.
" Ay, ay, sir," answered the middy, coming from
behind. " Here's me two pun ten," and he clapped
Alfred on the shoulder.
The hand was thrown off, the lad's cheeks were
burning, and his fists were clinched.

INTO THE ORGAN RANGE 123
" Be careful," urged the monitor's voice. " Ye'U
be put in irons."
"Come up! Come up and sign," the lieutenant
was saying. " What's your name, youngster ? "
"Alfred Simpson," was the reply, after a mo
ment's hesitation. He would not drag the family
name into this disgrace.
"Alfred Simpson, sir! Alfred Simpson, sir!
Use '¦ dr' at the end of every sentence. Say '¦sir'
when you wink an eyelash. The navy's going to
the dogs!" shouted the lieutenant. "Now sign —
here," and he pointed to a place in the book.
"There! One more for her Majesty's service. It's
like pulling eye teeth to get 'em. Mr. Graves,
tell the Pay to chalk you up for two pun ten.
Perkins!" "Ay, ay, sir," replied the sailor who had stood
near the newcomer and had given him advice, as
he stepped forward to a salute.
"Take him in tow. Give him some togs and
stow him away for the night. He'll be of no use
till morning, and perhaps not then."
A few minutes later Alfred found himself in an
ill-ventilated, foul-smelling hole, and was shown

124 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
what looked like a long, narrow box, and which
he was told would be his bunk.
"What sort of place is this?" he asked, bewil
dered. "The fo'castle 'old," said Perkins. "My, but
you're risky ! "
" Do I have to stay here ? "
"You signed, didn't you?"
"Yes, I signed something."
"You signed h'articles for a three years' cruise,
that's what. Didn't you know what you was
doin'?" Alfred shook his head. He was dazed. " And
that officer who met me on shore. Where is he ? "
"That's Mr. Graves. 'E threw the jolly into
you in great shape. Didn't you 'ear 'im call you
'is two pun ten? That's 'cause they gives a bonus
nowdays of two puns ten shillings for each raw 'un."
Gradually the truth dawned upon the cultured
young Englishman, but it did not come with all
its force until they had been several days at sea;
not until the terrible sickness had passed ; not until
he had been ordered about like a dog ; not until he
had been sent into the galley to help the cook, the

INTO THE ORGAN RANGE 125
most unpleasant position on board ship, and one to
which he had been detailed at the request of Mid
shipman Graves, who sought revenge because of
Alfred's resentment the night he came on board.
At times he was tempted to seek the captain
and tell him everything, but the thought of injury
he might inflict on Billy forbade. Long before
the port of destination was reached he decided to
desert at the first opportunity, and appeal to the
courts when he should return home. But Bermuda
is a small place and an English colony, so it was
not safe to act there. He waited, nursing pride
and anger, until Rio was reached.
The whir of a bat brought Alfred's thoughts
from the past to the present. Then he heard the
patter, patter, patter of raindrops falling on the
leaves.

CHAPTER X
THE TARANTULA
THEY were large drops and the sound was not
incessant — intervals of a second's fraction
occurring. This to the weatherwise would have
meant the advance guard of a tropic storm — rain
in sheets and wind sufficient to drive the water
obliquely and at times almost horizontally.
Alfred had no knowledge of the meteorological
conditions in this latitude and longitude, so he
regarded the slow-falling globules as part of a
passing shower and pressed on unmindfully, feeling
refreshed as spray, splashed from leaves, flew in
his face ; the sound was welcome, for it broke the
monotony. From somewhere came a breeze that sighed
through the timber and caused the bamboos that
bordered the roadway to bend their tops gracefully.
Then the tops returned to the perpendicular and
the sighing ceased. But it came again, this time
126

THE TARANTULA 127
in a slightly higher key, and the bamboos bent
farther. The patter of the rain became more in
cessant and the drops commenced to blacken the
roadbed of natural gray.
The moon, which had thrown occasional light on
the swaying foliage, showing dim as a translucent
cloud passed over her face, then clear and bright
when the vapory masses were scattered, became
gradually obscured, until a seemingly opaque body
had come between her and the earth. Then it was
as if no light shone from anywhere, yet some rays
must have penetrated the gloom, for Alfred could dis
cern the path at his feet, although he could no longer
see the bending bamboos or the swaying palms be
hind them. He was guided solely by the ring of
his iron-tipped cane which he kept in front, sound
ing the way.
The drops increased in volume until their contact
with trees, shrubs, and ground sounded like the
roar of a distant waterfall. They came from in
front, against the body, driven by a wind that had
ceased sighing, and tore through the jungle vrith a
rasping sound.
Alfred sought shelter under the lee of bamboos.

128 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
hoping that it was a flurry and would soon pass,
but after a few minutes, finding that the storm
increased in violence rather than diminished, he
pushed forward again. A few seconds' exposure
and he was drenched through. The rain was warm,
but the wind chilled him by evaporation, and he
had not gone far before he was as cold as on a
winter's night. Rivulets of water ran over the
road, flooding depressions and forming pools into
which he frequently stepped.
For a time the drift of the storm bore directly
from ahead and made progress exceedingly difficult,
then the path curved, almost doubling on itself, and
the force of the elements aided his footsteps, be
cause, when the gusts came, he could lean back
and feel support under his arms. For perhaps an
hour he kept forging ahead, chilled when the rain
drove from behind, warm to the point of perspira
tion when it came from in front, and it was no
wonder that he gave an exclamation of joy at the
sight of a light that shone out from the left,
proving that some one had cleared space for a home
in the jungle.
He knocked at the door, knocked again and yet

THE TARANTULA 129
again, before it was opened by a heavily built, short-
necked, and beetle-browed man, whose features in
dicated that he was half Indian, half Portuguese.
Alfred addressed him in the few words of the
foreign language that he knew, and the man opened
the door a little wider and grunted a welcome.
The young Englishman stepped into a small
apartment, where were stored saws and axes, indi
cating that the inhabitant of the place was a wood
cutter. From there he entered a larger room, and
was eyed curiously by a woman who held a small
child in her arms, and by a thin, pale boy who had
risen from a couch on which he had evidently been
asleep. A nod by the Brazilian was an invitation for the
visitor to take a seat, then drawing up a chair to
the table, he placed his elbows on the latter, form
ing a resting place for his hands and gazed steadily
at the newcomer. For several minutes not a word
was said, and Alfred sat there, uncomfortable, the
water dripping from his garments and forming
pools at his feet. He was compelled to break the
silence, and did so by pointing to his wet clothing
and asking the best he knew how if he could be

130 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
accommodated for the night. At that the man
said something to the woman in tones so guttural
that they resembled the growlings of a wild animal.
Her reply was a grunt, whether in negation or
affirmation was only determined by the action
which followed.
The man lighted a tallow dip, beckoned to Alfred,
and stepped into an adjoining room. There he
pointed to a couch of bamboo upon which were a
couple of rough blankets such as are used on
horses in colder climates, and grunting again, he
placed the candle on a table which was the only
other furniture, then walked out, closing the door.
" Rather chilly reception," said the young man to
himself when he was alone. "Didn't even ask a
fellow if he wanted something to eat. Perhaps they
have an idea of the truth, that I haven't any money
with which to pay them. Well, I can leave my watch
or revolver and redeem the pledge when I return.
" I don't like the looks of that f eUow," he continued,
in reflection. " He resembles a beast more than any
human I ever saw."
Having thus taken counsel with himself, he com
menced an inspection of his sleeping apartment, or

THE TARANTULA 131
rather a look around, for there was not much to in
spect, unless it was a little closet at the end, entrance
to which was by means of a door that was cracked,
the lower portion of which had been eaten away for
a distance of about a half foot from the floor.
"Rats must have done that," he said. It was
wet on the inside, and the rain oozed through lattice
work which was an excuse for a wall.
" A pleasant place," he murmured sarcastically, and
closing the door, he placed a chair against it, tilting
the back under the knob so that it became firm.
" Of course any one could break that down," he
cogitated, " but the noise would awaken me," and
then, stepping across the room, he took the same pre
cautions with the door leading into the apartment
where he had left the man, woman, and two children.
Then he made ready for a night's rest.
Six months before this day the Hon. Alfred de
Forest would have sat up all night or gone forth in
the rain again rather than make use of the accommo
dations offered him in the Organ Mountains, but the
experience in the forehold of the Flying Fish had
inured him to something even worse than this.
Removing his outer garments, he wrung them, yes

132 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
wrung them even as a washerwoman wrings clothes
that come from the tub, then hung them on a nail
that projected from the wall. The same treatment
was accorded his underclothing, and with the remark,
" Perhaps they will be a little less wet in the morn
ing," he wrapped himself in one of the blankets and
spread the other over the couch.
Drawing the table to the bedside, he placed the
revolver near the gourd that served as a candlestick,
and sank down, " dead tired." A few minutes later,
his body stirred to a glow by the warmth of the
rough blanket, he was sound asleep.
It seemed to him only a second that he was in the
land of nod, but it must have been several hours, for
when he awakened suddenly, restless and troubled,
the candle was dwarfed to a gnarled stump, and
the wick was floating in liquid tallow, causing fan
tastic figures to be thrown on the ceiling and the
walls. His ears were greeted by the monotonous swish of
bamboos against the side of the house as they were
thrown by the wind which still blew a gale, and the
staccato sound of raindrops that struck with the force
of hailstones. Above these noises he heard a gnaw-

THE TARANTULA 133
ing, different, he thought, from the sound which
would be made by the teeth of a rat. Instinctively
he seized the revolver, drew it close, and held it by his
side. The gnawing ceased, there was an instant's silence
in the quarter from which the sound had come, then
he heard a patter, patter, patter, of something on
the bare floor, and was reminded of footfalls of a
small child running about in bare feet.
He looked in the direction of the closet, and the
sight revealed by the flicker from the dying candle
caused his heart to stand still, then renew its beat
ing with a flutter and throb that inflicted a chok
ing pain.
Moving toward him across the floor was a crea
ture all body and legs, save a wide mouth and two
pin-head eyes that shone like those of a snake. It
was dull red and dull yellow, and about the size
of a peck measure, only more squat in appeai'ance.
This thing was moving slowly and with a sidling
motion, which was evidently necessary because of
its corpulence.
Alfred gazed at it in fascinated horror, unable
to move a muscle, and as he looked, perspiration

134 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
streamed from his forehead, while his feet and
hands grew cold as ice.
Nearer and nearer it came — patter, patter, pat
ter — and the wide mouth was contorted as if in a
hideous leer. At last — and to the lad held spell
bound on the bed it seemed a lifetime — the crea
ture was by his side, and the foreclaws, uplifted,
were tugging at the blanket.
A crash came against the side of the house ; a
branch, broken off by the wind, had struck the
woodwork. This loud, unexpected sound aroused
the lad from the spell which held him, and leaning
over with the revolver, he pushed the muzzle to
within a few inches of the creature's head and
pulled the trigger.
The concussion extinguished the candle-flame, and
he jumped into the centre of the room, which now
was dark. There he stood for a short time and
listened to sounds that came from the adjoining
apartment, and which, though wild and alarming,
were at least human, and brought some relief after
the experience with the monster that evidently had
crawled from the closet. Screams had followed
the report of the weapon, then loud exclamations

THE lARANTCLA 186
in the same guttural ton oh heard earlier in tlio
night; there was shuffling of foot, banging of doors,
and all was still.
The lOnglishman stopped back on the couch, so
as to avoid the thing on the floor, then over tho
head of the bed, and groped his way to the entrance.
Pulling aside the (iliair and turiiing the knob, his
eyes were gj'ooted by light from a dingy lamp that
burned ou tho large table. It was smoking, and
threatened to be extinguished at any moment, for
the outside door was oi)en and the wind was blowing
through. Securing the entrance, he stepped back to the cen
tre of the apartment and looked around in amaze
ment—the family had fled. Jle waited, listening,
and heard no footsteps, nothing but the swiwii of
the bamboos and the rattle of the rain. When
fifteen minutes had passed, he took up the lamp
and reentered the room where tho creature lay
dead, and hurrying past it at the greatest distance
possible, lie took his clothing from the nail, and
went into the larger room again.
Still nothing was heard of the persons who had
received him so strangely.

136 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Perhaps that thing in there was a pet of theirs,
perhaps they let it loose at me, perhaps — but brr-r !
I don't want to think of it any more. It makes
me creepy," and he shivered. ^
By this time the gray of a wind-swept dawn
came stealing in through the clouded window-
panes, and welcoming the light, he stepped forth
and pushed over the soggy grass to the roadway,
but not a trace did he see of the strange host and
hostess who had so precipitately fled at the dis
charge of his revolver.
1 Lest one might think the foregoing experience of Alfred de
Forest exaggerated, the reader is urged to ask any one who is an
old resident of the Tijuca Valley in Brazil to tell the story of
"The Tarantula," and he will hear of one creature like this that
had been fattened to enormous size by feeding on tender bam
boo shoots, and which made its home in the closet of a house
near the Floresta. Three wayfarers, two of them foreigners in
Brazil, were found dead in bed in this house at different times,
and all had been the occupants o£ the same room. The manner
of their death was not known untU. the tarantula was killed by
a fourth person, who nearly became a victim.

CHAPTER XI
THE BEAUTIFUL SLAVE
AN hour after sunrise the rain ceased falling, the
clouds were blown away, and bright light
flooded forest and jungle, causing leaves and flowers
to sparkle as though jewel bedecked. From places
where they had sought refuge during the storm-
swept night came forth butterflies of purple, their
wings bordered with black as of velvet; butterflies
of scarlet, some dotted black, others brown ; butter
flies of brilliant yellow, only the body being a
different shade : butterflies of white, save for a
splash of crimson: and they sailed in curves over
the roadway, from side to side, seeking nature's
sweets that were spread bounteously on every hand.
Occasionally a dart of color woiild appear and dis
appear as a humming-bird outstripped all other
winged creatures, resembling in its flight a segment
from a rainbow.
These sights caused Alfred to cast aside the
137

138 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
terrors of the night, and he stepped along briskly,
choosing the side of the path where the warm light
penetrated, and gradually the remaining moisture
was driven from his clothing.
The anxieties of the last few hours having been
in a measure dispelled and the chill being succeeded
by a feeling of comfort, he felt the cravings of
hunger, and unstrapping the basket again, he ate
with relish some slices of bread and pieces of meat
that had been left from his supper, then seeing a
mango tree, he partook of the luscious yellow fruit
as dessert. After this was done he found a spring
which served a triple purpose: from it he took a
refreshing drink, in it he had an invigorating bath,
then, finding a deep pool, the water of which re
flected like a mirror, he was able to comb his hair
properly. By binding together several palm leaves
and crumpling the ends, he constructed a fairly
serviceable whisk broom, with which he removed the
dirt, now dry, from his trousers; and this all done
he resumed the road, a much more presentable
young man than the person who had left the house
of the tarantula.
It was eight o'clock when he continued his travels,

THE BEAUTIFUL SLAVE 139
and he computed that Espirito Santo plantation
could not be more than nine miles distant, which
belief was soon confirmed by a peon whom he met
going in the opposite direction, carrying his luggage
on the end of a stick, and who understood his
interrogation after it had been repeated a number
of times. Later he met other people, and several
rude wagons weighted with coffee, which creaked
along, drawn by oxen.
Progress could not be so rapid as during the cool
of the evening before, for the humidity of the air
was excessive, sapping energy, and it was nearly one
o'clock in the afternoon when he saw the yellow
pillars that marked the country residence of Senhor
Cordero. At this time he came into a level country
and left the forest behind, the roadway now being
skirted by a thick hedge which marked the boundary
of the great coffee farm.
It was fully a mile from where the forest ended to
the main drive, and Alfred quickened his steps over
this last stage of the journey. The sight of the
house had called vividly to mind the reason for his
trip. He saw again the expression on the face of
the Brazilian planter, when he exclaimed, "Older!

140 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
older ! " and he read again those lines in his mother's
letter which made plain the similarity between his
cousin Arthur's arrangement with the senhor and
that entered into by Henry Curtis. Not that the
thoughts had ever left him since he rose from under
the tree in the Tijuca Mountains, but the startling
events of the night had for a time dwarfed their
importance. It was some distance from the main entrance to
the house, and Alfred had proceeded only a few
feet along the palm-bordered driveway when he was
astonished at hearing his name called.
" Senhor Alfred ! Senhor Alfred ! Don't go.
Stand still and listen to me. No, don't come
toward me; only listen, and stoop over as if tying
your shoe-lace or picking a flower."
He turned and saw, not twenty feet away, a girl
of about seventeen or eighteen who was pulling
down the branch of a low-growing tree, and the
action was very much as if she used the thick
foliage as a screen between herself and the house.
She was dark, only as brunettes are dark, and rosy
health tints added to the beauty of her face. In
merriment or repose she must have been very

THE BEAUTIFUL SLAVE 141
pretty, but at this time there was fright in her eyes,
and the expression of alarm kept one from thinking
of aught else.
" Don't come to me, I say," she reiterated. " Stoop
down as I told you. There, that is right," for he
had obeyed her instructions. " Now you must turn
around, go back to the main road, walk to the left
along the hedge for two hundred of your steps, then
crawl into the hedge until you cannot be seen, and
wait there until I come."
Alfred was so astonished that it was fully a minute
before he replied. Then it was to enter a protest.
" But, senhorita, I came here to see the Senhor Cor
dero. I should have been at his residence two hours
ago, and I cannot wait."
" You do as I say," she replied. " There is great
danger yonder. Can't you trust me ? Now I must
go or some one may see us together. You go quickly.
Good-by," and she disappeared in the shrubbery.
Young De Forest hesitated a minute, then im
pelled by the question, " Can't you trust me ? " he
hurriedly retraced his steps, and carefully pacing off
the distance she had mentioned, he stopped close to
a thick green barrier, and after looking around to

142 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
be sure that no person was near, he parted the
branches and leaves and crept in.
Surely this was a remarkable sequel to his jour
ney! But it proved that he was right in coming,
for there was a mystery connected with Espirito
Santo plantation. Who could this girl be? and
why had she warned him? Again, of what was it
she gave warning? He found his brain whirling
with all these questions that surged through. Mean
while his heart was beating rapidly, and he said to
himself, "Perhaps after all I can aid those dear
friends in the Tijuca Mountains."
Over and over again he considered the strange
problems that had thrust themselves into his life,
and each time he could conceive no solution that
he could reconcile with all the circumstances.
Minutes dragged on, and he wondered that the girl
did not come. " Perhaps she was joking," he thought;
then the expression of terror came before his eyes
and he told himself that could not have been feigned.
When an hour had passed he was tempted to go
forth and carry out his original intentions, but the
same recollections deterred him, and he waited,
waited, waited.

THE BEAUTIFUL SLAVE 143
It was very hot in the hedge ; near by some bees
droned lazily.
Alfred suddenly sat upright and noticed with
alarm that it was growing dark; then he felt some
one tugging at his coat-sleeve from the other side
of the hedge.
" Oh, I am so glad you trusted me and waited,"
said the voice he had heard earlier in the afternoon.
" I couldn't get away before."
He was unable to see her, the shadows were so
heavy, but he felt the hand resting on his arm.
" Who are you, anyway?" he asked, almost roughly,
for he was vexed that the day had been wasted.
" I am Paquinta, one of Senhor Cordero's slaves.
My mother is his housekeeper."
"A slave!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "Why,
I thought there were no young slaves in Brazil."
" Ah, so I have heard," she said sadly. " But on
this plantation it is different. There are many slaves
here, both young and old. It is said that the only
law in Espirito Santo is the law of Senhor Cordero.
He is too powerful for even the magistrates to
interfere."

144 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"But a BrazUian slave, and speaking English so
well ! " he protested.
"I was educated in the United States," she
answered. "Then how does it happen that you are here?
All persons have been free in the United States
since the Civil War."
"It is because I did not know. My father was
an overseer and died here. The senhor sent me
to Boston, where I went to school, then when he
brought me back I learned that I was a slave. Had
I known it before I would have run away. I am
not treated like the others ; not whipped like most
of them. Only I can never leave this place, never
visit Rio, and never go anywhere. But the senhor
is kind to me. I play on the harp for him. The
rest of the time I read my books or dress the doll
that I brought from the United States in the bottom
of my trunk. Do you think it foolish for such a
big girl to play with a doll ? "
Alfred felt his eyes grow moist. The picture of
a lonely life in the Organ plateau had been word-
painted briefly, but the dull monotony of each day
was distinct.

THE BEAUTIFUL SLAVE 145
"There, I came to talk about you, and I have
talked of nothing but myself," she protested. " You
are going to that house to be an overseer — no ? "
" I am not," he replied. " I am going to ask
him about some of the other overseers."
"Then you know. But why did you come
alone?" "I don't know. I only have suspicions," and,
trusting her implicitly, he told about his mother's
letter, about Henry Curtis, about the look that had
caused him to wonder, and when he had finished,
she said: —
"That Englishman — that Arthur — he is your
cousin? I was right. That day, when the senhor
said you resembled somebody, I overheard, for I
was in the dining room. And I thought I knew,
although he did not remember. I supposed you
were coming to be an overseer also, so when I
saw you I called out."
Alfred had listened in amazement. " Yes, Arthur
was my cousin."
"Why, isn't he now?" she questioned.
" I suppose he is, only he is dead, and we use the
verb 'was' when one is dead."

146 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"But Arthur — your cousin — isn't dead."
"What?"" Sh ! Not so loud. Somebody might hear us.
And I must hurry, or they will miss me. Listen I
Arthur is alive, and so are others — I don't know
how many. He did not dare kill them."
" But the fever — yellow fever — they said he
died of yellow fever."
" No, no. He is a prisoner with the others. Now
I tell you what to do. Go and tell your friends
and their friends and come and rescue them."
" I'll do better than that. I'll tell the authorities."
" No, no, no ! I say you are wrong, and I know.
He is a power, the senhor, a great power with the
government. The officers of the law will come,
they will dine with him, then they will say, ' Pouf !
this is nonsense ! ' and they will ride away. I tell
you to come with Americans and Englishmen.
Come quietly and quickly and you will make the
rescue." "But how will we find them?"
"They are far over — way on the other side of
Espirito Santo, in a big log house."
" Why don't they escape ? "

THE ItlflAUTlKUL SLAVE 147
"Because they are watched by armed slaves."
"Paquinta! Paquinta I Paquinta! Where art
thou?" tho voice of Senhor Cordero rang out on
tho night air.
She loantnl close to Alfred and whispered : " I
must go. That is ho."
"But first toll mo, how is lloiiry Curtis?"
" Ah, the last ovorsocr ? " sho whispered back.
"llo is froo to-day. But who knows? The senhor
is vory grooily. Yon havo it all in your hands
now. (lood-by."
Sho wiis gono, and a moment later her young
voioo was hoard calling in Portuguese from a
distanoo : —
" Sonhor, oomo, coiuo ! 1 am afraid I I saw a
snako liere, and I know not where it has hidden."

CHAPTER XII
" ENGLISHMEN, TO THE RESCUE ! "
FOR perhaps an hour Alfred lay hidden in the
hedge, waiting until sounds in the garden
had died away, then he ventured forth and hur
ried from the place, avoiding the road by which
he had come early in the afternoon, and taking
one that turned at right angles, for he remembered
that it led to the railroad station.
Night had brought with it quite a faU in tem
perature, and the young Englishman, whose vitality
had been lowered by excitement, loss of sleep, and
insufficient food, began to grow very cold. He
broke into a run, hoping that quickened circulation
would restore warmth, but the exertion made him
dizzy, and he realized that he had overtaxed his
strength. " I'm afraid I can't stand this much longer," he said;
then, noticing a light some distance from the road
way, he stopped, hesitated, and left the thoroughfare.
148

" ENGLISHMEN, TO THE RESCUE ! " 149
The appearance of the premises gave him confi
dence; the property was evidently that of a truck
farmer who shipped produce to Rio.
" They will know when the next train leaves for
the city, and perhaps I can get some supper here," he
thought as he knocked at the door.
An immediate answer came to the summons, and
the face of the man who bade him good evening
added to his reassurance. It was kindly, and an out
stretched hand was followed by the interrogation if
any service could be rendered.
Finding that the Brazilian understood English
fairly well, Alfred explained that he had been on a
long tramp and was very tired and hungry.
" You English, you walk, walk, walk, very much.
I know. I was gardener in Petropolis for an Eng
lishman, one, two, three years."
Being mistaken for a tourist pleased De Forest,
for it obviated the necessity of making explanations.
He asked about the trains, and was told that the last
one for the day had gone and that the next would
leave at six o'clock in the morning.
" WeU," the lad thought, " I had better wait for
that. I'm in no condition to walk much farther.

150 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
and even if I felt well, I couldn't reach Rio any
sooner." He explained to the Brazilian that he had care
lessly left home unprovided with any funds save a
check which it was impossible to cash except in Rio.
But he had a gold watch, and would willingly leave
it as a pledge for payment, if the gardener would give
him supper and a place to sleep, and also advance him
funds with which to purchase a ticket to Rio in the
morning. Certainly ; it would be a pleasure, was the reply.
The watch he would send to his brother, who was a
waiter in a Rua Ouvidor restaurant, so that it could
be redeemed more easily.
Alfred said this was not necessary, for he intended
returning to the neighborhood with a party of
friends before the end of the week.
This conversation took place in the dining room,
where the wayfarer had at once been made welcome,
and the gardener's wife, a fat, jolly Portuguese, when
informed of the situation by her husband, at once
bustled about, preparing the table. Soon from the
kitchen came the odor of meat that was being warmed,
and also the savory signal that bananas were being

"ENGLISHMEN, TO THE RESCUE!" 151
fried. In a very short time Alfred was served plen
tifully, a pitcher of goat's milk being added to the
edibles. The pangs of hunger appeased, he began to realize
his bodily and mental fatigue, so that after leaving
the table he gladly assented when his host suggested
that he retire for the night.
It was a tidy room into which he was shown, the
cot was new, and the sheets, though of native cotton
and dark brown, were clean and sweet. He did not
keep his candle burning this night, nor did he place
the revolver conveniently at hand ; hardly a minute
elapsed after he had undressed before he was sound
asleep. Darkness was still over the land when the gar
dener called him in the morning. Alfred awoke
somewhat rested, but found himself stiff and sore in
every joint. His cheeks were quite hot, and he knew
that he had a fever.
" Malaria," he thought, as he slowly drew on his
clothing. Breakfast was ready when he appeared in the
dining room, but although the meal was better cooked
than had been the supper of the night before, and

152 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
the coffee delicious, he could partake of only a few
mouthfuls. The gardener's wife whispered to her
husband, and he in turn looked anxiously at their
guest, then asked, " You slept in Rio ? "
" No," was the reply, and the man appeared less
uneasy. " Oh, this is not yellow fever," said Alfred, who un
derstood the alarm. " I have caught cold, that's all."
" Maybe you better stay here and go to bed again."
"I cannot. I must return this morning."
" Very well. We better start soon. I drive you
to the station."
It was five o'clock when they left the house, and
the sun was showing above the horizon when the
little vegetable wagon drew up at the shanty that
was used as a cross-roads waiting-room. Fifteen
minutes later along came the train, — engine, tender,
and two cars. Alfred bade the gardener good-by,
thanking him, and was soon resting on a cane-
backed seat in the rear coach.
He closed his eyes and lights whirled; he opened
them and could see black specks in the air; his head
ached and his temples were throbbing, while his
body became alternately hot and cold. The con-

" ENGLISHMEN, TO THE RESCUE ! " 153
ductor eyed him suspiciously and asked what was
the matter. Alfred did not answer, and dozed in a
semi-stupor, conscious at times that the train was
moving, that other persons were near him, then
again oblivious to all around.
Toward nine o'clock a stop was made at a station
ten miles from Rio. Rousing for a minute, De Forest
looked out of the window and then jumped to his
feet. All at once everything flashed through his
mind — his mission in the Organ Mountains, the
revelations made by the slave girl, the prison life
suffered by his cousin and the peril in which Henry
stood — and the sudden presentment of the emer
gency was due to what he saw on the platform,
where, drawn up in company front, was a file of
sailors, clad in the uniform of the British navy.
He needed help to rescue those held prisoners at
Espirito Santo ; and there it was.
Force was necessary to overcome the minions
employed by Senhor Cordero, and there was force !
Rushing to the car platform he shouted, " English
men, to the rescue ! " and jumped down the steps.
This may seem strained, perhaps, but one must
remember that the lad was not only overwrought.

154 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
but was suffering from the delirium of fever; no
mind is normal when the blood runs too hot.
Great excitement was caused in the ranks of the
saUors by this unexpected appearance and astonish
ing exclamation.
"Ten-shun!" shouted the sergeant, but Uttle effect
did the command have.
One of the jackies dropped his rifle, and springing
to where the non-commissioned officer was standing
he exclaimed excitedly, —
"That's h' Alfred, sir; h'our h' Alfred; aU togged
out like a gemman."
" Bless me bloomin' eyes if that ain't so ! " ejacu
lated the sergeant. " Cotch 'im, lads ! Cotch 'im ! "
" I spied 'im first ! " called out the sailor, as
he closed in with the others. "I claim the three
guineas." The enthusiasm had died out of young De Forest's
eyes. He stood Uke a stag at bay. The first man to
lay a hand on him was f eUed by a blow in the mouth,
the second reeled backward. Then Alfred dropped
like a log and blood gushed from a scalp wound.
" Ye shouldn't 'a' hit 'im so hard," said the ser
geant, coming up.

"ENGLISHMEN, TO THE RESCUE!" 155
"'Twas only a tap,, sir," answered the sailor.
"'E's desperate, an' we 'ad to club 'im."
"Well, we came up 'ere after Perkins, and got
h' Alfred," commented the sergeant. "The other
must be somewhere near, an' p'raps we ought to look
for 'im. But orders is orders, and this is the train.
Load 'im in, lads."
The unconscious form was carried into the rear
coach and placed on the floor of the aisle with a
rolled blanket for a pillow. One of the men pro
ceeded to bandage the wounded head, and the ser
geant explained the circumstances to the conductor
as best he could, while other members of the Flying
Fish's crew gathered near and aided with such words
of Portuguese as they had picked up during their
short stay in Rio.

CHAPTER XIII
A LETTER PROM THE " FLYING FISH "
" TT is remarkable that I can find no trace of
-L him," said Colonel Curtis, after greeting his
wife and daughter.
" Doesn't the British minister know where he is ? "
"No. I called at the legation this morning.
Although necessarily guarded in my inquiry, so as
not to betray the trust which Alfred in a manner
reposed in us, and also not to give information of
his having deserted from the service, for in his
official capacity Mr. Stevenson would have been
compelled to take cognizance of such facts, I ques
tioned him carefully, and the replies convinced me
that he has neither seen our young friend nor heard
of him. Jack called at the consulate about the same
time, with no better results. This afternoon we
visited banks and business houses where he might
have gone, but nothing could be learned. He told
you, Margaret, that he had received a letter from
166

A LETTER ICROM THE "PLYING PISH " 157
homo and was compelled to attend to some matters
of importance, did he not ? "
" Yes ; that was the substance of his remark."
" One would suppose that that might give some
clew. I lis only business, so far as I can conceive,
would be with a bank, to secure funds, or with a
roprosentative of her Majesty's government, in order
to have removed some stigma that may have attached
to him, like the incident of the Flying Fish, or the
trouble in lOngland to which he incidentally referred."
" What do you think that trouble could have been,
Harold?" "Nothing very serious. I wrote to London, as
you are aware, and the answer was satisfactory.
Had it been otherwise I could not have permitted
him to roinain here."
" You luivo written to England concerning him ! "
exclaimed Carlotta.
" Yes, my dear."
" And you know who he is ? "
" Why, is ho not Alfred Simpson?"
" I don't believe it, and 1 never did."
" Porluips you think he is a duke, or maybe a
prince, in disguise."

158 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Well, he's somebody more than a sailor. Tell
me, father, don't you know ? "
" Yes ; else, as I told your mother, I could not have
permitted him to remain here."
" But, father, it must have taken a month for you
to have received the reply to your letter, and you were
just as kind to him during all that time as you have
been since."
" Because I surmised his identity the first night he
slept in this house."
" Oh ! " and the young woman's eyes opened wide
in amazement. " Who is he ? "
" I cannot answer that question at present, my
dear. Alfred asked me that in the event I should
learn anything I would keep it a secret, and I
promised." They were silent for several minutes, then Carlotta
exclaimed, " This is Friday, and he went away
Monday ! "
" Yes," said her mother ; " and I wonder where the
poor boy can be ? "
They were greatly worried, and had been worried
since Wednesday morning. But even during that
day and night no inquiries had been made, for Colonel

A LETTER FROM THE "PLYING FISH" 159
Curtis expressed the opinion that the young man had
met some English friends. " Even so," he had added,
"it is not Alfred's nature to keep us in the dark
concerning his whereabouts." Thursday guarded
inquiries had been made, and on this day they took
a more definite form. The visitor was at liberty
to come and go as he pleased, but they did not be
lieve it possible for him to leave without a word of
farewell. " Perhaps he found that his business necessitated
an immediate return to England," suggested Mrs.
Curtis. " He may not have had time to come way
up here and bid us good-by."
"I had thought of that; but no steamship has
sailed from this port since he left the house. The
Sorata arrived from Liverpool this afternoon, and she
doesn't return until Tuesday."
"You mentioned the Flying Fish a few minutes
ago, Harold. Are you going with us to the recep
tion on board to-morrow afternoon ? "
" I am not going, mother," interrupted Carlotta.
" Why not, dear ? "
" Oh, I detest everybody on the ship."
" Which discussion is very interesting," remarked

160 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Colonel Curtis, " in view of the fact that none of you
will go."
" Why not ? "
" Because the Flying Fish is now steaming north
in the latitude of Bahia. She cleared from Rio Tues
day night."
" How singular that Lieutenant Atherton, who
sent us the invitations, did not cancel them."
" Perhaps he had not the time," suggested her
husband. " Atherton is a cad," said Jack, who had come in
from the stables.
" Carlotta doesn't think so ; do you, daughter ? "
"Yes, I do," she asserted vigorously. "I never
did like him."
" All on account of Alfred," sang her father, to the
tune of a popular song.
" Please don't," Carlotta protested. " I am sure he
is in trouble somewhere. Perhaps he is sick, per
haps he is dying," and tears came to her eyes.
Colonel Curtis began to pace up and down the
veranda, and for the hundredth time that day he
asked himself, "Where can he be?"
"There, there!" he added; "we'U aU laugh at

A LETTER FROM THE "FLYING PISH" 161
this some day. Our young friend has a vigorous
constitution, and he has demonstrated that he can
take care of himself in an emergency. Come, let
us get ready for dinner."
But as he turned he was detained by Manuel,
who appeared at the steps, cap in one hand and
holding in the other a soiled and crumpled letter.
He was very sorry, but this had been delivered
Wednesday morning by a boy from White's Hotel.
The senhora and the senhorita were absent from
the house at the time, the senhors were of course
in the city, and he had placed it in his pocket,
where it had remained until a minute ago. He
would not let such a thing occur again. Would
they please pardon his carelessness this time?
" It is for you, my dear," said the colonel, read
ing the superscription, and passing the letter to
Mrs. Curtis.
She tore the envelope. "Ah — from Lieutenant
Atherton — I thought him too well bred not to
notify us of a change in the programme. His
regrets, of course — and — "
They saw her face blanch, and Carlotta cried in
alarm, "What is the matter, mother?"

162 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Wait a moment — wait a moment until I see,"
and her voice trembled. " Oh, this is terrible !
Here — Harold, read it aloud."
Her husband took the letter. It was dated
H. M. S. Flying Fish, Tuesday evening, and, after
a conventional opening paragraph, continued: —
"It is with deep regret that we are compelled
to cancel all engagements for this week and for
many weeks to come, including the invitations to
the officers' hop, which we had looked forward
to with such pleasure.
"At noon to-day word was passed that hurry
orders had been received from the Admiralty to
sail for La Guayra, Venezuela. Some trouble has
occurred over a boundary, or there has been another
revolution. British interests are in danger, and all
that sort of thing. It is the same old story of
service life: once comfortably at home in a place,
and all ties must be broken.
" We shall probably sail to-night ; indeed, steam
is up in all boilers, and we are only waiting the
return of a landing party.
"Pardon the interruption, please. But of course
you do not know that an interruption has occurred.

A LETTER FROM THE "FLYING FISH" 168
It is two hours since I penned the above paragraphs.
In the meantime a most singular thing has happened.
" You remember how it occurred that I met you
and the charming members of your family, do you
not ? — in command of marines, seeking a deserter.
Within the last hour this deserter, Alfred by name,
has been brought on board. He was caught some
where on the line of the Leopoldina Railroad, by
a party of blue jackets who were searching for
another runaway. Remarkable, is it not, that he
should figure in both my introduction to you and
my leave-taking?
" Poor fellow ! he is in bad shape : unconscious
from a wound which was inflicted by one of our
hot-headed Jackies, — they say he resisted desper
ately, knocking down two men, — and he has a
high temperature. He has been placed in the sick
bay, and the surgeon believes he can pull him
through, and that the air out at sea will aid him.
"But I must stop writing. The call for the
last mail is sounding. I — "
Colonel Curtis read no more. Carlotta was sob
bing, tears were in his wife's eyes, and Jack, biting
his lips, was very flushed of face.

164 DSr A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Perhaps Mr. Atherton will recognize him as
our friend," said Mrs. Curtis after a while.
"How can he, mother? Don't you remember
that Alfred always remained in his room when
the lieutenant called?"

CHAPTER XIV
THE HONORABLE BILLY
LITTLE dinner was eaten by any one in The
House in the Jungle that Friday evening.
" Can we not do something, Harold ? " asked Mrs.
Curtis, when they had returned to the veranda.
"Nothing that I can think of, beyond notifying
the British authorities," he replied. "I shall in
form Mr. Stevenson in the morning. No harm can
come from enlisting his services now."
But with the dawn of another day plans were
altered, and the change was brought about by a
visitor, who must have left Rio before sunrise, so
early did he reach the home in the Tijuca hills.
They were at breakfast when a knock was heard
on the front door. Martha, a negress maid of all
work, who had been in the family service, since the
children were babies, answered the summons, and
soon returned to the rear of the house, wearing a
smile that bespoke her favor of the caller.
165

166 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"English gemman, sir," she said to the colonel.
" He asked if the Honorable Alfred de Forest
resided here, an' when I said I didn't know any
such pusson, he asked if Colonel Harold Curtis
was in. Then I showed him into the library, and
he gave me his card."
" Very well, Martha. Excuse me, Margaret. I
will see what the stranger wishes," and he rose from
the table.
" What does he look like, Martha ? " asked Jack,
when his father had left the room.
" Mighty fine gemman, Marsa John. Tall, like
Marsa Henry, yeUow hair, blue eyes, an' in one of
dem he wears a window-pane."
" What do you mean? " said Mrs. Curtis.
Jack laughed. It was the first laugh heard in
the house in several days.
" She means a monocle, mother."
" Oh ! "
"Did you hear that name. Jack? De Forest —
Alfred de Forest?" asked Carlotta.
He nodded his head. " Um, I guess I did. And
look at mother. She's known it all along, haven't
you, madi-e ? "

THE HONORABLE BILLY 167
"Yes." "Well, it's a pity we haven't heard anything of
all this, and he's our friend. Carlotta, let's have a
look at that card by father's plate," and when it was
handed him he read, "William Reginald Hope.
Well, Reggie, I hope you bring us some good news
of our friend."
" How can he ? " asked Carlotta, and her face,
which had brightened, became clouded again.
" Didn't he ask for him at the door ? "
A bell rang in the front room. "Martha, see
what Colonel Curtis wishes," said her mistress.
"The col'nel," said the servant, returning imme
diately, "wants another place set at the table, and
says he will bring de gemman in."
Mrs. Curtis's hands instinctively flew to her hair,
and Carlotta, rising, looked in the glass.
" You are both all right," said John, who under
stood the gestures ; " you look as well as any of his
people, I guess."
"Set the place there on my right, Martha," said
Mrs. Curtis ; and when it was arranged they all rose
to their feet, for footsteps were heard coming down
the hall. Then, in the doorway, by Colonel Curtis's

168 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
side, appeared a young man who answered well the
description given by Martha. He was about Henry's
age, tall, broad-shouldered, and very fair. His suit
was white duck, immaculately white. The " win
dow-pane" was dangling from the end of a very
fine gold chain. That and a watch fob was the
only jewellery of consequence that he wore.
" My, but what a tackle he would make ! "
thought Jack.
" Margaret," said the colonel, " this is an inti
mate friend of Alfred's. Mrs. Curtis — the Hon
orable Mr. Hope, of Kent, England. And this is
my daughter Carlotta, and my son John."
He shook hands heartily with them, as the
English always do.
"Please take this seat, Mr. Hope," and Mrs.
Curtis indicated the place. " A friend of Alfred's
is more than welcome."
"Thank you, thank you. And this is where
Alfred visited. It was charming of you. I do
not understand why he went away."
"I have told Mr. Hope very little," explained
Colonel Curtis; "for I knew you were all anxious
to learn the result of our conversation, and I also

THE HONORABLE BILLY 169
wished to have you aid in explaining the unusual
circumstances. Sir. Hope is a relative of Alfred's,
and has come from England especially to join him.
He has proven quite a detective, for the only place
in Rio where he could possibly have learned that
Alfred de Forest and Alfred Simpson were one
and the same was the post-office. This information
obtained, it was comparatively easj- to ascertain
that Alfred Simpson was a visitor at our house."
" Yes," said the newcomer. " I was quite dis
couraged yesterday afternoon, until I happened to
think of the mail, and then the idea came that
my friend was probably travelling incog., for rea
sons which I shall explain to you."
"Mr. Hope has not yet had breakfast — only a
light repast such as a hotel serves before regular
hours," Colonel Curtis added. " Will you please
pour a cup of coffee, Margaret?"
"I beg pardon. I had quite forgotten my duty;
but I have been so worried about poor Alfred."
" Poor ! " ejaculated the visitor. " ^^^lat is the
matter ? " and he laid down knife and fork, looking
intently across the table.
" Just a moment. We will explain," said Colonel

170 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE t
Curtis. "It is so strange and so difficult to com
prehend, that I wish the facts told chronologicaUy.
John, you relate to Mr. Hope the occurrences of
that first morning when you saw our young
friend." Jack willingly plunged into the narrative. He
had seen a fugitive, dressed in sailor's clothing,
trying to hide beyond the orange groVe. He had
spoken to him, had heard a part of his story, and
had promised assistance. Then came the marines,
the search, the return, and at last he told of the
aid he and Carlotta had given, back of the hedge.
The visitor had smUed several times during the
narration, once or twice he was heard to chuckle,
as if something greatly amused him, but toward
the last his face grew grave.
"The wound and the fever! Did he recover?"
"Oh, yes. He was soon quite weU and strong."
After being thus reassured, the Hon. William
Reginald Hope pushed back his chair and burst
into loud laughter. AU at the table looked at
him in astonishment, and Colonel Curtis frowned.
"I beg pardon, sir," their guest said, al
most immediately recovering from his merriment.

THE HONORABLE BILLY 171
"I couldn't help it. Baw Jove, sir, it's a joke,
a joke on the service ! Alfred a sailor, a deserter,
and stuck like a pig by a marine ! And he never
told who he was ? Alfred ! And his father a Lord
of the Admiralty ! "
" A Lord of the Admiralty ! " repeated Colonel
Curtis. " Certainly, sir. RoxhaU de Forest, Earl of
Kemswitch, Second Lord of the Admiralty. Were
you not aware of the fact ? "
"I knew that Alfred's father belonged to the
nobility, but I did not know he stood so high.
You must understand that Alfred never spoke of
his family. What knowledge I had was obtained
surreptitiously. Mrs. Curtis and I gleaned some
information from a glance at a photograph which
your friend gave us to keep for him. It was my
duty toward my family to make certain inquiries,
and these proving entirely satisfactory, I did not
press them farther, believing from what I had
observed of the young man that it would all turn
out well. But I hardly know what steps to take
now. Your information will assist us in securing
aid ; that is — " then he hesitated.

172 IN A BRAZILIAN .lUNGLE
The Englishman looked around in astonishment.
Sorrow was marked on tho faces of all these new
acquaintances ; on Carlotta's were traces of recent
tears. " W-h-y," he stammered, " you said that he had
completely recovered from tho wound."
"Yes, but there is another chapter, and I will
preface it with the statement that wo all lived very
happily here until last Monday, when Alfred said he
had received a letter from home — "
" From his mother," interrupted the Englishman.
" A letter from home, and that as a consequence he
had some important business to transact. We have
not heard from him since, but we liave news of him.
Read this, sir," and Colonel Curtis passed over the
letter written by Lieutenant Atherton.
The Hon. Mr. Hope read it slowly. His face was
very grave and drawn when he had finished, but he
did not say what any one present expected. In low
tones he muttered slowly : " So you knocked two of
them down, did you, Freddie ? Good for you, ray
boy ! It must have been that upper cut I taught you
at school."
" What did you say, sir ? " asked the colonel.

THE HONORABLE BILLY 173
"Nothing, nothing much. I was thinking," and
then the brow of the Hon. Mr. Hope cleared.
" Oh, he'll come out of this all right ; you don't
know Freddie."
Carlotta smiled at him across the table, and he
resumed, speaking to her : —
" I don't care anything about the wound this
fellow mentioned. You should have seen him
spiked while playing Rugby. But that fever —
do you think it could be the fever?"
"No. He was not exposed here, and when he
loft he promised mother not to sleep in Rio, and I
don't believe he would break his word."
" Alfred break his word ! I rather think not.
Take it all in all it's not so awfully bad. I'd jolly
well rather have it different ; but as it is, let's see."
lie was still talking to Carlotta, and she looked at
him intentiy.
" Freddie is wounded and has a fever. The lieu
tenant writes that he's in pretty bad shape, but the
surgeon believes he can pull him through. Now
when that letter was written he M^as a sailor before
tho mast, a common Jackie ; nobody on board knew
anj'thing different. Therefore the surgeon spoke the

174 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
truth ; he didn't have to hold out encouragement to
friends and relatives. And then again, that lieuten
ant, in writing, would naturally make it all out the
worst possible, for it would be more sentimental."
The Hon. William Reginald Hope smiled trium
phantly at his own argument, and Carlotta smiled
back at him. ^
" As for the wound," he continued, " that
doesn't worry me. As for the fever, even if he has
the yellow fever, isn't he better off than he would
be here ? He's at sea, and one salt breeze out in the
open air is worth a ton of quinine."
" You have made us all feel better," said Mrs.
Curtis. " Oh, as for that," and his eyes still looked into
those of the girl opposite, "I have other reasons.
Freddie is going to pull through, because he wants
to see me as badly as I want to see him, and be
cause he wants to see his mother and father — and
— and because he wants to see some one else."
Red color mounted to Carlotta's cheeks, and she
glanced aside.
" Do you not think it wise to place the facts before
Mr. Stevenson ? " asked Colonel Curtis.

CARLOTTA HELD OUT HER HAND.

THE HONORABLE BILLY 175
"Perhaps it would be better not to do so, sir.
You are not familiar with all the circumstances —
the circumstances in England, I mean, sir, although
I shall explain them in the course of a day or so.
A foreign colony is a great place for gossip, and
frequently the minister resident is not too careful
of confidences reposed in him. I would suggest
that it might be wise for me to cable as fully as
possible to Alfred's father. And if you will excuse
me, Mrs. Curtis, I will return to Rio immediately
after breakfast."
" Yes, certainly ; but you will come back here ? "
"I shaU be glad to."
" Will you not make this your home until we hear
something definite ? "
The invitation was too heartfelt to admit of even
polite hesitancy. He bowed his head in acquies
cence, merely saying, " I thank you."
" John and I are going to Rio, and we will ride
with you," said Colonel Curtis. "You are provided
with a mount, are you not ? "
"Yes, sir. Your man took my horse."
At the door Carlotta held out her hand. " You
have helped us all," she said.

176 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Jolly glad I came," was his reply. " I'm almost
sorry that I am not that tar with a bunged-up head
and high temperature. Yes, I am sorry."
She blushed again and went into the house.
When Jack and his father returned from the city
in the evening the Honorable Reginald was with them.
He was shown to the room that had been occupied
by AUred, and there, an hour later, his baggage was
taken by Manuel, who had carted it from the station.
In the evening he took Alfred's seat on the ve
randa, and after telling them the text of the cable
gram which he had sent in the morning to the
Earl and showing Mrs. Curtis and Carlotta the
answer received just before he had left for Tijuca,
and which read, " Many thanks for advices. I have
cabled to captain of Flying Fish at La Guayra," he
asked permission to relate the occurrences in Eng
land that had led up to such a peculiar condition
of affairs.
"Fred and I were classmates at Eton," he be
gan. " We were graduated from there two years
ago, and then entered Oxford. But we had been
together longer than during our school days ; in
deed, I can't remember the time when we were

THE HONORABLE BILLY 177
not playmates. You see, his governor's place is
next to Lord Hope's, and because of the family
relation — Lady Jane, who adopted me when I was
a baby, and who has been a good kind mother to
me, being the Earl's sister — the grounds were
used in common. Arthur, the governor's eldest
child, was four years my senior, and of course went
with older boys. Elizabeth, one year younger than
Arthur, was a young lady when I was a kid. I'll
tell you more about them both later.
" But Cousin Fred and I were the same age, and
we got along famously together. I suppose that
it was because we were different. He fitted in
where I didn't, and vice versa. Alfred was quick
and I was slow; he was nervous, and I don't be
lieve I have a nerve in my body. At sport he
was the best in running, cricket, and boxing. I
went in for throwing the hammer, rowing, and foot
ball, where weight told. I didn't like to study, and
he spurred me along. He wanted to study too much,
and I held him back. Oh, we made a great team,
and I don't believe we ever exchanged an angry
word. " Now I'll tell you how all this came about. You

178 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
know that no matter how long a fellow has been
away from a school, he never loses interest in any
thing connected with it, especially in the sport. So
Fred and I made it a point to go down to Eton
every time we could when there was an intercol
legiate game on. Last fall we went down to the
Rugby match, — Eton was playing Harrow, — and
arrived early in the morning so as to get good
places. " The fellow that sold tickets was named Jacob
Heintz. A year before we had charged him with
favoritism, and he nursed a spite against us. This
morning that I am speaking of he told us there
were no seats left, and as I knew that was not so
I told him it was a lie. He said something back
that a chap was bound to resent, and I gave him
a jolly good cuff on the cheek. Then we had a
good deal to say to one another in pretty loud
language. You know when a chap is hot aU over,
red-hot, he says things he shouldn't say and is sorry
for afterward. I was going to mix in again, when
Fred pulled me away, and we went back to the
hotel, where we easily secured tickets.
" That afternoon, when going in to the game, we

THE HONORABLE BILLY 179
passed by that fellow Heintz, who was at a turn
stile. He was evidently having trouble with some
body else, and a crowd had gathered. Fred and I
elbowed our way in, and just as we got beside the
fellow he screamed and fell to the ground, bleeding
from a wound in the back of the head. I didn't
see who struck the blow, and as there was a great
crush we were both swept on.
" Well, we saw the game through, and in the
evening had a lark with some of the undergradu
ates. When we went back to our rooms we
found a couple of constables waiting, and they
placed us under arrest, charged with assaulting
Heintz. " At first we thought it a great joke, even if we
did have to pass the night in jail, but in the morn
ing, when we were taken before the crown coun
sel, things looked more serious. He said that there
was not much against Alfred, but he would be put
under bonds to appear as a witness for the crown.
Against me, however, he had plenty of circum
stantial evidence. There were witnesses who had
seen me strike Heintz in the morning, and who
had heard threats made. What Alfred would

180 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
testify to he didn't know, but he would have him
put under oath when the time came.
" You remember I said that Alfred was in front
of me when the blow was struck, and so he couldn't
swear positively that I didn't do it. But bless his
joUy good heart he wanted to, for he said he knew
it just as weU as if he had held my hands at the
time. "To make matters worse, there was a second or
third cousin of ours down at Eton at the time, a
feUow who was always trying to get other chaps
in hot water. He is one of the kind who teUs you
about your sins, and tells your people even more.
What did he do but hurry home by the first train,
and finding Lady Jane and Lord Hope together,
informed them that I had murdered a poor gate
keeper, who wouldn't let us get in to the footbaU
game free, and that Alfred had been arrested as
an accessory to the crime. There was just enough
news from Eton that night to bear out what he said.
" Some good chaps signed bail-pieces for us, and
we went back home the next day, and there we
learned in a pretty rough manner what mischief had
been done. I wasn't aUowed in the house, and only

THE HONORABLE BILLY 181
learned what had happened through Elizabeth, who
sent word for me to meet her in the garden. A
little later I met Alfred. His face was white as
a sheet, and he said he would never enter his father's
grounds again.
" Lord Hope must have cut up pretty rough. Al
fred would never tell me what his father said ; he's
close-mouthed when he wants to be, and he's very
proud, and will never say anything that might injure
the family. That's why he was so reserved with
you. Until he could hear how my case came out
he wouldn't say a word. I know him.
" But I'm off the line, as we say at school. That
evening Lady Althea — that's Alfred's mother —
found out the place where we were stopping and
had a long talk with Fred. He told her everything,
and said that he thought he would rather go away so
as not to appear as a witness. She agreed, and ad
vised that he leave for the continent, and take a trip
that had long been planned, giving him a check that
would cover all expenses of the journey.
" A couple of days later Fred took me to the office
of some lawyers whom he said he knew. They ques
tioned and cross-questioned, then gave it as their

182 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
opinion that it would be well for Fred to be absent
for a time.
" When we went out I said, ' I can't pay those
disciples of Blackstone. I've only got five bob to
me name.'
" ' I'U lend you some,' said Alfred, giving me a
handful of gold. 'And as for the lawyers, don't
bother about them. They understand and have told
me it's all right.'
" Fred left that evening, telUng me he was going
abroad. We shook hands, said good luck, and that's
aU there was to it.
" Later on, when I got some money, I went to pay
my counsel, and they told me aU bills had been set
tled. I thought Lady Jane or perhaps Lady Althea
had done it, and didn't know the truth untU just
before I sailed.
" Dear old Fred, he gave up every shiUing he had,
and then enlisted in the navy — and his father a
Lord of the Admiralty ! "
" But what happened to you ? " asked Carlotta.
"Everything came out all right. That feUow
Heintz didn't die, and when he got well the chap
that struck him came forward and told the truth.

THE HONORABLE BILLY 183
Of course I was acquitted, and then milk and honey
flowed for me. I learned from Elizabeth that Fred
was in Brazil, and when I suggested that I would
like to go out and join him. Lady Jane said it was
only what I should do, and she advanced the funds.
So here I am — and Fred, Fred, why couldn't he be
here also ! "
Soon he continued abruptly, " It must have been
somewhere about here that Arthur died."
Then the moonlight shovsdng the astonishment
depicted on their faces, he explained: —
" I spoke to you of Arthur, you know, the son
of Lord and Lady Hope — their real son. He came
out here several years ago to go into the coffee-
raising business, and died of yellow fever. After a
few days I should like to visit his grave. Lady
Jane told me where I could find it."
They sat there until nearly midnight, for the air
was perfect, and the light made the night almost
as bright as day.

CHAPTER XV
LIEUTENANT ATHBRTON'S SURPRISE
ROLLING slowly from side to side in a glass
like sea that was disturbed only by undula
tions left by a storm long since passed, H.M.S.
Flying Fish, cruiser, third class, steamed due north,
to pass the extreme eastern point of the Brazil coast
line before shaping a course for La Guayra. She
was four days out from Rio and in about the latitude
of Pemambuco.
Alfred, a patient in the sick-bay, his head swathed
in bandages, turned uneasily in his hammock, opened
his eyes, and raising one hand, fingered, as though
curious, the cloths that had been bound over the
wound. An old sailor, detailed as hospital nurse, rose from
a box on which he had been sitting, and asked, " Are
you feeling better, mate?"
The lad looked at him dully, again fingered the
bandage, tried to raise himself by the shoulders,
184

LIEUTENANT ATHEBTON'S SURPRISE 186
but was so weak that he sank back, then said feebly,
"Where am I?"
" On the Flying Fish, mate, bound for Vene-
zuelay." He covered his face with his hands — Tijuca, Espi
rito Santo, home — everything came back to him.
" The slaves wUl get him ! The slaves will get
him ! " he murmured, then groaned in mental pain.
The saUor resumed his seat on the box. His
charge was delirious again. He had been alter
nately delirious and in a stupor since leaving Rio.
" Saverdeck ! "
The man looked up.
" Saverdeck ! "
He rose again, and stepped to the hammock.
"Saverdeck, please tell Lieutenant Atherton I
would like to see him."
" Sh ! Sh ! mate, try and sleep ! "
"I'm better, Saverdeck, and I want to see the
lieutenant. I must see him."
" Don't get well too soon, mate."
"Why not, pray?"
"'Cause they'll put you in irons soon as you're
up."

, 186 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Never mind about the irons. I must see Mr.
Atherton." "You know, mate, that one of the watch officers
has no business here, and would laugh at me. Shall
I call the sawbones ? "
"No. You go to Mr. Atherton and tell him I
want to see him about Colonel Howard Curtis, and
that it's a matter of life and death."
" Hum ! "
" Go and do what I say. If you don't, you will
get into trouble."
The sailor hesitated. There was a tone of com
mand in Alfred's voice. He mumbled something,
then went out.
In a short time he returned, and with him was
the lieutenant of marines.
" Who used the name of Colonel Curtis ? " asked
the latter.
" I did," and Alfred, getting stronger under the
excitement, arose partly on an elbow.
" What do you know of Colonel Curtis ? "
" Please come nearer. I am very weak, and be
sides, it is important no one else should hear."
Atherton approached the hammock and bent over.

LIEUTENANT ATHERTOn's SURPRISE 187
He listened, and slowly his lower jaw dropped as his
expression of surprise changed to amazement. Finally
he straightened up, looked at the patient half doubt-
ingly, and shook his head as if in dilemma.
"If you doA't believe me, take my coat over
yonder. In the inside pocket is a letter from my
mother. Read it."
The officer did as requested, and as he read page
after page Alfred watched his face. He said in
after years that it was an interesting study — blood
came and went, eyes opened and closed, and the
mouth worked convulsively.
" Whew ! " he exclaimed when he had finished.
" Here's a pretty mess ! I say, sir, don't make me
out too black to your father. You know I was only
obeying orders. And, 'pon honor, I never looked
you in the face before to-day. Why, they should
have seen — But we must get you out of here.
I'll be back in a minute. Whew ! this a mess !
Saverdeck ! "
"Ay, ay, sir," and the nurse saluted.
" Tidy up this place, Saverdeck ; and watch out
carefully for your charge while I am gone."
"Ay, ay, sir."

188 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Alfred sank back in the hammock and smiled.
The sailor bustled around, rearranged the blanket,
brought his patient a cup of water, called him " sir "
instead of " mate," then commenced to make every
thing shipshape, as if for inspection.
Alfred continued to smile. It was pleasure,
actual enjoyment, to witness this change. He would
have been perfectly happy had it not been for the
thought of what his absence from Tijuca might
cause. He had revealed his identity to the lieu
tenant. He could do so now, for Billy had been
acquitted. Ten minutes passed and rapidly approaching foot
steps were heard. Lieutenant Atherton entered,
and with him was the surgeon of the Flying Fish.
Heretofore an assistant had cared for the patient.
"My dear sir," exclaimed the medical man, "this
is terrible ! And that bandage not removed this
morning! I'll report Jackson immediately. Mr.
Atherton, please remind me if I forget. I must
report Jackson."
He became busy with his surgical case. Out came
shining instruments, lint, and bandages. Saver
deck was ordered to bring boiling water, into which

LIEUTENANT ATHERTON'S SURPRISE 189
even the scissors were plunged, to be sterilized — a
proceeding that greatly interested the nurse.
" Now we'll have it all right in a minute," and
with deft fingers he removed the cheese-cloth wrap
ping, washed the wound, then dressed it with anti
septic gauze, which was taken from a sealed glass
jar. " Now we are all right," he finally said, and going
to the door, he beckoned. In came six sailors, bear
ing a stretcher. Alfred was carefully lifted upon
this, a blanket was placed over him, the surgeon
arranging the covering with his own hands, then
out from the sick-bay he was carried, along the gun-
deck, up a companionway and — into the captain's
cabin. "Holy smoke. Bill! what does this mean?" ex
claimed a quartermaster.
The man whom he addressed was too astonished
for utterance, and such was the condition of the
majority of the ship's crew.
"H'Alfred 'as been taken into the old man's
cabin," was the word passed from messenger to look
out, from boatswain to cook.
"'E's a lord," said one. "A juke," said another.

190 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"P'raps 'e's the son of the Prince o' Wales," whis
pered the third.
And the sailor who had knocked the lad down
found that his messmates eyed him sorrowfully ; then
his teeth commenced to imitate castanets in action.
In the cabin was held a conference that lasted
half an hour. Lieutenant Atherton being present
with the captain and Alfred by the latter's request.
At its close the navigating officer was sent for, and
he went directly afterward to the chart room, then
to the bridge, where he delivered a command to the
watch officer.
" West by one point north ! " shouted the latter.
Over went the wheel, around swung the bow of
the Flying Fish.
" West by one point north, it is, sir," caUed back
the quartermaster.
They were headed as the crow ffies for Pemam
buco, one hundred miles distant.
jNIeanwhile an orderly had carried orders to the
chief engineer, the result of which soon became
manifest in dense clouds of smoke that poured from
the funnel and in faster revolutions of the propeller.
At daybreak they entered the port which boasts

LIEUTENANT ATHERTON's SURPRISE 191
a natural coral reef as a pier, alongside of which
can lie vessels of any draught, and the mud-hook
had no sooner struck the bottom than the captain's
gig was called away and he went ashore. Going
directly to the cable office, he wrote a long despatch
and asked that its transmission be hurried. Then
he went to the English Club, where he awaited an
answer. It came at noon, and he read : —
"Cable order 131 cancelled. Return to Rio at
once. There use your own discretion."
An hour later the Flying Fish was again at sea,
steaming southward, and men in the stoke-hold were
working overtime.
Alfred had slept a natural sleep untroubled by de
lirium from the time the conference was ended until
late the next afternoon. The captain had given him
his cabin and ordered absolute silence in its vicinity.
When he awoke he asked for Lieutenant Atherton,
who greeted him with, " Well, sir, we are returning
to Rio," and then explained what had occurred at
Pemambuco. " I wish I had been awakened when we were near
a telegraph wire," said De Forest. "I would have
sent a message to Colonel Curtis. Perhaps it is

192 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
just as well, though. It would have been impossible
to explain fully in a telegram, and he might have
acted hastily. It is my duty to protect my cousin
as well as Henry Curtis, and there is no telling what
that fiend Cordero might do if he should suspect that
his secrets were known."
"That is what I thought, sir, and therefore I
didn't use the wire."
"Still, I would have let them know at Tijuca
that I had recovered."
"I'm sorry, sir, that I didn't think of that."
"Well, there's no use crying over spilt milk.
How long before we will reach Rio, Atherton ? "
"Navigator figures we'll be there Wednesday
afternoon. The old man has given Cinders orders
to keep under forced draught. Can't you feel the
vibration ? "
"And to think," said Alfred, absent-mindedly,
" that the Honorable Billy is now in Rio, endeavor
ing to locate his chum."
"Who, sir?"
" A jolly chap whom I wish you to meet. And
say, Atherton, that matter you spoke about yester
day. Don't think I harbor any ill feeling. You all

LIEUTENANT ATHERTON'S SURPRISE l98
did nothing but your duty. Tell Graves, will you,
and ask him to take dinner with me. Then pass
the word to the Jackie who knocked me down that
he needn't worry. TeU him that he is in luck, for
if I could have got just one more swing of my left
hand he would be nursing a black eye to-day."

CHAPTER XVI
A PROPHECY BY COLONEL CURTIS
DIVINE service was conducted Sunday morning,
at White's Hotel, down in the Tijuca Valley,
by the chaplain of U. S. S. Lancaster, then lying at
anchor in Rio Bay. It was not often that the
opportunity for religious worship under the auspices
of an ordained minister presented itself to the
foreigners who lived among these hills, and when a
clergyman from the capital, or a visiting warship,
found time to read the Word of God, he was certain
of a large and attentive audience. Among those
in attendance this day were Colonel and Mrs.
Curtis, Carlotta, John, and the Hon. Mr. Hope.
They had walked from The House in the Jungle,
and they also returned home on foot, for the distance
was something less than a mile and the air was
refreshing, the temperature having been lowered by
the heavy rains of mid-week.
In the afternoon siestas were enjoyed, then all
194

A PROPHECY BY COLONEL CURTIS 195
gathered at four o'clock for a cup of tea, which
was served on the veranda. Reginald Hope — for
so they called him when speaking to one another,
adopting that much of his name which was first
used by Jack — being a stranger in this land, the
conversation naturally drifted to subjects Brazilian,
and the visitor, recognizing the fund of informa
tion possessed by Colonel Curtis, plied him with
questions. Coffee was, of course, the first topic
discussed, and the subject was as exhaustively treated
as it had been by Senhor Cordero.
" But there is another product of which Brazil is
the leading exporter and enjoys almost a monopoly
both in quantity and quality," said the colonel.
"You mean rubber, I suppose?"
"Yes, the rubber of the Amazon region. A
year ago I had occasion to visit the interior country,
and journeyed nearly as far as Iquitos, which is
in Peru, near the frontier. While on the steamer
which furnished transportation part of the way, I
overheard the paraphrase of a popular saying.
" ' Rubber, rubber everywhere, but not a ball to
bounce,' said an American civil engineer, who was
a fellow-passenger. How true he spoke. Millions

196 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
and .millions of rubber trees, extending into virgin
forests, where they will be treasure-trove for children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of this gen
eration; millions and millions of acres, the soil
better adapted to the cultivation of arboreal growth
in which the sticky substance forms the sap than
any soil in the world!
" Each day new uses are found in the manufactures
for this Brazilian product, and as the Amazon
country produces the best, it needs no clairvoyant
mind for one to prophesy a brilliant mercantile
future for this region."
" You grow enthusiastic. Colonel Curtis, and you
have greatly impressed me. I had no idea that
Brazil was on the eve of such commercial prosperity
as you picture."
"Yet you, Mr. Hope, are better informed than
are the majority of my countrymen. All English
men are. It is deplorable, the lack of knowledge
concerning South America that is possessed by the
average North American. During a recent visit
home I was asked by a leading merchant of New
York if there was not danger from lions and tigers
in Rio de Janeiro, and on another occasion, when

A PROPHECY BY COLONEL CURTIS 197
I told a very prominent physician, resident of an
interior city, that the street-car system in Rio was
one of the best in the world, he exclaimed: 'Is it
possible ! I thought you rode in donkey carts down
there.' "We North Americans lay great stress upon the
Monroe doctrine, yet we jog along in blissful igno
rance of conditions governing the countries south
of the equator and near that imaginary line over
which our eagle is supposed to spread its wings.
" Scan Rio harbor with marine glasses any day.
Look at the flags floating from staffs on the vessels
at anchor. You will see British, German, French,
Italian, and Swedish. Occasionally there is a flutter
of the Stars and Stripes, but the sight is a novelty,
and witnessed only when a tramp steamer comes
into port. The commerce is carried by Europe.
Visit Buenos Ayres, Montevideo, Valparaiso, Arica,
Callao, Guayaquil, and the same conditions will be
found. " At home we are cultivating trade with the Old
World, and neglecting that with the New; we are
devising plans to find markets with strangers, and
paying no heed to our neighbors and relatives in

198 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
the south ; our steel mills, our flour mills, a thou
sand other industries, are freighting ships across the
Atlantic, and only a few tons slip almost unnoticed
over the southern seas.
" Such conditions might continue indefinitely, but
imagine what chaos would result should peaceful
relations with Europe be abruptly severed by a war
between the United States and Great Britain or
Germany. The export production of all factories
would rust in warehouses, wheels would cease turn
ing, and men would be thrown out of employment.
"The trade between South America and Europe
is something like 1 500,000,000 a year. Why should
we not capture this great market, instead of striv
ing for the European? and then wars such as I
have suggested would not have the sequence of
industrial and financial panic.
" Yes, Mr. Hope, I have great faith in the future
of South America, particularly Brazil. My eldest
son, Henry, has been advantageously established in
the coffee country, and I shall be well pleased if
John can find an opening equally as good in the
rubber region."
" You mentioned Great Britain <in speaking of a

A PROPHECY BY COLONEL CURTIS 199
possible war. Surely you do not think the two
English-speaking peoples will ever become enemies?"
" It is within the range of possibilities, Mr. Hope.
The peoples themselves might be opposed to a con
flict, but the rulers could plunge them into one, even
against their will. But the chief danger lies with
Germany. Her merchants are more insistent upon
securing South American trade than are those of
any other nationality. Gradually and insiduously
Germany is fortifying herself throughout all the
southern continent, her walls and moats being the
doUars of commerce. The day will come when she
wiU demand more, and then a clash will be in
evitable." The expression of Colonel Curtis's face showed the
intense interest that he took in the subject ; it was
one that he had frequently discussed before commer
cial bodies in the United States, and he was known
to have familiarized himself with all the details.
" Would you kindly tell me," said Reginald, " how
rubber is prepared ? "
" With pleasure. The process is very simple.
An incision is made in the trunk of a tree, from
which sap, almost milk-white in color, flows into a

200 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
clay jar placed beneath. Sticks are dipped re
peatedly in this thick, sticky juice, and the liquid
adhering is held in a dense smoke, to hasten the
coagulation and drying. This is the process used
in making marketable the seringudra, or Para rub
ber. The manigoba product, obtained farther north,
is prepared in a much easier manner. There the
bark is peeled from the tree, the sap runs in drops
to the base, forming a pool, where, by the action of
the sun's rays, it coagulates and forms an irregular
solid mass, which is gathered by the natives and sold
to the middlemen, who in turn ship to buyers in
North America and Europe.
" Rubber is divided by the trade into three grades
— fine, medium, and sernamby. The fine grade is
the perfect product, the medium shows either white
spots or layers of a creamy color, and the sernamby
is the coagulated milk containing impurities.
"Neither the eye nor the nose is pleased by a
cargo of the raw product. It emits an obnoxious
odor that is difficult of comparison ; in appearance it
resembles layer after layer of immense beef livers,
and trembles in response to the vibrations of a boat
much as a jelly quivers when a table is shaken."

A rilOI'lllOdV BY (lOLONlCL (UIUTIH 201
" Wliiii- othor products aro oxportod from Mm/il,
Cohiiiol Curtis?"
" 1 larilwoods, hut tiiat might bo tin-mod an infant
indiintry. Sngar-oaiio wiw fornioriy a loading in-
diiHtry, lint oiiin|)oti(,i()ii with fho hoot migiu' of
lOni'dpo and hoiivy tarilT olmrgos havo oansod (ho
priooH to ho HO gi'oiitly nidiiood tliiit il. yioid.H hut
small ri\turiin. Tohiiooo is (UiUivaXod, but little of it
i.s Mlii])pod ahroiid, oxoopt to tho govornnuMit faotorioH
in h'riiiii'd. ('lU'iiii ia oxportiul fnini tho northorn
HtiiliOM, lull oiipilal i.s jjiraduiilly nUiring from (his
Hold hooiuiHo (if tho groalor rotunis to ho nia,do from
nihlior. Rico and tiini aro raisod in ooiisidorahlo
(pnintitioH, hut nuiiiily for h()iii(\ oonsuniption and
Hhipnuml thronghout tliis oontinout."

CHAPTER XVII
IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
BUSINESS houses in Rio were closed Monday,
for it was the anniversary of a great battle
fought and won during the war with Paraguay.
Therefore an excursion to one of the near-by peaks
was planned, and soon after breakfast all started
on horseback except Colonel Curtis, who said that
he would improve the idle hours by looking over
recent magazines and newspapers.
The tourists were absent from the house until
nearly three o'clock, and must have had an enjoy
able time, for as they rounded the curve of the
Floresta, Carlotta and the young men could be
heard singing "White Wings," the popular air
of that day. Reginald possessed a rich baritone
voice, John was a fairly good bass singer, and
Carlotta's soprano tones gave promise of concert
power. " Once more," said the girl, as they guided their
202

IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW 203
horses into the road that led to the left of the orange
grove. "Father is very fond of vocal music."
Rich, weU-blended notes rose from behind the
bamboo hedge, and floated through the warm air
to the American ex-soldier, who stood near the
veranda wall. But no quickening smile of response
came to his lips, no light of welcome appeared in
his eyes, which shone dully, as if a film had been
spread over them. He was leaning heavily against
a post, and his head was bowed. Not until the
horses were within a hundred feet of the house
did he move slowly across the marble floor and
down the steps.
Mrs. Curtis was the first to notice his face, and
the alarm the sight gave caused her to convulsively
jerk the bridle-rein, and her horse commenced to
back and rear.
" Whoa there ! " shouted John, riding to his mother's
assistance, and seizing the animal by the head.
She had disentangled her foot from the stirrup,
and was dismounting recklessly, when her husband
caught her in his arms.
"What is it, Harold? Are you sick? Have
you been hurt?"

204 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
He shook his head, then called out in a voice
so unnatural that aU were startled : " John, take
the horses to the stable. Perhaps Mr. Hope will
go with you."
Carlotta was dismounted by this time, and she fol
lowed her parents. The color had left her cheeks.
John seized the bri(Ue-reins, and, accompanied
by Reginald, started toward the low outbuUdings.
Halfway he turned, and looked curiously toward
the house. At the head of the steps stood his
mother and father. She was leaning against him,
and clutching at her throat as if in effort to sup
press the sobs which they could hear even at a
distance. Suddenly a shriek rang out, and Carlotta
was seen to throw herself on the grass.
" Take these animals in charge, wUl you ? "
exclaimed John. "I must find out what this
means." He was trembling.
Reginald led the horses to their stalls, where he
surrendered them to Manuel; then he went back
toward the house, but did not enter, and, taking
a seat under a palm tree, he waited. This sorrow
was not for him to share. At times the sound of
a convulsive sob came through the open window,

IN THE VALLEY OP THE SKADOVr 205
then the tones of a voice that evidently tried to
comfort and console.
An hour later John came out and joined the
young Englishman.
" Henry, my brother, is dead," he said, and sank
down by Reginald's side.
The latter threw his arm around the sorrowing
boy, and whispered: "Steady! Steady, old man!
They will need your help inside."
******
In the valley of death's shadow! Those who
have walked there know that the blackness is as
a universe without its suns ; desolation is rampant.
A voice will be heard no more, a hand-clasp will
not be felt again ; the eyes' last glance has been
given. Rigid and cold is the being that only a
short time ago was warm and pulsing with life.
It is turning to dust again ; the soul has fled.
At five o'clock Reginald saw Colonel Curtis leave
by a side door and walk toward the stables. He
caught up with him.
" I can't say much, sir," he said haltingly ; " but I'm
awfully broken up for you all. I want to express it
differently, and don't seem to find the words."

206 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Thank you, my boy. I know what you mean."
" I waited only to say good-by, and if you will teU
the others — that is, some day, after this great
sorrow — "
" Mr. Hope, I appreciate your deUcacy in wishing
to leave," interrupted Colonel Curtis ; " but I am very
anxious that you should remain. John and I are
going to Espirito Santo to-night. That is the place
where my eldest child died. I am on my way now
to have the horses made ready for the journey.
During our absence Mrs. Curtis and Carlotta will
be alone unless you conclude to stay, and I had
counted on your doing so."
" Gladly, gladly," repeated Reginald. " I will care
for them as for my own mother and sister ; that is,
as a boy should care for his mother and sister — I
never knew just what that was, you know."
It was the following midnight that the travellers
returned, worn by sixty miles in the saddle, sad and
depressed. They had confirmed the news that had come in a
telegram, and had learned the particulars.
Henry, disregarding the warnings of Senhor Cor
dero, had visited Rio while the plantation owner was

IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHA.DOW 207
absent in an adjoining state. The young overseer
had believed that certain business matters needed
immediate attention and had left for the capital
Thursday afternoon. He had returned Saturday
morning, and at once went to bed, complaining of
headache and high fever. Senhor Cordero was still
absent, and that is the reason no one in Tijuca was
notified. When the senhor finally returned, late Saturday
night, Henry was dying. The end came at two
o'clock Sunday morning. He was the victim of
yeUow fever.
They had visited his grave, which was under a
eucalyptus tree, some distance from the house.
Senhor Cordero was almost distracted over the oc
currence, and broke down several times during the
recital. He had wished to delay interment, but the
physician who attended the patient was also medical
inspector for the district, and had insisted upon
immediate burial, in compliance with the BrazUian
law. " Oh, when my boy was in Rio, so near, why didn't
he come and pass the night at home ? " sobbed Mrs.
Curtis.

208 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
John had carried two saddle-bags into a room
upstairs. Until daylight a mother fondled some
garments which she had removed from them. They
were clothes that had been worn by her first-born.

CHAPTER XVIII
HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY
CARLOTTA had thrown herself on a hbrary
couch and was happily unconscious in a sleep
that had come after two wakeful nights. Colonel
Curtis and Reginald occupied a corner of the room, a
chess-board between them, kings, queens, bishops, and
other pieces arranged in battle array. The game
had been suggested by the young Englishman, who
believed the concentration it required would lessen
the strain to which his host had been subjected, and
which was evidenced by the grim, immobile expres
sion of face. John and his mother were in a bed
room upstairs, sitting quite still, the woman's head
resting on her son's shoulder.
Into this quiet of sorrow came the sound of
a horse's hoofs on the Floresta, soon followed by
the heavy breathing of the animal, as it mounted
the private roadway leading to The House in the
Jungle. p 209

210 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"I wonder who can be coining here at this hour? '
said John, rising and going to an open window.
" Whoever it is, he has gone to the stables," he
continued, "and now I can hear him talking with
Manuel. Probably it is some friend of his, from
White's, or one of the other places. No, he is
coming toward the house. I can see his shadow
beyond the palms. Let's go down, madre, and find
out who it is."
"You go. Jack. I do not care to meet any one,
and would prefer to remain here."
"I'U only be a minute, then; "' and he bent over
and kissed her.
Colonel Curtis stood at the Ubrary entrance as
he went through the haU. "John," said he, "did
you not hear some one on the bridle-path a few
minutes ago?"
" Yes, father. He dismounted at the stables and
is coming to the house."
The colonel opened the front door and stepped
out on the veranda, where his son foUowed him.
The figure of a man was seen crossing the grass
plot and passing under the acacia tree that grew
close to the building.

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 211
They went to the top of the steps, and the man
stopped at the foot. He looked up, and they saw
in the moonlight that it was Alfred, his head band
aged, his face very pale, and circles under his
eyes. He did not speak, but beckoned to them, and
when they had reached his side, he seized each by
a hand and drew them away, beyond the acacia
tree. "I have heard aU about it," he said quickly.
" Manuel told me. You have received word that
Henry died at Espirito Santo. I have something
very difficult to explain, but it is easier to teU
you than the others, and I'm glad I have seen
you first. Now, John, don't get excited. Henry
is not dead, nor is he even sick with the fever."
Jack stared at his friend as if dumfounded, and
his father eyed the young Briton suspiciously,
looking at the bandage.
" No, I'm not out of my mind," said Alfred,
catching the glance. "I have been, in rather bad
shape, but am all right now. I know how hard
it is for you to believe me, but I assure you, on
the honor of an EngUshman, that what I say is

212 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
true, according to my best beUef, and evidence
which cannot be disputed."
"Alfred, we have visited Espirito Santo, have
seen the grave, and have heard aU the details of
his death."
"But have you seen the body?" he asked ex
citedly. "No; because the Brazilian law insists upon im
mediate burial."
" That's the point, exactly. That is why Cordero
always says that his overseers die of yellow fever
— so that no one can insist on seeing the body."
Colonel Curtis became greatly agitated. " What
do you mean, Alfred?" he whispered hoarsely.
"That the Brazilian coffee raiser has been mak
ing it a practice to engage overseers who have
invested large sums of money, and after a short
time he has reported them as having died of the
fever." "Where are they, then?"
" In a sort of prison, under guard."
"You know this, Alfred?"
"I have documentary proof and verbal proof.
One of his slaves told me and corroborated what

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 213
I had been led to suspect. It was because of my
suspicions that I left here a week ago Monday. I
was on the way to Senhor Cordero's house when
I met a person who told me everything. Had I
not been kidnapped by sailors from the Flying
Fish, knocked senseless, and taken out to sea, I
would have been here sooner. But you know about
that — Atherton wrote you, I believe.
" This person informed me where they are im
prisoned and how to reach them. My cousin
Arthur is there, and of course Henry must be
there now. Heaven only knows how many more !
I gave the captain of the Flying Fish all the par
ticulars, and he has sent men to aid in the rescue,
for we can expect no help from the authorities. It
was several days before I was able to tell all this,
because I was unconscious ; but when I did, he
put into Pemambuco, cabled for orders, and was
instructed to return here. I have some influence
with him, because I — "
" We know," interrupted John, whose cheeks were
burning and eyes flashing.
" That I am Alfred de Forest, not Alfred Simpson? "
" Yes. Your cousin, Reginald Hope, told us."

214 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"Is Billy here?"
" In the parlor," said Jack.
" Not so loud," whispered Colonel Curtis. " We
must find a way to break this news to the others.
Great joy is sometimes even more serious than
grief." His voice was choked; the revulsion of feeling
had overwhelmed his self-control.
" Fred," he continued, seizing the English lad by
the hand. "Fred — " Then he could say no more.
" Don't, don't, colonel," protested the boy. " I
haven't done for you one-tenth what you have for
me. And Carlotta, colonel, how is she ? "
" Asleep when we came out. ' Suppose we go in
now and tell them as best we can."
The Honorable Billy still held the chess-board on his
lap. As it was his turn to move, he had been study
ing the problem during the absence of his opponent,
and had no idea what was occurring outside. Foot
steps at the door distracted his attention from the
game; he looked up, and then, down on the floor fell
the board and ivory figures, while he sprang to his feet.
The noise caused Carlotta to awaken, and she
moved restlessly. The sight of her deterred Regi-

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 215
nald from caUing out ; but he crossed the room, and
seized Alfred's hands in both of his.
" Is it late, father ? " Carlotta asked. The moon
light shone full on her face ; it was ghost-like in con
trast with her gown of mourning.
" You tell her, John, and I will go upstairs to
your mother," whispered Colonel Curtis.
" What did you say, father ? "
" Father has gone out of the room, Carlotta ; but
there is somebody else here," said John. "Alfred
has come."
"Alfred ! When did he return ? How is he ? "
and she rose to a sitting posture.
The young Englishman stepped toward her.
" Oh, you are hurt ! " she exclaimed.
" Nothing much. It's only a scratch, and is all
well now. But I say, Carlotta," he went on awk
wardly, "I have some good news for you. Henry
isn't dead. He's as much alive as any of us. He
isn't even sick."
She stared at him strangely, her head sank on her
bosom ; then she slid from the couch to the floor, a
tumbled, shapeless mass.
"John! Billy! Colonel Curtis ! I've killed her ! "

216 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
shouted Alfred. "What a fool I was ! But I
had to tell her, she looked so sad."
" What is the matter. Jack ? " his mother called
from upstairs, and she was heard hurrying down
the steps.
"Carlotta has fainted. The news was too much
for her."
" Carlotta fainted ! The news ! What news ? "
Her steps were near the door.
" I haven't said anything yet," called out Colonel
Curtis, warningly. He was following his wife.
Then the self-possessed Honorable Billy rose to the
emergency. " Duck behind that chair, Fred, and don't let her
see you," he whispered. "Now, Mrs. Curtis," — and
he stepped to the door, — " this is only a swoon. If
you will kindly lift your daughter's head — and,
John, you get a glass of water. It's nothing, I as
sure you. I've 'tended to hundreds of such cases
on the football field, when chaps got hurt and have
keeled over. You see, your daughter has been under
a great strain. That's right, hold her head that way,
so the water won't run down. Now, as soon as John
comes, we'll fix her fine. You must understand, Mrs.

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 217
Curtis, that often big mistakes are made. They might
report that a chap had died of yellow fever when he
hadn't." " What do you mean ? " exclaimed the mother.
" There, there, don't get excited, and hold her
still. Here's the water; that's it. You see, your
son Henry might be very sick and not dead. "
" Henry sick, and not dead ? "
"Yes, yes, something like that. Now, just a
dash of this cold water. See ! her eyes have opened.
She's coming round all right."
"Do you mean to tell me that Henry is not
dead?" demanded Mrs. Curtis.
" That's what I'm jolly well glad to tell you. "
" Then I must go to him — at once. How could
such a terrible mistake have been made ? Carlotta,
are you better ? Do you hear ? "
"Yes, she hears," rattled on Reginald. " She heard
before, and that's what upset her. Now she can sit
up, can't you?" and he helped her to the couch.
"And I've got more good news for you. When
mistakes are made in this world they are sometimes
whoppers. Just suppose for a minute that Henry
isn't sick at all."

218 ET A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Is he here ? Is my boy here ? Where is he ? "
" No, he isn't here. At any rate I haven't seen
him, although I should Uke to joUy weU. It wUl
come out aU right. I don't know much about it
myself, but your husband does, and he's waiting to
teU you."
Colonel Curtis had stood in the doorway, listening
to the masterful maimer in which the Honorable
BUly had attacked the problem which he had been
uncertain how to approach. John had stood by open-
mouthed. At the suggestion Mrs. Curtis hurried to her hus
band's side, and he led her into the cUning room.
" Wasn't Alfred here ? '" asked Carlotta, pressing
her hands to her forehead.
" Of course he was. He's gone somewhere, but
wiU he back. John, take your sister out and see if
you can get her a cup of strong black coffee. It's
the best thing in the world for the nerves."
When they had gone, he caUed to Alfred : " Now
come out, you impetuous — but say," and he took
both his hands again, "how are you, old chap? I
hear you knocked a couple of brawny tars down.
Was it that upper cut ? Oh, but I'm jolly glad to see

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 219
you ! Now post me on what all this means. I don't
know whether I made a worse mess of it or not. I
heard you say that chap Henry wasn't dead, and I
followed your lead the best I could. The only way to
act with women in such an emergency is to keep their
minds busy. Rattle on, rattle on ; it doesn't matter
much what you say, only talk. I'm pretty well ex
cited myself. What do you mean by coming in like
a spook? But I'm jolly glad to see you, old chap."
" How's mother ? " asked Alfred.
" She's well. They are all well, and your humble
servant is cock-o'-the-walk just now. Nothing is too
good for him. I'll tell you all about that later.
Get me posted on this affair before they come back,
will you ? "
Alfred told him, and as the narrative proceeded
the Honorable Billy rubbed his hands gleefully,
saying, when his chum had finished : —
" Hurray ! Arthur alive ! Well, we will have a
jolly row at Espirito Santo, won't we, old chap?"
Fifteen minutes later Alfred was the centre of
a group that listened to a detailed recital of what
he had heard; friendly hands rested on his shoul
ders, and glances of love shone from other eyes.

220 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" You said out yonder," remarked Colonel Curtis,
when Fred had finished the story of revelations
made by the slave girl, and had stopped abruptly
with the bare statement that his return to Tijuca
had been prevented by sailors from the Flying
Fish, "that you have some men at hand who wUl
assist us."
" Yes, sir ; and that reminds me, Atherton and his
command must be tired waiting. I asked them to
stop at the foot of the hill, so as not to alarm you
unnecessarily, but considering the mess I made of it,
I might better have let them come along with me."
"You haven't made any mess of it, dear boy.
Your actions have been wonderful; not one in a
thousand would have done what you have. Who
are with Lieutenant Atherton ? "
" Twenty picked men, colonel. He selected from
both marines and sailors only those who had been
in the cavalry service, for I knew we would have
to go on horseback."
"Are you all mounted?"
"Yes, sir. The old man — I mean the captain
of the Flying Fish — gave Atherton carte blanche,
and we secured animals in Rio."

HONORABLE BILLY IN AN EMERGENCY 221
"Then I shaU send for them. We can find
quarters for aU somewhere."
" Better let me call them, sir. I have a signal,"
and stepping on the veranda, he blew a boatswain's
whistle. An answer came from below, the tramp of horses
was soon heard, and then shadowy forms were seen
wending their way up the hillside.

CHAPTER XIX
A COUNCIL OP WAR
COLONEL CURTIS sat at the head of the
table. At the sides were John, Alfred, Regi
nald, and Lieutenant Atherton. By tacit agreement
the ex-cavalry officer, who had fought through the
American Civil War, would be in command of the
expedition against Espirito Santo, and to his sup
port the lieutenant of marines had pledged his best
efforts and those of his men.
Carlotta and her mother had retired, seeking a
rest which was certain to come now the great strain
had been removed.
A hurried decision was reached to start on the
journey so soon as the horses should be rested, and
this was a council of war to determine if an imme
diate departure was advisable, and to devise plans
for proceeding to the plantation.
Alfred was asked to repeat in detail everything
the slave girl had told him, for they had been
222

A COUNCIL OP WAR 223
much excited during previous recitals, and were
anxious that no point should be missed.
"Of course," commented Reginald, when his
cousin had finished, "this man Cordero has im
prisoned all these chaps for the purpose of con
fiscating the money which had been advanced for
them." "That is very evident," said the colonel. "The
question of the 110,000 which I invested on
Henry's behalf never entered my mind after his
death was announced, nor did it until these facts
were presented. Now I can plainly see that I
would have had no recourse and no action in law
for the recovery. The papers we signed simply
stated that in consideration of my having paid
Senhor Cordero the sum stated, he would give
Henry a one-quarter interest in the plantation after
he should have served three years as overseer. I
admit that it was careless for me to have entered
into such an agreement, but I never had a thought
of Henry's death."
" There were similar conditions in Arthur's case,"
added Reginald. " If I remember aright, the amount
was the same, £2000."

224 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" That is what mother wrote in her letter to me,"
said Alfred.
"Now to determine our route. I have found a
fairly good map of this part of the country," and
Colonel Curtis drew one from his pocket. " Alfred,
you know the roads over which we must travel.
Will you please mark them with a pencil?"
He did so, indicating the open country and the
forest through which he had passed.
" So ! It is about thirty miles," Colonel Curtis
said as he measured it roughly. "If we start at
midnight, we can, by fast riding, arrive a Uttle be
fore dawn. But I hardly think it advisable to
reach there at that hour. We need darkness as a
shield, while we determine the exact location of
this prison. We might leave in a half-hour, say by
ten, and by faster riding save two or three hours
of night at the other end, but the horses would not
be sufficiently rested for such a trip, and besides, I
should dislike to leave my wife and daughter alone."
"Wouldn't it be better to start to-morrow morn
ing and ride slowly during the day, sir ? " sug
gested Alfred. "The moon rose this evening at
eight o'clock. To-morrow night it will rise about

A COUNCIL OP WAR 225
nine. Why not time ourselves so as to emerge
from the forest, say a half-hour before moonrise?
It is only a mUe from there to Espmto Santo.
We could reach the woods during the afternoon,
and remain concealed untU half-past eight."
"An exceUent idea!" exclaimed the colonel.
"Then John and I would have an opportunity to
escort Mrs. Curtis and Carlotta to White's Hotel
eai-ly in the morning, and they can remain there
untU we return. The only drawback is that our
large force of men would attract attention in the
daytime." "Might it not be weU to go in Squads of thi-ee
and four, at half-hour intervals, the first squad leav
ing at daybreak? The road can easily be found
by any one who has seen the map. The first squad
can encamp at an advantageous place, and leave a
man concealed by the roadside who vnR signal
those that foUow."
"An exceUent suggestion, Mr. Hope," said Colo
nel Curtis. "With each squad one of us should
go, for we understand the situation. We are five
in number, and there are twenty men, you say —
that makes twenty-five in aU, from which would be
d

226 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
formed five squads of five persons each. These
parties might be too large. Mr. Atherton, have
you a non-commissioned officer in your command
who can act with us?"
"Yes, sir. Sergeant Peterson. It was in his
charge that I placed the marines that day when I
rode down to the tram with you and your elder
son. He is well-educated and intelligent; just the
person, I should judge."
"Suppose we have him join us now."
"Very well, sir. I'll send word," and the lieu
tenant rose from the table.
" One moment, please," interrupted the colonel.
"As we have changed our plans, some arrange
ment must be made for the men to sleep to-night,
and I am at a loss to know where to put them."
" They think it a great lark, and little sleep will
do, sir."
" Still, they will be in better condition for a good
rest." " Have you a loft over the stable, where hay is
stored?" "Yes. But would not that be rather uncom
fortable?"

A COUNCIL OF WAR 227
"I think, on the contrary, they would enjoy it,
as something so different from life on board ship.
Each man is provided with a blanket."
"But their uniforms? Would they not be in
jured by such treatment?"
"You didn't see my command, did you? They
deployed to the left and went direct; to the stable.
A more unkempt lot of fellows you never set eyes
on. We talked the matter over, the captain, Mr. De
Forest, and I, and decided that it would be better
for the landing party to go in mufti, so as not to
attract attention. In order to fit them out, all sorts
of citizens' togs were dragged from lockers. No,
their clothing will not be hurt by sleeping on hay.
There is another reason why they are not in uni
form, which I shall explain later."
"Very well," said the colonel. "Convey my
thanks to them, and say that I shall make it more
than a lark. Each man will be handsomely re
warded." "And we'll add to the pUe, won't we, Fred?"
exclaimed the Honorable Billy.
"I think I had better make a personal visit to
the stables and not send a message," said Lieutenant

228 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Atherton. "Then I can give orders for the night
and have the sergeant return with me."
•• Coffee and some other things wiU be sent out to
them in a few minutes," caUed the colonel, as the
officer passed through the doorway.
Half an hour later the number of persons at the
councU of war had been increased to six. The situ
ation was briefly outUned to Sergeant Peterson, and
then Colonel Curtis said, glancing at notes he had
made : —
" The first squad wiU leave at half-past six. Al
fred, are you able to take command? You would
be a better judge of a place for the camp than any
one, because you have been over the grotmd."
" Indeed I am able," was the eager reply. " The
trouble with me is that I have been in bed too much,
and need fresh air and exercise. Then I am to
leave at six-thirty, sir ? "
" Yes. You wUl take three of the men, and I
think ]\Ianuel had better accompany you. He is a
native, and you may need an interpreter before I
arrive. Besides, he can assist in the cooking and
the care of horses.
"Mr. Atherton, you wiU leave at seven o'clock.

A COUNCIL OF WAR 229
accompanied by three men. Mr. Hope will depart
at seven-thirty, accompanied by three more ; an
equal number will go with Sergeant Peterson at
eight; John will ride out with three at half -past,
and I shall leave at nine with four. That, I think,
accounts for everybody. There will be two parties
of five, and four of four each — nineteen sailors and
marines, Manuel, and six of us.
"Each squad will proceed slowly, at a rate of
about four miles an hour, watering the horses fre
quently, so the animals will be in condition for any
demand that may be made upon them at night.
Thus the first squad will arrive at the rendezvous
about two o'clock, and others will follow at intervals
until I reach there between five and six.
" Now comes the question of provisions. There
is plenty of feed in the stables and at least a score
of bags. Each man will carry sufficient fodder
across his saddle-bow to last his horse three days.
For ourselves, I have mapped out a simple but
wholesome bill of fare. We have a quantity of
frijonies in the storeroom. These are the Brazilian
black beans, very sweet and exceedingly nutritious
— some natives subsist entirely upon them. I

230 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
shall have the cook boil several potfuls early in
the morning, adding plenty of salt pork. They
will be ready by the time Sergeant Peterson leaves,
and the squads led by him and by John can carry
our provisions. In addition to the frijonies, there
will be plenty of bread and butter. As for
utensils — "
" The men from the Flying Fish are each pro
vided with a tin plate, knife, fork, and tin cup,"
said Lieutenant Atherton.
" Then we will have to look out only for ourselves.
" Alfred, be sure and select a spot well back
from the road, so that voices may not be heard by
persons who pass. The jungle will probably be
thick in places, and you had better take a couple
of hatchets with you, in order to cut away the
underbrush. Mr. Atherton, how are your men
armed ? "
"They have revolvers, and belts filled with am
munition, sir. I thought it wise not to have them
carry rifles or sabres."
"You did well. The order, then, will be for
every one to go armed with a revolver and carry
plenty of ammunition. As for a plan of attack.

A COUNCIL OF WAR 281
that must develop after we reach the scene. Some
time ago, ]Mr. Atherton, you spoke of another
reason for having your men dressed in mufti. I
suppose it is because your commander cannot take
official cognizance of this expedition?"
"That is it, sir. Captain Sinclair counseUed us;
but of course it was sub rosa. OfficiaUy he has
simply granted leave of absence for three days to
twenty men, and it is so entered on the log.
What they do on shore he is not responsible for,
and in the event of international compUcations,
arising because of our using force on a foreign soU,
the government can show clean hands. The men
are volunteers, who agreed to accompany me on an
expedition, and I have turned them over to you."
" Admirably arranged I " exclaimed Colonel Curtis.
"And now, I think that is aU for to-night. No,
there is one other matter. While on the journey
each party had better (Uvide. so that there wiU be
say hailing distance between the sets of twos."
Lieutenant Atherton and Sergeant Peterson were
provided with rooms, Reginald and Alfred insisted
upon bunking together, and within a half-hour aU
was quiet in The House in the Jungle.

232 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Everybody was astir before the sun's rays had
gilded the tree-tops. An early breakfast was pre
pared, and then all spare cooking utensils were
filled with black beans and set to boiling. After
the men had curried, watered, and fed their horses,
they took advantage of the bath at the foot of the
bamboo-bordered walk, where they splashed in the
cold, fresh water until the sergeant called them to
table. As Alfred was exchanging a few words with
Colonel Curtis preparatory to leaving with the first
squad, Mrs. Curtis and Carlotta came on the
veranda. They both pressed his hand warmly, and
the girl whispered, when the opportunity offered,
"Be careful of yourself."
Then he left for the stables, happy as a lark.
Ten minutes later Squad No. 1 rode down the
hiU.

CHAPTER XX
IN CAMP CURTIS
ALFRED felt better for every mile of the
journey from The House in the Jungle to
the place where he had decided to make the tem
porary camp, and which he had seen pictured in
his mind's eye even while Colonel Curtis was talk
ing to him about the command of the first squad.
It was a narrow, shallow ravine, about a half mile
from the border of the forest, through which ran
a stream of cold, clear water. This little river, he
thought, must become swollen during the heavy
rains, and the swift current undoubtedly swept the
land clear of tangled underbrush for a distance on
each side ; thus travel near the water would be
easier than in a place where nature had not provided
a way. This theory he found to be correct upon arriving
at the spot early in the afternoon. A path had to
be made from the road to the creek's level, but once
233

234 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
there, fairly good ground was found for man and
beast. The soil was a red clay and had baked hard
since the heavy rainfall which he had encountered
in this region the week before ; it yielded but little,
even under the horses' hoofs, and they were able to
proceed at a walk, only halting occasionally to cut
apart a tangle of vines that had dropped from an
ironwood tree.
Alfred led his men to a point about two thousand
feet from the road, where he found a natural clear
ing, and there, surrounded on all sides by arboreal
growth of giant size, he called a halt, and made such
slight preparation as was possible for those who were
to come after. But first he sent back a marine on
foot, instructing him to take up a position in a tree
which he had indicated when they turned from the
road. The signal to attract the newcomers was to be
a single blast on a boatswain's whistle.
The preparation at Camp Curtis, for so Alfred had
christened it in .honor of his Tijuca friends, consisted
principally in clearing away the underbrush from
enough ground to make room for the picketing of
all the horses. His men were assisted in this task
by those led by Lieutenant Atherton, who came in

IN CAMP CURTIS 235
on time to the minute. As the officer dismounted
he spoke enthusiastically of the spot which he
termed "headquarters," then told of the signal at
the roadside, and the effect it had on his men.
" We were riding along, enjoying the wonderful
beauty of the forest, when of a sudden we heard
the piping call to take in sail, and it seemed to come
from the clouds. Smith, over there, turned pale as
a sheet ; Dodd, who's a boatswain's mate, fingered
for his whistle, to repeat the call, and O'Malley
yelled out, 'Mither of Moses, lieutenant, this place
be haunted ! ' But you have posted the sentinel
well, De Forest. We couldn't see him even when
we rode under the tree."
"Is not the call for taking in sail rather long,
Atherton ? " asked Alfred.
" Long and musical. It's a pretty call."
" Then that man disobeyed orders by sounding it.
I told him one short blast would do, and not a loud
one at that. A long call, such as you heard, and which
I now remember, would attract attention should any
one be near, and might lead to an investigation."
" Who did you post there ? "
"Wright."

236 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" He's always larking. I'll send word to him.
Better still, I'U relieve him, and when he comes
into camp will give him a talking to. It is well for
the men to understand that although this expedition
is irregular, orders must be obeyed the same as on
shipboard. Dodd ! "
" Ay, ay, sir," answered the mate, coming up.
"Relieve Wright, who's on guard near the road,
and tell him to come into camp. When you see any
of our people, give a low, short call, and be sure they
are our people before you blow. When you give
them directions concerning the road, talk just loud
enough for them to hear. Do you understand ? "
" Yes, sir," and the sailor started back toward the
highway. Reginald arrived fifteen minutes late. He had
taken the wrong road after leaving the head of Rio
Bay, and therefore was compelled to cover two miles
more of ground than the others. At his suggestion
the men commenced to gather dry wood for a fire.
"We can have some coffee after dark," he said.
"The colonel sent word not to make any smoke
during daytime, but after the sun sets, if the camp
should be far enough from the road, we can have a

IN CAMP CURTIS 237
blaze. He told John to bring some ground coffee
and a coffee-pot. That's a mighty nice chap, that
John Curtis."
" They are all splendid, Billy, and have done a
great deal for me. Had the ladies left for White's
Hotel when you came away?"
" They were just starting. The colonel went with
them and John remained at the house, for there was
considerable work to be done in preparing the pro
visions. The hotel party rode with us until we
reached the bridle-path, where they cross-cut over to
White's. Miss Curtis was happier than I have ever
seen her. She is a lovely young woman, and — but
say, old chap, isn't this a jolly lark ? Let's go farther
down on the bank and have a chat. Atherton's
taking a nap and won't mind."
With bunches of dried moss for cushions and tree
trunks to lean against, they made themselves comfort
able, and then the Honorable Billy related in detail
events in England of which he had been able to give
only brief accounts.
"My mother didn't realize that I was so hard
pushed for money, did she ? " asked Alfred, when
the conversation had reached the point where it

238 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
included Lord and Lady de Forest's return from
Mentone. "She knew you were crowded," replied Reginald,
'*but had no thought that the case was so extreme.
Neither had I. You must have given the lawyers
nearly everything you had. Say, old chap, how much
did you have left, anyway ? "
" Five bob when I reached Southampton, and not
another sou marquee until I checked out the first
month's pay."
" Whew ! You did do it for me in the generous,"
and he affectionately squeezed Alfred's arm. " But
say, isn't there something that's made up for it —
Tijuca way, for instance ? "
Alfred's face became red as fire, and he changed
the subject.
" Strange," said Reginald, meditatively, " how mem
bers of our family drift out to this country. Here we
are, and there's Arthur — Poor Arthur, I hope we
will find him well. Then there's another. But that's
a chapter I am going to tell you about.
" You see, Fred, although I have known for several
years that Lord and Lady Hope were not my real
parents, the matter didn't bother me until the affair

IN CAMP CURTIS 239
of Heintz came up. Then, when I saw your mother
look you up in the village, I realized what it meant
not to have some one like that who would go through
fire and water for a chap. Of course Elizabeth was
kind — dear girl, she wouldn't let anybody suffer if
she could help it ; but I mean that it was then I first
understood how it felt not to have a father or mother.
" So, after the Heintz affair had blown over and
we were feasting on the fatted calf that had been
killed in my honor, I asked Lady Jane to tell me
about my parents. She seemed hurt at first, but I
explained that I was a man now, and couldn't go on
representing myself as William Reginald Hope when
I was William Reginald somebody else. Then she
told me, and it is because of what she said that I
made the remark a few minutes ago about so many
of our family gravitating out this way.
" It appears that my mother was very young, and
died when I was two months old. My father, who
was not much over twenty-two, was all broken up
over her death, and the doctors said he must have
a change of scene. So he decided to go to Brazil,
and asked Lady Jane, who was a second cousin, if
she would keep an eye on the .nurse he had engaged

240 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
to care for me. After digging up all the money that
belonged to him — precious little, I understand —
only a few thousand pounds — he sailed for Rio.
Six months later word came that he had died, and
the people who wrote said he had left nothing.
"There I was, an orphan and a pauper! Jolly
good thing I didn't know it at the time. It appears
that yours truly was a husky young kid, didn't cry too
much, and so Lord and Lady Hope decided to give
me house-room. Bless their dear hearts ! they did
a thousand times more. I'm not blaming them for
anything that has happened; only, you know, it
needed just that touch to make me actually realize
that I never had had a father and mother. Fred,
she couldn't have been much older than Miss Curtis
or Elizabeth. Wonder if she looked like either of
them? I have often tried to picture her in my mind
when I have been awake o' nights."
For a few minutes the two were silent, and the
only sounds that came to their ears were the rippling
of the brook at their feet, the crack of a dry branch
as it was stepped on by a sailor who was seeking
berries, and the murmur of conversation carried on
by men gathered in the clearing.

IN CAMP CURTIS 241
" Heigh-ho ! " finaUy exclaimed Reginald. " This
is a pretty tough world," and he threw a skipping
stone down stream. "Now, there's Arthur. Per
haps you wondered why I didn't enthuse last night
when you said that he was all right. Of course I
was jolly well glad to hear it, and felt happy, because
it will make Lord Hope and Lady Jane so joyful.
But Arthur and I never got on well together. He
resented my being in the family, and we had some
rather rough times. Once it came to blows, and he
came out second best. He told Lady Jane, and he
didn't tell all, either, for he omitted to mention the
name he had called me.
" By and by things got so bad that I was on the
point of running away, to Africa, or Australia, when
I heard that he was going to Brazil. I never told
you this, old chap, because I didn't understand why
he did it, and it was a family row, anyway. But we
had better go back to the men. Atherton is awake
and up."
While they were talking. Sergeant Peterson had
come into camp with his men. They were unloading
provisions when Alfred and Reginald joined the
main party, and the cans of frijonies and baskets of

242 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
bread were no sooner stored in a place that had been
selected than John came riding into camp, twenty
minutes ahead of time. He explained that one of
the horses had run away with a sailor, and the others
had pursued nearly two miles before the animal was
overtaken. This happened only a short distance
from the point of rendezvous, and their mounts were
covered with sweat.
SaUors were at once set to work on them with
cloths, and ordered to rub them thoroughly.
Soon after four o'clock, whUe the young men were
discussing the adventure which they had undertaken,
a marine was seen to dash furiously through the un
derbrush and up the hillside. A moment later yeUs
were heard, interspersed with commands, such as,
"Shet up, ye varmint, or I'll choke the wind out
o' ye!"
" Quiet there ! " called Lieutenant Atherton.
"An' it's quiet I'm trying to make him, sir,"
answered the marine, coming into camp, leading
a very dirty-looking native by the nape of the
neck. "He was spyin' on us, sir, up in the woods
yonder." "Bring him here," said Atherton, who, being an

IN CAMP CURTIS 243
officer in active service, naturally assumed com
mand in the absence of Colonel Curtis. When
the peon came near, he asked, "What are you
doing around here?"
A stolid stare was the only answer.
"He doesn't understand English, Mr. Atherton,"
said John, who called Manuel.
The under-gardener came from the brookside,
where he had been submerging the butter they
had brought with them in water.
"Ask this man, Manuel, what he was doing in
the bushes up above."
Several sentences were exchanged in the Portu
guese tongue, and the translation was, "I saw a
fox's trail leading this way and foUowed it."
"Ask him if he works for Senhor Cordero," said
Atherton. The peon shook his head when the question was
put to him, then said a few words.
" He say he not work for the senhor now, but he
work for him one time."
"Ask him if he has ever seen or heard of pris
oners on the plantation."
"What you say, senhor?"

244 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Any prisoners. Men who are locked in a house
— Englishmen or Americans."
A negative gesture was the reply to this inquiiy.
"Let me try," said Alfred. "Manuel, ask him
if he has even seen a big log house over at the
other end of the plantation."
Quite a conversation in Portuguese followed, and
John, who understood some of the words, became
greatly interested, exclaiming finally : " We've hit
it ! He's the man for us ! "
"He says," repeated Manuel, when the colloquy
was at an end, "that he has seen the house, but
nobody can go there. The senhor put all bad men
in there. If any person go there he will be shot."
"You're right, Mr. Curtis. He's the very man
for us. We will keep him in camp under guard
until your father arrives, which will be very soon
now. It was Wright who brought the prisoner in,
was it not?"
"Yes, sir," said the marine who had been named,
stepping forward. "I am here, sir."
" You did very well, Wright, and that somewhat
makes up for disobeying orders earlier in the after
noon. If you would 'tend more strictly to busi-

IN CAMP CURTIS 245
ness, and quit skylarking, you'd soon get stripes
on your sleeve. Take this fellow and watch him
close until I tell you to let him go, or until Colo
nel Curtis gives the word."
" Come on, my hearty," said the marine, and as
the Brazilian did not understand, he enforced the
order by hand pressure on the peon's arm.
" There's father now ! " exclaimed John a few
minutes later, and they saw a party of five on
horseback coming up the stream courseway, fol
lowed on foot by the boatswain's mate, who had
acted as sentinel at the roadside.
" A splendid camp ! " said the colonel, dismount
ing. " A better spot could not have been found.
Have any of you met with adventures?"
" Yes, sir," replied John. " One of Mr. Ather
ton's marines has captured a native who, we believe,
will prove of valuable assistance as a guide."
"Indeed! I hope he was not molested on the
public highway."
" No, sir," said Lieutenant Atherton. " He was
caught skulking in the underbrush above the camp,
and the man who brought him in naturally thought
that he was spying on our movements. I heard

246 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
his story and decided this was not so, but he has
valuable information, and I held him under guard
until you should arrive."
" That is weU. I should like to have a talk with
him." The marines were told to bring the peon for
ward, and the colonel, at once recognizing him as
one of the laboring class, took him one side and
began to ply him with questions.
Those who watched were soon convinced that
the colonel was obtaining even more information
than had they through Manuel, and this belief he
corroborated when he rejoined them after a quarter
of an hour, by asserting that the peon could lead
them to the very place they sought. " Keep a watch
on him, Mr. Atherton," he admonished. " And now
I am going to roll myself in a blanket, lie down
under that tree, and sleep for an hour. Wake me
at half -past six, sharp."
" Wright," said the lieutenant of marines, " have
your eye on this fellow. If he tries to bolt, stop him."
The marine saluted, and those who saw his expres
sion had no doubt that he would obey orders to
the letter.

IN CAMP CURTIS 247
At the time Colonel Curtis had named he was
caUed by his son, and at once the camp became
a scene of activity, in dU-ect contrast with the
measured movements that had marked the period
whUe the commander of the expedition was asleep.
Night was locking arms with Day, and the men
had become shadows.
" A fire can be Ughted now," said the colonel.
It was only necessary to put a match-flame be
neath some dry leaves to have a crackling blaze, over
which the coffee-pot had been swung, depending from
forked green branches that had been stripped to the
bark. Around this spot had been placed a barrier
of boughs, covered with moss, so that rays of Ught
did not flare out hoiizontaUy ; they rose like the
top-spray of a fountain-jet, burnishing the tangled
network of verdure overhead.
An immense log, that had required the efforts of
ten men, using levers, to roll into position, served as
a table, and Manuel, acting as majordomo, with two
assistants, detailed by Lieutenant Atherton, soon had
the dinner ready.
Just as aU hands were about to be summoned the
camp was thrown into excitement by screams, and

248 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
one of the sailors, running from the underbrush,
threw himself on the ground and commenced to roll
over and over. It was O'Malley.
"Mither of Moses!" he yelled. "Why did I
ivver lave ould Oiriland ! Mither of Moses ! I'll
nivver see the childers again ! "
Lieutenant Atherton pounced on him. " Shut up,
you blockhead," he ordered, rather inconsistently.
" What's the matter with you ? "
" A snake ! Oim bitten ! Oim a dead mon ! "
" Where are you bitten ? " demanded Colonel
Curtis, hastening up, and others crowded near.
O'Malley clapped his hands on his knee and cried
again in alarm.
" Tear down some of that brush so we can see by
the firelight," ordered the colonel. " Rip his trousers
open, one of you."
When the skin was bare, a small puncture was seen
immediately below the knee, from which blood trickled.
" John, fetch me my medicine case from the saddle
bag. This must be cauterized immediately. It's the
best I can do, poor fellow."
Manuel had taken a look at the wound and then
had disappeared.

IN CAMP CURTIS 249
O'Malley, his cries having ceased at the command
of his superior officer, was groaning heavily.
The colonel, kneeling down, was about to apply
some caustic, when his gardener pushed his way into
the circle and grunted : —
"You not hurt. Get up. No snake bite you.
I no think snake bite you, and I go look. See ! "
He held out a branch which he had broken from
a bush. It was covered with thorns. At the end
of one sharp prickly point was a fragment of cloth
that matched O'Malley's trousers.

CHAPTER XXI
A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT
" /^UR force will be divided into two platoons.
V^ Mr. Atherton will command the second, John
and Sergeant Peterson riding with him. Reginald
and Alfred will come with me. I shall have the
Brazilian guide at my side, and I wish you two
young men to follow immediately after, then if
he makes a move that smacks of double dealing
you can prevent his carrying it into effect."
Having given this general order Colonel Curtis
consulted his watch, announced that the start would
be made in a half-hour, then issued some minor
instructions. " Mr. Atherton, we need a horse for the guide.
Select two of your lightest men, and let them
mount double on the heaviest animal we have. I
noticed one you brought from Rio that should
prove a good weight carrier, a roan with powerful
shoulders. 250

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 251
" The information we have obtained from Alfred's
mysterious prompter and from this native leads me
to believe that the route will be something like
nine miles long. The first stage will be a little
more than a quarter of a mile, from here to the
point where the ravine intersects the highway;
the second, a half mile, to the border of the forest ;
the third, one mile, to the driveway that leads to
Senhor Cordero's house, and then on past that
driveway, two miles to the south end of the plan
tation; the fourth, through the plantation at this
south boundary, to the extreme west boundary, a
distance of four miles ; the fifth, due north, along
the west boundary, to the log prison, which is about
a mile from the angle where we will make the last
turn. " We will lead our horses from this camp to the
highway ; from there, until within a short distance
of the driveway entrance, we will proceed at a
trot, then past the entrance at a walk. It will still
be dark, for you noticed I gave the order to leave
at eight o'clock instead of half past, as was decided
last night. When passing the entrance we will
ride close together and without order. Thus if any

252 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
one be abroad on the residence grounds, we vrill
appear to them like driven cattle. When well
out of earshot, we will return to a trot until the
south boundary is reached. By that time the moon
will be high enough for us to see our way into the
plantation, through which we will travel as rapidly
as the nature of the soil permits. We should reach
the vicinity of the prison by eleven or a little after."
The colonel glanced at his watch again.
" Fifteen minutes more ! Mr. Atherton, count
out your men for the different platoons and have
them saddle up, looking well to the girth lacings.
Leave blankets, cooking utensils, and everything
that it is possible to discard, for we must travel
light; but carry the hatchets. Tell the men there
must be no talking in ranks once we have passed
the forest."
A moment later Camp Curtis became a scene of
activity. Everybody was glad to make ready for
the hour of departure, for if there is anything an
Anglo-Saxon enjoys it is a brush with a foreigner
who has been guilty of violence toward his own
people. All hands had greatly enjoyed the dinner, for

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 253
the appetites, keen after the ride up the Organ
Mountains, had been heightened by the hearty
laugh at the adventure of O'Malley.
" I was tempted to touch his scratch with caustic
by way of punishment," Colonel Curtis had said,
when returning instruments and bottles to his
medicine case, "but was afraid of his powerful
lungs. He must be a valuable man when a gale
is raging. His voice ought to drown the noise of
any storm."
" I should like to reprimand him," said the lieuten
ant of marines, " but I fear I could not keep my face
straight. However, he wiU be sufficiently punished
by his mates, who wiU have a rich story to tell when
they return to the Flying Fish."
Promptly at eight o'clock the start was made.
Alfred, leading the horse that had been given him
by Colonel Curtis, was the first to enter the trail ; the
colonel, leading Prince, followed ; next the Brazilian
guide, behind him the Honorable Billy, and then
men of the first platoon. Lieutenant Atherton led
the second, John and Sergeant Peterson next, and
the remaining sailors and marines brought up the
rear.

254 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Little difficulty was experienced in reaching the
highway. The path had been well trodden, and
was clearly visible in the starlight reflected by
the clear water running at its side.
Once on the wide thoroughfare, orders were given
to mount ; and then at a sharp trot, the iron shoes
ringing musically on the gravel-topped road, they
swept through the canyon of verdure. A soft wind
blew in their faces, and brought from the jungle-
wood an odor as of jasmine.
Soon they were out in the open, and riding swiftly
beside that strong green hedge, which marked the
east boundary of Espirito Santo. It grew so high
that the top was on the level with a horse's head;
but the riders could look over, and for half the
distance from the forest end they saw row after
row of coffee trees. Then the berries of com
merce gave place to oranges, mangoes, tangerines,
and bananas, for they were passing the horticul
tural preserves that surrounded Senhor Cordero's
residence. " Break ranks ! At a walk ! Ride close ! " The
command was passed in a whisper, and reining in
the horses, the riders bent low, close to the animals'

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 255
necks, so they might not be distinguished, and thus
resemble more closely a herd of cattle. In this
manner they passed the entrance to the driveway.
Many quizzical eyes were cast up the white path,
but no person was seen, and in another minute the
place where detection was the most probable lay
behind. Alfred nudged Reginald when they had gone a
few steps farther, and pointed to the hedge. The
Honorable Billy nodded his head knowingly. That
was the place where the young Englishman had held
the important conversation with Paquinta, the slave
girl. " Re-form by twos ! At a trot ! " was the word
next given, and again they rode erect, brisking
their horses and glancing over the green barrier
at coffee trees again, for the residence grounds
had been passed.
Cooler fanned the light wind, the horses snorted
in delight, and all pressed forward eagerly, chang
ing soon to a gallop.
They covered this stage of the journey more
quickly than they had any other, and it was ten
minutes to nine when rein was drawn at the south-

256 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
east corner of Espirito Santo. There a halt was
called, and the men dismounted, to wait for the
moonrise. The delay was not long. A yellow
flare beyond the plantation, that rapidly became
whiter, dropped a faint light over the land, and
this grew stronger every minute.
" John," said the colonel, " work your way through
the hedge, and find out if there is a road beyond."
He was absent about ten minutes, then reported :
" There is no road, father, but the space between
the rows of coffee trees is ample for two men to ride
abreast. The soil is well packed. I think we had
better take the fourth row from the end, it has more
distance between the trees."
The command retraced their steps to the point
John had indicated, leading the horses.
"Mr. Atherton, the hatchets were brought, were
they not?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then detail two men to cut away the hedge,
making a space wide enough for a horse to pass
through. Or, one sailor will do. Let Manuel as
sist. He's an expert at this sort of thing."
A quarter of an hour later a passage had been

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 257
opened, and the men were in their saddles again,
upon the ground of Espirito Santo, riding westward,
at times trotting the horses slowly where the firm
ness of the soil permitted, at others walking, when
the footing was soft or hummocky.
It was the brief season when the coffee trees were
in bloom — that week of flowering when the green
is hidden by overlapping blossoms of snow white.
The growth rose higher than the horses' heads, al
most to the men's shoulders.
" Glance back," whispered Reginald to Alfred.
" Those chaps in the second platoon look as if they
were wading up to their necks in a sea of milk."
The comparison was apt, for a slight curve in the
roadway had brought a barrier of trees between the
first and second commands, and the tops of all plants
seemed welded together under the soft rays cast by
the moon.
As has been stated, it was four miles from the high
way to the southwest angle of the plantation, where
they arrived a few minutes after ten, something
ahead of the time scheduled by Colonel Curtis.
A brief rest for breathing the horses, and they
turned to the left, along the western boundary.

258 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
headed north. This time they were on the third
side of the parallelogram. It was slower going
here, for they were crossing the coffee-tree rows
at right angles, and although the paths between
these rows were free of underbrush, as had been
the one which they had travelled, there were accu
mulations in the transverse sections which frequently
had to be cleared by men who dismounted.
During all this journey the Brazilian seized in
Camp Curtis had maintained a silence, as if stricken
dumb, merely indicating by a gesture when they
arrived at limits on south and west boundaries.
But when twenty minutes had passed in the ride
over the cross-rows he gave voice to a few jerky
words. The colonel held up his hand — a signal to halt —
and the members. of the party, looking in the direc
tion which the native pointed, saw in the distance
and farther to the west the upper walls and roof of
a two-story building. It was evidently of a yellow
color, as are many structures in Brazil, but it loomed
quite dark in contrast with the white-topped crests
that stretched beyond as far as the eye could reach.
Word was sent to the second platoon for Lieu-

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 269
tenant Atherton, John, and Sergeant Peterson to
join Colonel Curtis and his two young lieutenants ;
then a brief council was held.
"I don't think it is advisable to proceed farther
with the horses," said the colonel. " One might
neigh, and although there are doubtless many ani
mals on the plantation, yet the close proximity of
one to that building, which it appears is a tabooed
spot, would attract attention. We will dismount
and leave them under the care of two men. Those
marines who are riding double might be the best for
this duty, Mr. Atherton, for they are undoubtedly
more fatigued than the others."
"Yes, sir. I wiU detail them."
"Now as to this guide. He seems to have been
honest with us so far. The prison — provided of
course it is the prison — is in the place where he as
sured me we would see it, and his direction corre
sponds with the brief description given Alfred by the
slave girl. But what to do with him from now on I
don't know. It would not be wise to take him
farther, and if we leave him here another man will
have to be detailed as a guard, and I dislike to
weaken our force any more."

260 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"You paid him well, didn't you, colonel?" asked
Reginald. " I gave him a ten dollar gold piece, and promised
him another so soon as we found our people."
" That is more than he could earn in two months,
and he should be willing to suffer some little incon
venience. I think he is a sensible chap. Suppose
you explain the circumstances, and say that it wUl be
necessary to bind and gag him for a short time."
Colonel Curtis was at first inclined to veto the sug
gestion, but he consented to put the question, and re
ceiving an affirmative grunt in reply, he finally gave
orders which resulted in the Brazilian being tied to
a tree and a handkerchief fastened over his mouth.
"You wiU be released within an hour," he said.
All horses were securely picketed, and Lieutenant
Atherton instructed the men who were to remain
what their duties would be.
"You can trust your gardener, colonel ?" said the
naval officer.
" Implicitly. He knows why we have come, and
he is devoted to my son Henry."
A few minutes before eleven the twenty-four
pushed forward on foot, and it was not long until

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 261
they came to the edge of the coffee grove, where a
clearing had been made for the building. Here they
halted and looked intently at the structure which
was the objective point of their journey.
It was constructed of logs — immense logs — as
had been described, and resembled a barracks. The
doors were massive and swung on broad iron hinges.
Two of them were on the side which faced the
point where the command lay concealed, and which
was evidently the front. One was closed ; the other
was slightly ajar; and through the space shone can
dle or lamp light. Light also came through two
windows that were near this partly opened door, but
the windows near the other door were dark, as were
the four windows of the second story.
Those who were watching surmised that this
barracks, or prison, was divided into four large
apartments, two upstairs and two down, one of the
latter being illuminated. From this came the sound
of voices, as of a number of persons in conversation.
" That's Portuguese," whispered Colonel Curtis.
" They are playing a card game. I can recognize
some of the expressions. We must have a look into
that room, then we shall know better how to proceed.

262 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
Atherton, have you a man who has done scout
duty?" " Sergeant Peterson, sir. He served duringthe Zulu
war, and learned many of the tricks of the Africans."
The non-commissioned officer was beckoned to ap
proach, and the colonel told him what was desired.
A nod of the head showed that he understood, and
he commenced removing superfluous clothing, soon
being stripped to shirt, trousers, and stockings. His
revolver and ammunition belt he placed on the pile
formed by his coat, cap, and shoes. The only
weapon he carried was a sailor's knife, the case of
which was thrust into the waist-band.
An instant later he had sunk from sight, and they
might have thought him disappeared into the
ground, had it not been for an occasional ripple of
the long grass which covered the open space.
" He does it well," whispered the colonel.
That ripple moved steadily toward the open door,
.until within twenty feet of the building, when it
suddenly stopped.
" He sees somebody," whispered Lieutenant
Atherton. For fully five minutes the grass did not wave,

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 263
then the movement commenced again, this time at
right angles, changing soon to a curve.
"Ah! there was somebody in that doorway, and
he's going to the south side of the buUding."
Colonel Curtis's surmise proved correct. The
ripples passed on and were soon lost to view around
the corner.
Fully fifteen minutes elapsed before they were
seen again, then they waved from side to side in a
straight line, direct for the place where members of
the expedition lay concealed.
" He's coming back faster than he went ; probably
he thinks it time to act," said Atherton.
No sooner had all pressed close, anxious to hear
the report, than the sergeant came out of the grass,
panting Uke a dog that had been coursing. His
body was dust-covered, even his chin was soiled,
showing how like a snake he had crawled.
"Saw them all, sir," he said, as soon as he had
recovered his breath. "Five men playing cards —
two mulattoes, three negroes. Sixteen men asleep
on the floor. One big husky negro sitting in a chair
at the doorway, also asleep. Knives and clubs
lying around. No other weapons in sight."

264 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" This is the place," whispered the colonel, enthu
siastically. "You saw no signs of white men."
"No, sir."
" They are probably asleep in one of the other
apartments. We must surprise those guards. But
you say, sergeant, that one is stationed at the
door?" " Yes, sir. I have a plan, though, which you may
approve." "What is it?"
"First pass the word, asking if any one of the
Jackies has a rope."
The answer came back that two of them had,
wotmd around their waists, and the hempen cords
were handed him.
" I'm pretty good with the lasso, colonel. Let me
crawl to within throwing distance of that door, and
I'U yank him out before he has time to yeU. The
moment I jump up from the grass, you charge."
" ExceUent ! " said the commander, and then
he rapicUy formed a plan which he detaUed to the
young men who were acting as aides, whUe Sergeant
Peterson quickly spUced a running knot.
"Reginald," said the colonel, "select two men.

THE WHIRLING ROPE WHISTLED AS IT CUT THE AIR.

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 265
and the moment the signal is given rush to the
window at the side where the sergeant looked in.
Level your revolvers, but wait my order before
firing. John, take two more men and do the same
at the window near the corner. Atherton, two
more, the window near the door. Alfred and the
other men follow me."
Then they all rose to their feet, and a tightening
of belts began, for Sergeant Peterson had slipped
into the grass, this time carrying ammunition and
revolver, in addition to the lasso.
The moon was well overhead, and the house
threw only a narrow shadow. The beams flooded
the coffee-tree tops, and all the world was covered
with frosted silver.
They could hear their hearts beat as they stood,
revolver in hand, right foot forward, waiting for
the gesture which would signal the dash.
Finally up jumped the sergeant, and the whirling
rope whistled as it cut the air. Even as Colonel
Curtis reached the doorway at the head of his
force a burly negro came sprawling outside on the
ground, gasping for breath as the cord cut deeper
and deeper into his neck and shoulders. Then they

266 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
rushed into the room, and simultaneously nine shin
ing revolvers glistened at three windows.
For a moment the card-players at the table sat
still and stared, then one of the number — he was
only a few shades removed from white — dropped
on the floor. Following this move the others
sprang to three unguarded windows in the rear and
jumped through ; then those who had been awakened
by the noise followed the example, going out feet
first, head first, any way, so as to escape. The
last to leave, and he sprang over the sill with catlike
agility, was the three-quarters white. All were
gone within a fraction of a minute, and not a shot
had been fired nor a blow struck.
The marines and Jackies looked at one another
in astonishment, then burst into loud laughter at
so easy a victory. But their mirth was cut short.
Above the top of the table on the far side sprang
a flame that ran along the floor.
"The sarpint! The Portuguay! He struck a
light, cu'nel, and set fire to the place ! " shouted
O'MaUey. Combustibles must have been stored in that part
of the room, for even as the Irishman called out.

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 267
the blaze was licking the woodwork on the side
wall higher than a man's head.
" Throw open the door into the next room ! Get
out the prisoners ! " called the colonel.
Wright, the marine, turned the knob and threw
his weight against the barrier. It refused to yield.
A dozen men seized the table and ran with it as
a battering-ram. Crashing of woodwork, and an
entrance was made. The rapidly spreading flames
showed those who entered that the place was
empty, save for some barrels and bags; not a
human being was in there except themselves.
" Out of this, men ! Out of the building,
quick ! "
The colonel's command was none too soon. They
fell back into the first apartment, and crowded
through the door even as fire shot out with them,
singeing their clothing. John Curtis, among the
last to leave, was certain he heard a voice calling
in English, and he rushed out screaming: "They
are in the second story, father! They will be
burned alive I "
" A ladder ! A ladder ! " a dozen voices called.
Men circled the building. They found one, brought

268 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
it on a run, and placed it against the front wall,
immediately beneath a window.
First on the rungs was the broad-shouldered athlete
Reginald Hope, next Atherton, and after them both
O'Malley, his torn trousers flapping as he went up
the crosspieces.
Reginald pounded on the window, shook the
frame, then called for a hatchet. Blow followed
blow, and through the door below tongues of flame
licked their frail support.
At last a passage was made, and into the room
crowded the three. Light was plentiful there, for
the blaze had eaten through the floor. They gave
one look around, then retreated to the window, for
the large apartment was bare; there was not even
a box behind which a man could be hidden.
They came down through fire and smoke, the
hair on their heads singeing. Alfred seized Regi
nald as soon as he reached the lowest rung and
rolled him over and over in the grass, to extinguish
the sparks that were starting tiny flames in his
clothing. "Nobody there?" gasped the colonel. His lungs
were smoke-filled.

A CHARGE AT MIDNIGHT 269
" Nobody."
"But you were in only one room."
" It's all one room. There's no partition. Nobody
is in it. Nobody ! "
They looked at one another in dismay. The fire
crackled fiendishly and spread to the roof, over
topping it, and thrust forked ends into the air
beyond; these in turn' shot forth sparks.
Colonel Curtis stood with bowed head. Alfred
approached him and asked in dismay, "What does
this mean?"
"We have been deceived, my boy," he said
gloomily.

CHAPTER XXII
PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE
IjlROSTED sUver turned to burnished gold as
-'- light from the barrack's fire was thrown over
the treetops; the moon's rays shone through a red-
brown haze ; showers of sparks, carried by the light
breeze, dropped on the long grass, which turned
black under the touch.
Step by step the members of the expedition
retreated before the heat waves that had been set
in motion by the burning building, until finally
they had passed the clearing and were at the edge
of the cultivated land again, where arboreal growth
gave protection from the scorching blasts.
"This is bad business, Atherton. I'm sorry we
dragged you into it."
" I don't see how you dragged us into it, colonel,"
replied the naval officer. "We came to you."
"But the service, sir. I fear there will be an
unpleasant echo." 270

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 271
" Not if we can find those prisoners, and I am con
vinced that they are somewhere on the premises."
"Still believe the slave girl's story, do you?"
Colonel Curtis said bitterly.
"Yes, sir. I am more convinced than ever that
she told the truth. Those men were guards, and
they had been armed for some purpose, surely not to
protect a building unoccupied except by themselves."
" Then where do you think the others are ? "
" I believe they were removed ; probably notice
was received of your coming. That native may
have been a spy, after all, and there may have
been other spies. Perhaps he was perfectly willing
to lead us to the place, knowing that a confederate
would carry the news to his master. Or perhaps
we were seen when we passed the driveway."
" There is reason in what you say, Atherton."
"And the fire, colonel," joined in Reginald.
" That white-livered scoundrel started the blaze,
and I am convinced that it was a prearranged signal.
The burning building is a huge torch, giving the
alarm all over the plantation. Why would an alarm
be given unless there was something wrong going
on?"

272 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Father, I am sure I heard an EngUsh voice, call
ing," said John.
Alfred remained silent. He felt the terrible
responsibility of the entire expedition resting upon
him, for his words had brought it into being.
"What say you, sergeant?" and the colonel
turned to the non-commissioned officer.
" I think, sir, that we were nearer the prisoners
down on the main road yonder than we are here."
"You mean that they have been taken to the
residence ? "
"Yes, sir."
" Certainly your arguments are well founded.
The guards were armed, and the building was set on
fire. For a man engaged in such nefarious practices
as we believe this planter to have been guilty of,
a system of espionage would be the first means
of defence. As for John's hearing English voices,
that of course is impossible, for the house is over
three miles from here. It is imagination. Fre
quently since Henry was reported dead I have
thought that I heard him calling me."
They were startled by a crash. One of the roof
beams had fallen, and a fountain of sparks played

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 273
from the burning mass upon the surrounding vege
tation. " Back to the horses, men ! " ordered the colonel,
assuming command again. The moment of doubt
and grief had passed; he was once more a soldier
in action.
" I wish we knew the short cut to the house," he
said to Reginald, when the command was re-formed
and marching at a double quick through the tree
rows. " But it would be folly to search for it. No,
we will return the way we came, until we reach the
driveway, then up the private road to the house."
They found the horses had been made very rest
less by the fire, and the two marines were having
their hands full, trying to quiet them. Prince was
especially unruly, and several times tried to throw his
rider. But Colonel Curtis had not only mastered
the severe drills at West Point, but he had conquered
bronchos in the far west, and the black horse soon
became subdued and obeyed his master's will.
" Cut the Brazilian loose ! " he ordered. " Manuel,
tell him we don't need him any more. If we find
the prisoners, let him come to me and I will give
him the other $10. Marines, who did guard

274 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
duty, you each have a mount now. Are you all in
saddles ? Forward, then, in the same formation as
before ! "
He led the way alone, back, across the transverse
section of the field, saving the animals as well as he
could while they were in the hummocky earth, but
the moment the angle at the southwest corner was
turned, and the straight row opened up in front, he
put the spurs to Prince, and off they went on the
four-mile course, the horses running at will, urged
on not only by steel and whip, but by the fear which
had been born while the fire raged.
Dirt flew from hoofs over the men behind, and
they bent low to save their faces from the blows
of pebbles and packed soil which were thrown with
the force of hailstones; wind they made in their
speed whistled past their ears, caps were blown
off, and hair became filled with sand and clay. On
they went, pounding the ground, in as wild a ride
as any of them had ever taken, wilder than the
majority had known, and rein was not drawn until
the hedge opening was well in view. Then up went
the colonel's hand; the command came to a halt.
"Three minutes for breathing," was the order,

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 276
and the men sprang from their saddles, that the
animals' lungs might have full play.
Flecks of thick white dropped from mouths;
haunches, withers, and bellies were covered with
sweat that resembled soap foam; the panting was
so loud that it resembled a roar.
Far in the distance could be seen a dull glow, the
reflection cast by the dying embers of the barrack's
fire. " Mount ! " came the sharp order.
Once more in the saddle they passed at a walk
through the hedge opening, changed to a trot, then
to a gallop, and finally to a run again, this time
over a hard road, and the hoof beats, which had
been heavy on the loose soil of the tree row, now
rang sharp and clear, while sparks flew as steel
clicked on stone. The swiftest stage of their re
turn journey was on the highway, over the three
miles from the southeast angle to the private drive
entrance, where a second halt was called.
" Five minutes here," said the colonel. " Loosen
the girth lacings, men ! "
Experience had taught him that these periods
of rest meant more speed in the long run.

276 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
They were standing in groups, talking to one
another about the events of the night, when a
clatter was heard up the driveway. All con
versation ceased, and the noise of hoof beats came
distinctly, the sound increasing in volume.
" Cinch up ! Prepare to mount ! " the colonel
ordered. Ringing out, nearer came the noise.
"It's only one horse," said the commander.
"Lead your animals across the entrance and form
a barrier. Stop him ! "
The rider was coming like the wind. The next
instant, around the lower curve, swept a jet black
horse, and perched on its back was a figure clad aU
in white ; it seemed to those who looked as if it
was wrapped in a shroud.
O'Malley turned pale, and his teeth chattered. He
was brave when a fight offered, but a coward in the
presence of mystery.
"Stop that!" called out Lieutenant Atherton.
Even as he spoke the black horse was reined in
suddenly, so that it was thrown on its haunches, and
a woman's voice called, " Who is there ? "
"Paquinta!" shouted Alfred, and throwing his

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 277
bridle-rein to a sailor, he sprang into the driveway
and was by the girl's side as she sUd from the saddle.
" Oh, senhor, I thought it was you. But why are
you so late? and why are you not up there where
I told you?"
She was the centre of an excited group by this time.
" Up there ! " repeated Colonel Curtis, who at once
began the questioning. " Look here, girl ! I am the
father of Henry Curtis. Where is he ? What does
this mean?"
" There, there, where I told the senhor," and she
pointed in the direction of the low-hanging glow to
the west.
" We have been there, senhorita," said the colonel,
sharply, " and they are not in the prison."
" But in the cave, underground ! Ah, I forgot I
had not the opportunity to teU the senhor that day,
for I was called. The Senhor Cordero has a big place
in the ground, where he puts them when he fears
some one is coming. He heard of the senhor — Al
fred, that is his name, no ? He went to the house
of a man, a gardener, the night he saw me, and that
man told Senhor Cordero. The senhor has friends
everywhere, everywhere," and she indicated the

278 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
whole country with a wave of her hand. " Last week,
every day, yesterday, to-day, he had spies watch
ing. Mastido — he is the man who has charge of
the slaves yonder — he was told to set fire to the
prison if you came there, and that would be a
signal." " I thought as much," muttered Atherton.
" He, the senhor, waited at the house," continued
the girl. " Not to fight. No ! No ! He waited to
laugh at you, and show you that you were wrong,
for the prisoners were all in the cave, where you
couldn't see them."
" They are perhaps roasted alive," said the colonel,
hoarsely. " No ; they are all right. The cave goes far, far
underground. Many things are stored there to keep
cool. I have heard all about it, often."
"Paquinta, how do you know this?" asked
Alfred. " The Senhor Cordero told Mastido what to do, and
I was listening. Then I waited and waited for you
to come to the house, so that I could call out and
tell all about it. But when you did not come, and
the fire was started, and the senhor went away, I

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 279
saddled my horse to look for you. I was afraid to
go by the road the senhor went, so I came down here
to go by another."
" Cordero has left the house then ? "
" Yes, sir. He has gone with all his men to the
fire." " We must follow, at once. Which is the shortest
road, girl ? "
"This, past the house."
" Prepare to mount ! " Then he hesitated. " What
shall we do with you, Paquinta?"
" I'll go with you," and running to her horse,
she sprang into the saddle before any one could
assist. " Atherton, take charge of her in the second pla
toon. Mount ! Forward, at a trot I Gallop ! Now
use the spurs ! "
In answer to the words of command came the
thud of hoofs as the animals, well rested, stretched
out their necks and responded to the demand. They
swept up the driveway, past the house, which seemed
deserted, through an orange grove, then into the
coffee plantation, but this time on smooth, hard-
packed gravel.

280 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"I was sure I heard voices," said John to Pa
quinta, who was riding between him and Atherton.
"You are Henry's brother, no? I saw you that
day when you came to the senhor's house. You
heard voices, you say. Up there ? "
"Yes. Somebody called in English. I thought
it was from the second floor."
"No. It was from below. They are all right.
You will save them. The senhor is not a fighting
man. He only fights women," and she laughed.
" Mastido, he wants to fight ; but the senhor say no ;
that he has a better way."
O'Malley, riding back of them, was muttering:
" Masti-do-do ! That's the Portuguay. The sar
pint! rU settle him."
Faster even than they had gone over the highway
was the speed made on the private drive, and each
moment the glow over the barrack's ruins became more
distinct. Soon they could make out broken beams
grouped in fantastic shapes that still smouldered, and
along which ran lines of low flame ; occasionally
small showers of sparks rose when timbers settled.
As they drew nearer still a black line was seen
drawn in front of the fire; a minute later it was

I'AQUINTA PROVES TRUE 281
discernible as a company of men, some on horseback,
others on foot.
They pressed on, and the colonel called back to
Lieutenant Atherton : " Cordero has quite a force
there. Havo all the men ready."
Not until within fifty feet of the Brazilian planter's
array did Colonel Curtis order a halt, and then at
hia command the men of the first platoon formed
company front by his side, and those of the second
wheeled in line immediately behind them.
Not a word had been exchanged between the two
forces. Senhor Cordero could be plainly seen in the
centre of half-breeds and negroes, more than a hun
dred in all, of whom two dozen were mounted,
and the others grouped near on foot. Yellow light
played on the olive-hued cheeks of the planter. He
sat on a white horae and held a revolver in his hand.
Tho attendants were also anned, some with rifles,
some with knives, and somo with clubs.
" Hi tliere I Can that be you, my friend. Colonel
Curtis?" called the senhor, finallj'- breaking the
silence. "What do you mean, coming into my
plantixtion with these ruffians and setting fire to my
building?"

282 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
"We did not set fire to your building, and you
know it," repUed the colonel, sternly. " Senhor Cor
dero, where is my son Henry ? "
" Your son Henry ! " and the Brazilian simtdated
surprise. " Why, you know that he is dead. I am
sorry. Could that have turned your mind? If so,
I wiU pardon you."
"Senhor Cordero, where is my brother, Arthur
Hope?" The planter shivered perceptibly as the deep bass
tones of Reginald demanded an accounting.
"He is dead also," came the reply, but this time
the voice trembled.
" You Ue, Senhor Cordero ! "
It was Paquinta who screamed the denial, and
spurring the black forward she pressed between
Colonel Curtis and Alfred, to the front of them aU.
" You Ue ! " she repeated. " They are in the cave."
He snarled like a dog that had been trodden on,
raised his revolver and fired.
A shriek followed the report, and the girl reeled
in her sadcUe, then feU heavUy to the ground, whUe
her horse dashed between the rows of men, running
panic-crazed into the coffee field.

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 283
Another horse sprang into the open space. Tower
ing above its back were the powerful shoulders of
WiUiam Reginald Hope, who spurred the animal
on to the side of Senhor Cordero. Disdaining the
use of his revolver, the young Englishman brought
into action only the muscles which had been hard
ened at football, at hammer-throwing, and other
sports; and bending low he seized the coffee
planter around the waist, dragged him from the
saddle, lifted him up, then dashed him to the
ground, shouting, " You coward ! "
" At them, men ! " Colonel Curtis called ; but his
words were not needed, for both platoons had swept
forward, following the Honorable Billy.
There was a revolver volley, then crack ! crack I
crack ! of intermittent firing. Screams came from
the Brazilians, a few shots from the rifles responded,
one effort to use knives and clubs, then the hundred
odd plantation hands, scattered by the fierce on
slaught of the sailors and dismayed by the loss
of their commander, turned and ran, some into the
grove, others jumping over live embers in their efforts
to escape.
But not all who had stood there defiant were in

284 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
the throng that fled. Two negroes lay doubled up,
dead ; a dozen blacks and mulattoes were stretched
out and groaning, or limping around and bogging
for mercy ; a half-dozen more were engaged in hand-
to-hand combats with men of the attacking party who
had dismounted. These came to an end soon, all ex
cept one ; at the edge of the clearing two men were
seen hugging one another like bears, and rolling over
and over.
" It's O'Malley ! " shouted Lieutenant Atherton,
and he sprang to his aid. But before the officer
reached the spot, the Irishman rose halfway, his knees
on the chest of his victim, and cried triumphantly: —
"Oi have the Masti-do-do, leftenant. Here is
the sarpint I "
Then O'Malley jumped to his feet, and seizing the
half-breed around the waist, brought him to tiie
others. " Ain't the craythur a foine pictoor ? " he
asked, grinning; and then he wiped away some
blood that was flowing from a cut in his own
cheek. "Masti-do-do, you're a jool."
Colonel Curtis glanced hastily over the field.
Reginald had lifted Paquinta and called out : " She
isn't seriously hurt, sir. The bullet only grazed

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 286
the side of her head;" and even as he spoke the
girl opened her eyes and struggled to be let down.
John was bending over Senhor Cordero.
" His leg is broken, father ; that's all. It's a pity
it isn't his head."
Two of tlie mai'ines were sitting on the ground,
waiting, without a murmur. They were quickly
examined, found to have received flesh wounds, and
comrades were detailed to cai"e for them. Six others
of tlie command had been cut or struck witii clubs,
but tiiey were attending to their own injuries, bind
ing lacerations with their handkerchiefs.
Alfred furnished more cause for alarm tlian any of
tliem. Although on his feet and walking around, he
staggered as tiiough dizzy, and blood trickled down
the side of his face.
" The old wound in the head has been reopened,"
said tiie colonel, after an examination. "Are you
hurt anywhere else?"
"My left ai'm is numb, sir."
The sleeve ^A^ls rolled up, and jagged incisions
showed that a rifle ball had passed tiii-ough, immedi
ately below the elbow.
" John," caUed tiie colonel, " come here."

286 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
They were joined by Atherton, and Alfred was
carried to a place under a tree where a bed of moss
was quickly provided.
" There, I feel better, colonel. Go, please, and
rescue the prisoners."
" I will, my lad. John, you stay here. Atherton,
come with me, and bring as many men as can be
spared. O'MaUey ! Where's O'Malley ? "
" Here, sor."
" Bring up your prisoner."
Mastido appearing, still in the clutches of the
Irishman, the colonel commenced to question him
sharply in his native tongue.
The Brazilian answered with a gesture, pointing
to the ruins of the barracks.
" He says the entrance to the cave is there. It
will be hours before we can remove the burning
logs. Heavens ! they will smother."
Paquinta, who had approached, supported by
Reginald, called out, " There is another entrance."
" Ah, you Masti-do-do dog ! " and O'Malley shook
him by the nape of the neck until his teeth rattled.
" That will do," said the colonel, and he addressed
the overseer again in Portuguese.

PAQUINTA PROVES TRUE 287
In reply the native turned and sullenly led them
past the ruins a hundred yards, and pointed to a rock
that weighed at least two tons.
" Over with it, boys ! Roll it away ! " called Ath
erton, and a dozen shoulders bent to the task, push
ing it to one side, and its passing revealed a sheet
of iron, fastened to one side of which was a large
ring. " Lift that up, men ! "
It was with difficulty that a finger-hold could be
secured under the edges, but finally it yielded, swing
ing backward on creaking hinges and revealing a
black pit.
They all peered over. In a tremulous voice
Colonel Curtis called, " Henry ! "
Silence followed; not a sound came from below.
" Henry I " he called, louder.
Then from somewhere in that dark burial cham
ber, from which warm, moist air poured, came the
words, " Father ! Father, is that you ? "
" Thank God ! " And the veteran sank to his knees.
The deep-toned voice of Reginald took up the
saving cry.
"Hello, there below! Arthur Hope, are you

288 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
there? Henry Curtis, your father is here. Come
up, all of you, or tell us how to get down."
An answering yell came from the cave ; there was
a confused murmur of voices; footfalls were heard,
then the sound of persons mounting a ladder.
" Hurrah ! " shouted Reginald. " They are safe ! "
From John, from Alfred, from marines and sailors
who had been wounded and those who had been
detailed to care for them came an answering
" Hurrah ! "

CHAPTER XXIII
paquinta's reward
HENRY CURTIS was the first to set foot above
ground, and he sprang into his father's arms.
A stranger to them all came next. There was no
one to welcome him, but he held up both hands in
thanksgiving and shouted for joy. Arthur Hope
was the third. " Billy, you here ! " he exclaimed ;
then, " Billy, forgive me ! " and they fell to shaking
hands, while Reginald's familiar, " How are you, old
chap ? JoUy glad to see you ! " was given boister
ously. Others came — a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, all Eng
lish, then one whose accent proved him an American ;
an eighth, who beyond doubt was French; a ninth,
an Italian ; a tenth, a Swede.
The rescuers stood about, open-mouthed in their
astonishment. " Great Scott ! " exclaimed Atherton. " How
many more ? "
V 289

290 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Nineteen of us down there," replied the Ameri
can, who began to laugh hysterically.
Eleven men above ground — twelve — thirteen —
fourteen —
Some were old, some were young : they talked in
English, for as that was the language of the majority
it had been adopted by all.
Fifteen — sixteen — They shook hands with
everybody ; some of them cried, others commenced to
inquire if any one present knew of relatives or friends
at home. One man of powerful build, who towered
above his comrades, seized Colonel Curtis by the
hand with a grip that caused the knuckles to crack,
and yelled : —
" Nineteen years of imprisonment, and out at last I
God is good!"
Seventeen —
They were clad in curious garments, the most of
them. Two or three — Henry Curtis included —
wore modern clothing, but the others were in coats *
and trousers which they had evidently fashioned for
themselves. " I only see seventeen, and somebody claimed there
were nineteen below," said Colonel Curtis.

paquinta's reward 291
"Two are unable to climb the ladder, father,"
Henry explained. " They will have to be helped
out." " Here, men ! " called Atherton. " Ten of you go
down and bring up the other prisoners."
Two jackies who went below soon reappeared,
assisting a venerable American, who was suffering
from rheumatism.
"What's this? What's this?" he questioned,
looking intently at the colonel, whose features were
plainly visible in the moonlight. " Isn't this Harold
Curtis ? Don't you know Jim Cunningham ? "
" Jim — Jim Cunningham ? Why, I heard of your
death ten years ago, Jim ! "
" So you did. I was reported dead by that fiend.
How are they all, Harold? Are my wife and chil
dren living ? Ah, God be praised ! " and tears
sprang into his eyes, for Colonel Curtis had nodded
an assent.
" And this is your boy, who has been with us ! I
thought his face familiar, but I have had no opportu
nity to talk with him, for the rheumatism has troubled
me greatly since they brought him in."
The nineteenth ! Eight sailors carried him up the

292 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
ladder, supporting his weight by bracing their backs
against the rungs and side pieces, while comrades
assisted them from above.
He was white of hair, yet beneath was a dark
skin that proclaimed him not an Anglo-Saxon.
His feebleness was such that when they placed him
on the ground he could barely lift his hand to
shade his eyes from the moonlight, which, faint as
it was, proved dazzling to the sight of those who
had been in the black hole below.
"That old man must have been the longest of
any of you in confinement," said Reginald.
" You are wrong, my boy. I have been the long
est." It was the tall, powerful Englishman who spoke,
and when they looked close, they saw iron-gray
threads in his hair.
" He was as old when he came in as I am now,
which, if I have kept the count correct, is forty-
three. I went in when I was twenty-two and a few
months more, so that, you see, is over twenty years
ago. One came after me who died, and in the
fourth year came this Spaniard. Poor man, his
trouble has been greater than all, for once he saw

paquinta's REWARD 298
his wife and daughter, yet could not go to them, nor
have them come to him."
"They must have visited the plantation after
hearing of his death, even as I came, after being
told that Henry had been taken away."
" I don't know ; perhaps that is so ; but come,
now we are free, to whom do we owe the rescue
and who are you, sir?"
"The story of this rescue must wait, for it is a
long one, and first we must hear yours. But there is
work to be done before either is told. I am Harold
Curtis, formerly a colonel of cavalry in the United
States army, at present a coffee merchant in Brazil."
"And I," said the Englishman, "am Ernest Syl
vester, once of County Kent, England."
" Kent, did you say ? " inquired Reginald. " I am
from there myself."
" Then in time I must ask after some friends of
mine. You are a likely lad, my son," and he looked
at the young Englishman admiringly. "But the
colonel has said there is work to do. Consider me
enlisted. I am as well and strong as the boy from
Kent," and he again looked approvingly at Regi
nald. " First, sir, let me name to you all these

294 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
good friends who are hungry for a word. You
know Cunningham, I see. He kept us merry at
times with jokes and stories. This, now, is Johnson,
who hailed from Jersey, and this — "
Thus he brought them one by one, until eighteen
had shaken hands; then he turned to the Spaniard,
who lay on the ground.
" Ah, he does not need our services. Who is that
maid bending over him ? "
" She was a slave girl until this night. We have
freed her."
" Look ! See how he fondles her hair. Great
God, man, do you know what liberty is — liberty?"
Then he checked himself. " That work on hand,
colonel. What is the nature?"
" We have much to do. There has been a fight.
Some of our men are wounded, and many of the
others, including Cordero himself. The wounded
and the feeble of your party must be taken to the
house and placed under cover. The moon will
set in another hour, and there is no time to lose."
He at once gave directions that led to the old
Spaniard being lifted up again, and they all moved
over, past the ruins, to the scene of the struggle.

paquinta's REWARD 295
The aged ex-prisoner was placed on the ground,
near Alfred, and both he and John looked at him
wonderingly, while Reginald briefly told them what
had occurred.
Colonel Curtis turned his attention to the Brazil
ians who had been shot, and was assisted by Mr.
Sylvester, Lieutenant Atherton, and several others.
This done — and he did not neglect even Senhor
Cordero, who cringed when he came near — he
looked about, puzzled what step to take next.
" You want to take them back to the house, no ? "
and Paquinta, questioning, placed her hand on his
arm. "How did you read my thoughts, girl?"
" Oh, I saw them in your eyeh. And this old man
— he needs a bed so badly."
"So do many others. Can you suggest any
thing?" " In the barn near the house, yonder, are two big
wagons — carry-alls I think they are called in your
country. They wiU do, no?"
"The very thing!" Then he called to his
son: —
"John, take Sergeant Peterson, Manuel, and a

296 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
half a dozen men. Ride as fast as you can down to
Senhor Cordero's house. Paquinta will tell you
what to do there."
This detail having been despatched, the colonel
ordered some wood cut and thrown on the embers
of the barracks' fire, both to furnish light when the
moon should disappear, and to warm them against
a chilling wind that was sighing through the plan
tation trees.
A closer examination of Alfred's injuries showed
that the scalp scar had not reopened to an extent
that should cause alarm. He suffered greatly from
the wound in his forearm, however, and was exceed
ingly nervous. Colonel Curtis gave him a sedative,
which was in the valuable medicine case, then
turned his attention to a Brazilian who was in
serious condition, and who probably would not re
cover. AU the others he thought were in a fair way
to mend. Some of them were in much pain, and
groans could be heard coming from different parts
of the temporary camp.
" We must have the advice of a surgeon immedi
ately upon reaching the house," he said to Lieuten
ant Atherton. "Mastido, the overseer, will know

paquinta's reward 297
where one can be found. Detail five men to go with
him, including O'Malley. I will give the instruc
tions, and tell Manuel to go along as interpreter."
This second party despatched, there was nothing to
do but wait for the wagons. The moon had set, and
the morning stars were undisputed in their brilliancy,
when the rumble of wheels was heard, and then,
drawn by four horses each, the two carry-alls were
driven into camp, the animals at a sharp trot.
It was necessary to provide against the wounded
being jolted, so the beds of the vehicles were fiUed
with long soft moss that depended from trees which
grew back of where the barracks once stood. Then
into one wagon were placed the American and Eng
lish injured, and those of the ex-prisoners who were
not able to ride horseback or sit upright. Into the
second were carried the disabled Brazilians : as for
the dead, they had been buried by a detail, selected
from the marines.
Horses that had been in both commands were
saddled, the backs of horses in harness were also
brought into service, and at four o'clock the start
was made for Senhor Cordero's residence.
And the Brazilian planter? He lay on the moss

298 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
in the second wagon, groaning from the pain of a
broken bone, unnoticed even by the men over whom
he was once the master.
It was a long, slow drive through the plantation,
for they were compelled to proceed at a walk, and a
mellow light had appeared in the east when the
carry-alls were backed up to the wide veranda of the
large mansion that was central in the garden of
Espirito Santo.
" My mother will show you the rooms," said Pa
quinta, quickly dismounting and hurrying to Colonel
Curtis. " She was the senhor's housekeeper."
He noticed the use of the verb in the past tense ;
they all did it now; the planter's power had been
broken. " There she is," continued the girl, pointing to a
white, frightened face that was pressed against a
window. " Mother ! mother ! " and turning from the colonel,
Paquinta ran up the steps. " Mother, we are free !
You will not suffer any more."
The woman came out on the veranda. She was
very thin and careworn ; deep circles under her eyes
told of wakeful nights and hours of weeping. She

paquinta's reward 299
hugged her daughter close, and in a moment was
told what had happened and what was needed ; then,
reentering the house, she hurriedly lit lamps and
candles untU every room was illuminated.
Marines and saUors, assisted by the more able-
bodied of the ex-prisoners, carried in the wounded,
and placed those whose cases were the most serious
upon beds, and others upon couches. MeanwhUe the
detaU of which O'Malley had been given command
came up the driveway at a gaUop, and a surgeon at
once commenced work on the patients.
They brought in the white-haired Spaniard last,
for he had been the first placed in the wagon.
Paquinta walked by his side. At the head of the
steps was her mother, pushing back a screen door.
As they passed in, carrying an improvised stretcher
upon which the invaUd had been placed, she bent
forward, then caUed out wildly, "Wait! Wait!"
and sinking to her knees threw her arms around his
neck. Those near heard him murmur, " Mercedes ! " and
a smile of great sweetness came over his face.
" Here, this way ! " and the woman led them direct
to Senhor Cordero's magnificently furnished room.

300 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" On that bed ; " and when he had been placed
there she sank down on her knees again and fondled
his head, crying : " Carlos ! Carlos ! Not dead. Not
dead." Paquinta, staring, approached on tiptoe. The
man looked up at her and smiled again. The
woman drew her down and whispered : " Paquinta,
this is your father. Carlos, this is our daughter."
" Madre de Dios ! " and the Spaniard raised himself
on one elbow, to look into their faces. "I shall
recover now."

CHAPTER XXIV
THE STORY OF A PRISONER
r I 1IRED as they all were, the nervous excitement
-*- forbade sleep, and when the wounded and the
invalid had been cared for, the others gathered in
the large dining room, and while servants of the
household, who had returned with the rising of
the sun, were preparing breakfast, the members
of the rescuing party listened to a story of the
imprisonment. Yet there was not much to tell,
unless one dragged out the day by day history of
a monotonous existence or detailed the sufferings
of mind.
Mr. Sylvester was the spokesman, better fitted
than any for this, because of his long term of con
finement. " Cordero was a young man when he sent me
to the den," he began. "I had come from Eng
land a few months before, and attracted by the
301

302 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
profits being made in coffee, I accepted his flatter
ing proposition to become an overseer and share
in the estate after a certain time. But you all
are familiar with this cooperative scheme. His
plan was the same in every instance; sometimes
he received more money, sometimes less, but the
average has been at least X2000 from each victim
— a total of £40,000 for all, or $200,000 in Ameri
can gold!
"The terms of service as overseer also varied.
Some men were permitted to enjoy their free
dom for so long as a year before being placed in
confinement, while others joined us after a few
months. ,;
"The process by which we were incarcerated
had the semblance of legality, sufficient to prevent
serious consequence to the planter from an ordi
nary investigation, such as district magistrates
made from time to time. Under the Brazilian law
the owner of a plantation is an autocrat. He has
much the same power as the captain of a ship.
This may be necessary because of the vastness of
the estates, and the men of all classes and condi
tions who are employed, but it is possible of great

THE STORY OF A PRISONER 303
abuse. So also is the power of the ship captain
with whom I have made comparison.
"To each plantation is detailed a man who has
authority delegated by the district court, to inflict
punishment by imprisonment. He is appointed by
this court at the instance of the plantation owner,
and is paid by the latter; naturally he is the
planter's tool. Such was the position held by
Mastido, who, in addition, was given charge of the
prisoners. "The usual allegation brought against an over
seer, when the time arrived for his being put out
of the way, was inciting to revolt. Cordero had
a number of henchmen who would offer testimony
that they had been urged to disobey him. Mastido
would go through the form of listening to this
evidence, and then would pronounce a sentence of
imprisonment, without specifying the time it should
continue. "No opportunity was given for a defence, no
counsel could be employed; one was simply a lay
figure, waiting for the farce to end before being
taken elsewhere. At the time that I was tried I
did not understand Portuguese, and the proceedings

304 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
were meaningless. Nor could I find out for what
I had been imprisoned. It was not until the next
overseer was brought in that we learned by a
comparison of notes what had actuaUy occurred,
and it was not until the Spaniard joined us that
we knew of the reports sent to Rio and home
that we had died of yellow fever. You may en
deavor to imagine what our mental sufferings have
been, but it is beyond human power to even con
ceive the bitterness of our thoughts."
"Did you not try to escape?"
" The man who came in after me tried to do so,
and he was shot while halfway through the planta
tion, receiving a wound from which he died a month
later. We were early given to understand that the
law authorized a guard to kill any one who should
try to escape from one of these prisons, so no one
was anxious to run the gantlet again. Besides, a
score or more villanous ruffians were always at
Mastido's call, and recently the number has been
increased." "Were you ill-treated?"
"On the contrary, our physical wants were well
cared for. That, I suppose, was done with a view

THE STORY OP A PRISONER 305
to any investigation which might be ordered, and
which Cordero knew would redound to his credit
if his prisoners were in good physical condition.
And then again, I believe he had some fellow sym
pathy, although his greed for money led him to com
mit any crime short of murder, in effort to swell his
fortunes. I have known him, when one of our
number was reported sick, to have delicacies sent
from his own kitchen ; he frequently provided us
with books and magazines, and occasionally with
a newspaper. All this was done through Mastido,
however. I have never set eyes on the man from
the day of my farcical trial until to-night, when you
pointed him out among the wounded over there.
"Our general treatment was on humane lines.
The food served was wholesome, and there was
always plenty on the table. Slaves attended to
our wants. Cordero sent us cloth, from which we
made garments ; we had a sewing machine, scissors,
and other necessary articles. Our common room
was on the second floor of the den where each one
had a cot and a box such as sailors use."
"We were in there," interrupted Colonel Curtis,
" and everything had been taken away."

806 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" Yes. The things were carried into the cave a
week ago. Since that time we have been compelled
to go underground every night and remain there
until daybreak. These extreme measures proved that
something was occurring out of the usual, and many
of us passed the nights in prayer that the outcome
might be our freedom. Before that we had not
been driven into the cave oftener than once or twice
a year, when Cordero expected some visitor whom
he thought might make inquiries. You see he
was prepared at a half-hour's notice to permit any
one to inspect the den without fear of betraying
his secrets."
"Is it not strange that some of the plantation
hands did not tell what was going on ? "
" They did not know, colonel. Our guards were
always the same, and they were abject servants of
Mastido. The workmen were forbidden to come
near the building, and were not only threatened
with punishment if they disobeyed, but their super
stitious dread was played upon."
"How did you keep in such excellent health?"
some one asked.
" Because we were granted outdoor exercise. At

THE STORY OF A PRISONER 307
times guards were stationed around the edge of
the clearing, and we could come and go within
that space at will. Our sufferings, strange to say,
were only mental, and you know that so long as
there is hope a man can stand under a great strain
of that nature. Don Sebastian was the only one to
break down, and that was because of the sight he had
of wife and child. I think he always suspected that
they remained near, although he never said so."
Meanwhile the Spainard had been soothed to sleep,
and then mother and daughter, tiptoeing from room to
room, did what women only can for the other sufferers.
"We must all obtain some rest," said Colonel
Curtis, when the narrative had been finished, "and
I propose that everybody turn in for at least six
hours, immediately after breakfast. Reginald, as
soon as you awaken, I wish you and John to ride
back and carry the glad news to the people at Ti
juca. You had better go direct to White's Hotel.
Then go to Rio, inform the American and British
ministers what has occurred, and ask them to pre
sent the matter immediately to Dom Pedro in person.
From the legations visit the leading merchants and
enlist their aid in sending conveyances up here, so

308 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
that we can take all the wounded back to the
coast." "I should like to have them go on board the
Flying Fish" said Lieutenant Atherton. " Captain
Sinclair must be anxious to know what has hap
pened ; and it will be necessary to apply for an ex
tended leave of absence for the men."
"Yes, that is so. I beg pardon, lieutenant, for
having forgotten it."
" May I not go with the lads ? " asked Mr. Syl
vester. "I feel equal to the horseback ride."
" They will be glad to have you, I am sure. The
remainder of our force and the others of your party
will stay here to rest up and render such assistance
to the injured as we can."

CHAPTER XXV
A SURPRISE AT TIJUCA
r I ^WINKLING lights, shining out from the jungle-
-¦- smothered valley of Tijuca, told where stood
the hotel that is sought by foreigners who wish to
escape the dangerous nights of Rio, yet are anxious
to be within easy riding of the capital.
Over a cross-cut from the main roadway three men
on horseback urged the tired animals that had come
at a good pace from the Organ plateau.
"So that is the story of how the rescue came
about," remarked Mr. Sylvester, when Reginald com
pleted the recital that had lasted from the time they
had left Espirito Santo. " Later, to-night, my son,
he added, "I should like to ask you about some
people in County Kent whom perhaps you may
know. I have dreaded to put the questions."
"I understand," said the Honorable Billy, sym
pathetically, and reaching over, he took the hand of
the big man, whose strength of character, they all
309

310 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
knew, had kept the other prisoners from giving way
to despair during those weary years.
"See, there are many persons on the veranda,"
said John. " We are nearly there now. And I'm
mighty glad, for I'm sore all over."
They swung into a bridle-path, then on to a sheU-
covered road, and drew rein near a flight of broad
steps, turning the horses over to a groom.
" Mother ! Carlotta ! " John had seen their faces
peering over the railing, and mounting three steps
at a time, he was soon by their side, and even as
they kissed him he commenced a qvdck recital of the
important events of the last two days.
"... Yes, and Alfred was hurt, but it is only
a trifle," he added hastUy, noticing that Carlotta had
turned pale. Then he looked around in amazement,
for a woman's voice that was strange to him asked :
" Who spoke of Alfred ? Has he arrived ? "
" John, you did not give me an opportunity. We
have news as well as you. Lady de Forest, this
is my son, John," and then, as another woman ap
peared, she said : " Lady Hope, we have heard from
Espirito Santo. One of my sons has arrived. He says
that everything has happened as they had expected."

A SURPRISE AT TIJUCA 811
She came very close to John, looked at him
intently, and said in low tones, " Is it true that my
boy Arthur is not dead ? "
And when John had assured her, she sank into a
chair, leaned her forehead on the arm, and with her
handkerchief tried to stifle the sobs that were born
of a sudden and great joy.
"These new friends arrived last evening," said
Mrs. Curtis, in an endeavor to lessen the strain.
But it was done more effectually by John, who re
membered that others were waiting, and called,
" Reginald ! I say, Reginald ! Come here ! "
The Honorable Billy then became the centre of the
excited group, and he soon found that even his flow
of language was insufficient to answer the ques
tions that were put to him from every side, so finally
he threw up both hands, exclaiming: "Please ask
a chap to have a bite to eat, won't you? It's a long
journey from Espirito Santo to Tijuca."
" Oh, how thoughtless ! Cousin, we have forgotten
Billy's appetite," and Lady Althea turned to enter
the hotel. Lady Jane laughed. She was herself
again, and jumping to her feet, she put her hand
on the Honorable Billy's shoulders.

312 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
They were walking along the veranda, in the direc
tion of the doorway, Carlotta and John somewhat in
advance, when Reginald suddenly stopped.
" How deucedly selfish ! " he exclaimed. " One
of the men who was rescued came all the way with
us and we have left him alone. He is on the steps
yonder." " Have him come in, Billy," said Lady Jane.
"I'll go fetch him," and he hurried from their
side. A moment later their heavy tread was heard.
Tall as Reginald was, he proved a half head shorter
than the stranger.
"Here they are. Now we are all together," the
lad was saying. " Mrs. Curtis, Lady de Forest, Lady
Hope, this is Mr. Sylves  "
He did not finish. The Englishwoman, who had
adopted him when a baby, stepped forward quickly,
placed her hands on the big man's coat as she looked
up in his face, then turning she said hysterically : —
" William Reginald Sylvester, this is your father."
They could hear the ripple of the brook that ran
through the jungle and nothing else, until the man
flung his arm over the boy's shoulder and the two

A SURPRISE AT TIJUCA 313
walked out into the night, and were lost to view
among the vine-strangled trees.
*******
By a court's decree the plantation Espirito Santo
was divided among the men who had been impris
oned by Senhor Cordero. Thus was returned to
them the money which had been taken, and they
were also given damages for their false imprison
ment. The amounts which were awarded were in
proportion to the years of durance.
What became of the planter after this judgment
had been passed no one clearly knew. No proceed
ings of a criminal nature were brought against him,
but the greatest punishment was that inflicted by a
civil tribunal, by which his vast fortune melted away.
*******
A house party on the Hudson, in the year 1903.
John Curtis is entertaining, and one of his guests
is Carlotta. They call her Lady de Forest over in
County Kent. America has lost a charming girl,
but has gained that broad-shouldered man, who
asks, " Has not Paquinta returned from her walk ? "
and then he opens a letter, addressed to Mr. Will
iam R. Sylvester, president L. & R. C. Railroad.

314 IN A BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
" I say," he asks, " has any one heard from Henry
recently ? "
" Yes," answers John. " He says that the crop on
Espirito Santo is larger than ever in its history."
"Hum!" exclaims the Hon. Billy. "I told the
others that he would make a better manager than
any one else they could select."

THE END

ADDENDA
That is not imagination, that story of Senhor
Cordero and his prisoners. Truth is stranger than
fiction, and one has only to visit Rio to hear of the
coffee planter who induced men of fortune to send
their sons into his employ, and then, when money
had been invested, caused them to disappear. But
they were not victims of imprisonment. They were
murdered. Days when this was possible, days when men
who were negroes could be bought and sold, have
passed. Brazil is to-day as safe a country to live
in as any other, and capital is as secure there as
in the United States.

316

Fitting Under
the Southern Cross.
.A Story of the Chile-Peruvian War.
BY
CLA UDE H. WETMORE.
335 pages. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50.

CONTAINING PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY
AND MAP OP CALLAO BAY

This is one of the best stories for boys that has been issued, and
with great pleasure we heartily recommend it. — Observer.
This story is full of thrilling interest and dramatic power. The
many picturesque descriptions give a real portrayal of the country
and its people. — Book News.
This volume is so real that one imagines he is in the centre of
action. This doubtless is due to the author's thorough acquaintance
with the customs and conditions of these countries. — St. Louis Star.
Just now when there are so many reminders of the differences
existing between the South American States, and while the influ
ence of the Pan-American Congress in Mexico is being so strongly
felt, this book is very timely. It is a very vivid picture of the war
between Chile and Peru in 1879, ^"d 3, portrayal of the customs and
manners of these states that is extremely interesting, and that throws
much light on present problems. — Christian Endeavor World.
The bitter war of conquest waged by Chile against Peru has never
been given any popular presentation until now. The author is a
traveler who has covered all of South America and was a resident of
Peru when the war broke out. His picture of that period is absorb
ingly interesting, and the promised sequel of this volume will be
awaited with great eagerness. — The Interior.
W. A. WILDE COMPANY, Boston and Chicago.

Incaland

A Story of Adventure in the interior of Peru
and the closing chapters of the War with Chile.
BY
CLAUDE H. WETMORE.
309 pp. Illustrated. izmo. Cloth, $1.50

CONTAINING PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY.

"The author is thoroughly acquainted with the history and
records of the far-famed land of the Incas, and the story is full
of interest historically as well as a work of excellent romance
and fiction." — Chronicle-Telegraph.
" Mr. Wetmore has shown in ' Incaland ' how that the Chile-
Peruvian V^ar was to the latter people a blessing in disgviise, aiid
how that, casting aside her antiquated systems, Peru introduced
many improvements, until she has to-day attained a most en
viable position among the South American republics. AU this
information the author has clothed in the attractive guise of a
stoiy, full of interesting and stirring accounts in which boys will
find great delight." — New York Examiner.
" ' Incaland' deals with the history and wonderful progress of
Peru subsequent to the War, and it overflows with historical in
terest, and, as it is in a most picturesque setting, it will surely
find a hearty welcome." — Christian Endeavor World.
" This volume is not only steeped in the Indian lore of the
past, but it embraces as well some of the stirring instances of the
Chile-Peruvian War, and any boy who has read this stirring nar
rative has unconsciously acquired not only familiarity with a
certain period in history, but with the manners and aspect of this
historic country. It is a ringing boys' story, full of interest and
enthusiasm." — Free Press, Milwaukee.
W. A, WILDE COMPANY, Boston and Chicago.

THE PRAIRIE
SCHOONER
A STORY OF THE BLACK HAWK WAR
By William E. Barton, D. D,
382pp. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.^0

_Dr. Barton has written of this period with great freshness ;
with an excellent descriptive style ; a pleasant way of saying
things, and with a grasp of the dramatic situations that makes
it a most capital story. — Post. ¥
From the first view of the white-covered prairie schooner
among the sand dunes of Michigan to the defeat of Black
Hawk at Apple River, 111., this story is full of life and
interest. — Christian Endeavor World.
¥
This volume is full of rich humor and fun and a strong
dash of excitement. Such a story as caters to a reader's
pleasure and information. It is to be commended for its
faithfulness as a rough historical picture of one of the liveliest
and most picturesque times in our history, and for its buoyant,
happy, elevating tone. — Boston Jmtrnal.
¥
Dr. Barton has here written a charming story of the Black
Hawk War. A number of personages made famous in after
time, includmg Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, appear
in this story, and many thrilling episodes and bits of genuine
romance are worked into the narrative. It is not only highly
entertaining, but instructive and wholesome. — The Times.
¥
This volume contains one of the most spirited stories for
boys which has ever been written, for the adventures and
scenes are much varied and the action moves swiftly, while
the dialogue is crisp and bright and helps to tell the story.
Its local color is very good, and, since this phase of the
settlement of the West seems to have been hitherto neglected,
the book will be very welcome. Then, too, the variety
of interest, the wholesomeness of the chief characters, the
historical significance, and the constant action in it will win
readers at once. — Boston Herald.

On The Frontier
With St. Clair
A Story of the Early Settlement of the Ohio Country
By Charles S. Wood
343 pp. Illustrated. Cloth, %i^0

A sound, instructive and exciting tale is this new book by
a most promising writer. — Boston Journal.
«)•
Mr. Wood has used his material in a most happy manner
in the weaving of a romance that will appeal to the heart of
every boy and give him at the same lime abundant informa
tion regarding the early struggles of his country. — H.xa miner.
This narrative is replete with action, snap and fervor and
commends itself at once to the general reader. Brought into
the story is romance, refined, delicate and done with a true
artistic touch. Even if for the educational value of the book
alone every young person should have a copy in his library.
— The Record.
This is a story with most picturesque local coloring drawn
from details handed down by a pioneer mother concerning
the eventful times of Ohio's first Governor, General Arthur
St. Clair. This book serves to awaken, as it was intended,
loyal sentiments and patriotic enthusiasm in the mind of
every reader. — Bookseller. >)»
The incidents presented in this story are not exaggerated,
yet they are strongly dramatic. It is an Indian story in its
best sense, and as such will hold the attention, while the his
torical details of St. Clair's disastrous campaign will impress
themselves in a lasting way upon the mind. The story is
clean-cut and a well written section of the history of one of
the most romantic periods of our national growth. — Rcconl-
Herald.

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