Old Gold Part 27

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

A FALSE ALARM.

"It's my opinion," said Captain Banes, "that when the sun goes down a breeze will spring up; and I mean to get as far up as I can before it is too dark to see, for the sooner we're out of this neighbourhood the better."

"Do you think there's a village of these people near?" asked Brace.

"Oh, no; there may be a few huts with the wives and children close at hand, but so far as I know there are only a few of them here and there up the rivers leading a hunting and fis.h.i.+ng life."

But the captain's prophecy was not fulfilled. There was a little ripple on the water for a few minutes after sundown, but not enough breeze to fill out a sail, and the darkness came on with the brig swinging easily by the creaking cable, which ground and fretted in the hawse-holes.

"Now, squire," said the captain, turning to Brace, "how's it going to be? Shall we be all right here at anchor, or will those chaps who got ash.o.r.e hunt up all their friends and come off in canoes when it's dark, to kill us and sack the brig?"

"I'm not experienced enough to say," replied Brace, smiling. "What do you think?"

"I think I don't know, my lad: it's as likely to be one way as the other. What do you say to dividing the crew and pa.s.sengers into two watches, all well armed and ready for the worst? One watch on deck, the other below, just lying down in our clothes with a rifle for a bedfellow, ready to run up at the first call."

"I should say it would be very wise," said Brace, "and I think we had better do it."

"But there's another way, my lad: suppose we up anchor and drop down with the stream for a few miles before letting go again."

"I don't like going backward," said Brace, "and we might be getting into a worse place."

"Out of the frying-pan into the fire, eh? Right: so we'll stop here and be fried."

The division was made, and soon after dark Brace found himself keeping a sharp look-out on deck in company with Briscoe and part of the crew, the captain taking the first watch, while the first and second mates were below with half the men, ready to rush up at the first summons.

This plan was quite in accordance with Brace's wishes, for it enabled him to keep stealing down to his brother's berth, and after these visits he would return on deck better satisfied, for the patient was still sleeping heavily, and there was not a symptom visible that could cause alarm.

The captain was also of this opinion, he informed Brace, as the young man took a turn or two with him up and down the deck.

"You've nothing to fidget about, squire. That arrow was poisoned, sure enough; but what you did, and the bleeding, washed all the bad stuff away, and the wound will begin to heal up at once. There, you go and use your eyes in all directions, my lad. I want to think."

The dismissal was imperative, and after sweeping the edge of the forest and gazing for a long time up and down the river again and again with his gla.s.s, Brace stopped beside the American, who was seated on the bulwark with one arm holding on by the shrouds and his rifle across his knees, silent and watchful in the extreme.

"Seen anything?" whispered Brace.

"A few fireflies; and I've heard a splash or two: that's all," was the reply.

"Think we shall be attacked to-night?"

"Likely enough. If we are it will be by canoes dropping down from that projecting part of the bank yonder. The enemy will come upon us quietly in the darkness, and we shall only know they are here when they begin swarming over the side."

"And then?" said Brace, as he stood with his eyes fixed upon the dimly-seen point a hundred yards above, where a faint spark of light glimmered out from time to time as if a party of savages were gathered there, and were pa.s.sing the time in smoking before the attack was made.

"Well, then," said Briscoe coolly, "we shall have to shoot some, and knock the rest back into their canoes or the river, I suppose."

"That sounds pleasant," said Brace.

"Yes, but we must take the rough with the smooth. One can't expect everything to go right. But don't let's meet trouble half-way. Just as likely as not we may go on for a month now and see no more of the enemy.

I wonder whether this river leads up to the old golden city."

"Which old golden city are you speaking of?" asked Brace wonderingly.

"The old one the Spaniards and the early English voyagers were always seeking."

"But that was only an old fable."

"I don't know," said Briscoe thoughtfully. "They had it, I suppose, from native reports, and they never found it."

"Of course not. It _was_ only a travellers' tale."

"Perhaps so, but the wealth of Mexico and of Peru did not turn out to be a travellers' tale."

"Well, no," said Brace slowly.

"And there is plenty of room out here in the mountains or beyond the forest for such a golden city."

"Oh, yes, plenty of room," said Brace.

"There is gold in the upper waters of the rivers, for I have found it.

We shall find some in this, I'll be bound--some day when we've sailed up as far as we can, and then pushed on up the shallows in a boat right away towards the mountains."

"What mountains?" asked Brace.

"The unexplored mountains from which these great rivers spring."

"Unexplored?"

"Certainly. Travellers have been pretty well everywhere in other countries, but there are vast tracts here in Central South America that have never been tapped as yet by explorers. Who knows what we may find?"

"Ah, who knows? Well, we shall see."

"If only our health holds out and the winds favour us till we have sailed up into the higher regions. What would help us most are floods to give us plenty of deep water."

"Are we likely to get floods?"

"Plenty. Every storm in the mountains swells these rivers, and if the wind will blow well from the sea we can get up a tremendous distance, for we shall have plenty of deep water."

"But you want, like us, to try and collect plenty of fresh natural-history objects, don't you?"

"Of course."

"You don't dream of discovering any old golden city, as you call it?"

"Not in the least; but if we do come upon traces of any old civilisation during our voyage we shall not pa.s.s it by without examining it as far as we can. What's the matter?"