Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1889-09-27
CUT OFF.

river. The vessel and party had !ef
Para. a. the mouth Of a branch q tha
Amazon. nearly . month before, and
had steamed up as far as the junction Of
The MADEIRA there taking a ~southerly
oOurss a. far rs Balsamaco
After leaving the latter town they had
turned into . aide stream and before long
were inextricably mixed up in the net
work Of creeks and small rivers which
sruss and recross themselves In southern
Brazil
The leader Of the party and owner Of
tho launch lay stretched out on the deck
with Q small rife In his hands, occasion
ally shooting at some bright plumaged
bird flying overhead or at a lazy reptile
oo1ed IN the branches Of 4 tree on shore.
Jack, " he said presently, to the yOung
man who sat In the pilot house and with
SaES Ekill kept the vessel clear Of the In
numsrabls legs In the river. where ale
va nOwf"
Ell don't know" replied Jack. Where
q BuDcO1 Hes the only person who has
over been known to leave these parts
alive"
A shout from the young pilot brought
2nnco into vieW--a tall, thin, swarthy
man, with . c~ountenance that would
have made his fortune a the leading
villain In a drama Of the lurid type. But
fn'spito Of his looks and chronic indis-
position TO work he was good natured
and intelligent, and Of valuable service
20 the party. Jack had christened him
Bunco, as the name most closely resem-
bling that which be had given at their
Arst meeting.
II dunno whaF we is." he said in reply
% the pilots question "Hit's mighty
queer. TOO. for I hat been yere befo'."
he looked ~nervOusly toward shore a.
Ne continued;
"Hit amt fur from Balsamaco Il Inca,
reckon, an Of once we git thar we are
guEe ter run into Their natives. They're
thick right arOun' hyer, an savager'n all
saSnattOn."
ThS captain Of the craft arose and
stood 81 Bunco's side.
'CAn you tell Us how TO reach the
MADEIRA again he asked. "This must
b Ons Of the branches to it-possibly the
ouAjArA"
''Thst's jest whut I'm afeard Of" said
BanoO, shading his eyes with one hand
and peeriog ahead. IAN ef hit is,
wS'rO Sgoin' tor run right in ther Inca
country"
"And Ehe natives there, you say. are
savagsT
The colored man nodded.
They're Wusser than in any Other
part Of Brazil"
The conversation was interrupted by
the appearance of two young men, one
about the same age as Jack and the
other a few years older.
"Bn Is going to strike" said one Of
them, with a laugh. Hes got nearly
all his clothing off now, but he says til
hot enough down in the engine room tc
hroil a steak. He wants to know when
you arc going back"
Were going to turn around present
ly," replied the person addressed. ave
why, Bunco, there's a house."
The whole party followed with theil
eyes the direction Of the captains out
stretched arm, and saw through the foil
g the matched roof Of a native hut
Jack turned the vessel towards shore anc
rang the signal in the engine room t
shut off steam.
In a few minutes they had reached dr.
land and were h%urrying in the direction
OF the building, leaving Bill to moor tn,
launch and follow them later.
The party consisted of an English gen
tleman named Robert Etynge, his tw,
sons, George and Russell; Jack Camp
bell, a young American, and Bill an,
Bunco, engineer, fireman, deck hand an,
steward, in turn. They were on q sil
months pleasure trip through Soutl
America
The house, which they discovered 4
the center Of a cleared space Of grounI
near the river side. wa a well built strucl
ure. contain ling one large and one SINAI
room with the single entrance in the sid
Of the former. II had evidently beel
lately inhabited. for a large supply o
grain. dried meats and vegetables wa
stored within. and apple e wood alread,
cut for fuel lay ready az hano.
The party proceeded at once 10 inspec
the cabin, TO see what sort Of a place
would be to spend the night in Thei
quarters In the vessel were 81 crampeI
that whenever It was practicable the
had slept In a tent on shore or in a ten
porarily deserted hut like the present one
Il guess we'd better stay here for tn
night, said Mr.. Etynge. 1.-THE buildin
IL a stout one and proof against bot
wild beasts and wild men. Suppose
couple Of you youngsters go down to th
boat and get some bedding"
Jack and Russell stepped 70 the door
but drew back suddenly, the forme
reckoning 70 the captain as he did 90.
There's q crowd Of natives comm
this way, he whispered Look throug.
the window while we bar the door,"
Mr.. Etynge sprang to the small win
dow and glanced towards q body Of me
rapidly advancing In the direction Of III
cabin. They were within gunshot befor
catching sight Of the house, then the
fell back. ~concealing Themselves benin
some trees and bushes. and iabbertn
away like an army Of monkeys
"Wen," said Russell. a. be and JAG