White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1916-06-11

nSn- ttrf EH NgtH nt Tate4 Et4H
1t was at Pan also that we engaged
Gomez and Manuel, two half breeds
from mp the river. Just come down
with a cargo of redwood. They were
swarthy fellows. bearded and fierce. as
active and wiry as p~anthers. Both Of
them had spent their lives In those
upper waters OF the Amazon which
we were about TO explore. and 1t was
this recommendation which had caused
Lord John TO. engage them. One Of
them, Gomez. had the further adyan-
tage that he could. speak excellent
English. These men were willing to
act as our personal servants, to cook.
to row or to make themselves useful
In any way at a payment of SIS a
month"; Besides these. we had rengagSs
ed three Mojo Indians from Bolivia,
who are the most skillfuI at fishing
and boat work of all the river tribes.
The chief of these we called Mojo,
after his tribe, and the others are
known as Jose and Fernando. Three
white men. then. two half. breeds. M
negro and three Indians made up the
DtI Soiiliti W lAt hlllt AkF~altlbl NAltn
lay waiting for its instructions at
Manaos before starting upon its singu.
lar quest.
AT last, after a weary week, the day
had come and the hour. I ask you to
picture the shaded sitting room Of the
Fazenda St Ignatio. two miles inland
from the town of Manaos. Outside lay
the yellow, brassy glare of the SUM-
shine. with the shadows Of the, palm
trees as black and definite as the trees
themselves. The air was calm. full Of
the eternal hum OF insects, a tropical
chorus of many o~ctaves, from the
deep drone of the bee to the high,
keen pipe of the mosquito. : Beyond
the veranda was a small cleared gar
den, bounded with cactus hedges and
adorned with clumps of towering
shrubs. round which the great blue
butterflies and the tiny humming
birds futtered and darted IN ~crescents
OF sparkling light. Within we were
seated round the cane table. on which
lay a sealed envelope. Inscribed upon
II In the jagged handwriting of Pro
fessor Challenger were the words:
Instructions to Lord John Roxton and
party. To be opened at Manaos upon July
Is. at II o'clock precisely.
Lord John had placed his watch upon
the table beside him.
I'VE have seven more minutes" said
he. THE old lear Is very precise"
Professor Summarize gave an acid
smile as he picked up the envelope In
his gaunt hand.
what can it possibly matter wheth.
er We open 1t o or In seven min
utes?' said he. at is all part and
parcel of the same system of quackery
and nonsense for which l regret to
say that the writer is notorious"
"Oh. come! We must play the game
accordin' to rules said Lord John.
Its old man Challenger's show. and
we are here by his good will. so 1t
would be quite bad form If we didn't
follow his instructions to the letter"
"a pretty business it is" cried the
professor bitterly. ut struck me as
preposterous in London, but I'm bound
to say that it seems ever more so upon
tiONti dtIhdlltlAiitts wi hhVN
what is inside this envelope: but. I'M
less it Is something pretty definite, |
shall be much tempted 10 take the
mex down river boat and catch the
Bolivia at Para. After all, | have
some more responsible work in the
world than to run about disproving
the assertions of n lunatic. Now, Rox-
ton. surely 1t is time"
Thine 1t is" said Lord John. You
can blow the whistle" He took up
the envelope and cut 1t with his pen
knife. From IL he drew a folded sheet
of paper. This he carefully opened
out and fattened OH the table. 1t was
a blank sheet. He turned 1t over.
Again It was blank. We looked at
each other In a b%ewildered silence.