by James Otis
CHAPTER XI.
THE JOURNEY.
The boys and Jake had no preparations to make for the journey. The goodsthey had brought from the coast was their only property, and couldreadily be carried as during the tramp to this point.
On the contrary, Cummings found many things which it was necessaryshould be done before departure. Whether successful in the attempt toreach the marvelous city or not, he could hardly hope to return to thehut where all his preparations had been made, and there was much to bedone.
After ascertaining that his guests were willing to accompany him he madearrangements for their comfort during the night, and then, excusinghimself on the plea of work, was seen no more until the time fordeparture had come.
Of the three castaways Neal was the only one who had any misgivingsregarding the proposed detour. It seemed to him as if he was in some wayabandoning his father by embarking in this enterprise, although howanything more could be done to aid those who had taken refuge in theboats was beyond his comprehension.
This much was clear in his mind, however: He had agreed to aid in theattempt, and when Cummings awakened the little party he arose quickly,firmly resolved to do everything in his power to reach the city which,as yet, he was not thoroughly convinced existed.
It was still dark when the final preparations for the journey werebegun, and Cummings' impatience was so great that the sun had but justshown himself above the horizon when the morning meal had been eaten,and their host was urging them to make haste.
"We must be at the rendezvous not later than this afternoon in order toavoid the chance of passing Poyor on the way," he said impatiently,"therefore the sooner we start the better."
"We are ready," Jake replied, and, after setting the fowls loose,Cummings led the way through the underbrush, finding a path where theothers would not have believed any existed.
As if to prevent the boys from losing their interest in the search forthe Silver City, their guide continued to add to the story he hadalready told, and during the long march but little else was talkedabout.
Jake who was as excited as a man well could be, for he had no doubt butthat they could find large quantities of treasure where there would beno difficulties in the matter of carrying it away, plied Cummings withquestions whenever the conversation lagged, and Neal had but littleopportunity to speculate upon the fate of his father.
Not until late in the night, when to Neal and Teddy it seemed as if theycould go no further, did the party halt, and during the last hour of themarch the utmost silence was maintained.
"It is absolutely necessary to avoid detection in case any of theIndians may be in the vicinity," Cummings had said, "and we must move asstealthily as if we knew positively they were waiting for us."
From that time no one spoke. The guide crept on at a slow pace, hisevery movement copied by the remainder of the party, and on arriving atthe rendezvous he motioned the others to lie down, whispering as theygathered around him:
"We are near the canoe, and it only remains to watch for Poyor, whoshould be here by morning. I'll stand guard while the others sleep."
There was no thought of putting up anything in the shape of a shelter,and the boys stretched themselves on the ground in the midst of a thickclump of vegetation, Teddy whispering to Neal:
"If it is necessary to take such precautions as these before we are nearthe city, we may expect pretty rough times before arriving at theplace."
"That's a fact, and I begin to wish we hadn't started. There is nopositive assurance we shall get through in time to take the next steamerfor home, and even Cummings himself can't say whether any of us willever come back."
"Do you want to give up the job now?"
"I'd be ashamed to do that, for it would look as if we were afraid; butI'm sorry we agreed to the plan;" and Teddy replied heartily:
"So am I."
Jake had nothing to say; but whether his silence was caused by a desireto obey Cummings' instructions to avoid making a noise, or by misgivingsas to the wisdom of the venture, neither of the boys could guess.
Despite the anxiety of the younger members of the party they soon fellasleep, owing to excessive fatigue, and did not arouse to consciousnessuntil Jake whispered as he shook them vigorously:
"It's time to start. The Indian has come, an' ain't half as bad alookin' man as I counted on seeing."
The boys sprang to their feet, finding themselves face to face with atall, half naked figure which, in the dim light, looked more like astatue of bronze than a human being. He stood scrutinizing them keenlyfor fully a minute, and then, as if satisfied with their appearance,turned away to walk swiftly along the edge of the swamp until lost toview in the darkness.
"Poyor has just arrived," Cummings said by way of explanation; "andaccording to his belief it is well for us to start at once."
"Where has he gone?" Teddy asked.
"After the canoe; it is but a short distance from here."
"Don't you dare to cook breakfast?"
"Certainly not; the light of a fire would be worse, for us, than thereport of a gun. Until we arrive at the Silver City it will be a case ofeating cold food, and perhaps we may be obliged to wait even longer thanthat before having anything very elaborate in the way of a meal."
"If we are only certain of coming back again where it is possible to doas we please, I won't grumble about what we are obliged to eat," Nealsaid, with a nervous laugh.
"Don't borrow trouble," Cummings replied quickly; but both the boysnoticed that he no longer spoke in the same confident tone as before thejourney was begun. "We shall surely get through without difficulty."
The conversation was interrupted by the approach of Poyor, who came downthe water-way in the canoe more like a ghost than a creature of fleshand blood, and Jake, whose head had been turned in the other direction,could not suppress a slight exclamation of surprise as the Indiansuddenly appeared by his side.
The canoe which had been brought thus silently was simply the trunk of atree hollowed out, and about fifteen feet in length. It yet restedlightly on the water when the entire party and all the traps were onboard, and the boys noticed with no slight degree of astonishment, thatone stroke of the paddle was sufficient to send it sharply in eitherdirection.
"Now you have a chance to finish your nap," Cummings whispered as,kneeling aft, he began to assist Poyor in propelling the craft.
"Don't you want us to help?" Teddy asked.
"No, there will be nothing you can do until we enter the Silver City."
Tired though the boys were it was literally impossible to close theireyes in slumber now, and they remained very wide awake watching thecoming of a new day.
When the sun had risen they could get some slight idea of the countrythrough which they were passing; but of what might be a few yardsbeyond no one could say.
The shores of this particular water-way through the swamp were flat,covered with reeds and long grass, with here and there dense tangles oftrees and vines, and the channel was so narrow that only at rareintervals could the paddles be used. The Indian and the white man pushedthe boat from one bend to another, oftentimes finding it difficult topass the sharp curves, and the boys confidently expected this laborwould be continued during the entire day, therefore their surprise wasgreat when, about an hour after sunrise, the little craft was forcedunder a clump of overhanging foliage as if the journey was at an end.
"What is the matter?" Neal asked in a whisper, and Cummings replied inthe same cautious tone:
"Nothing. It would be in the highest degree dangerous to travel very farnow that it is light."
"How long are we to stay here?"
"Until the darkness comes again."
"Wouldn't it be safe to go on the bank where we can stretch our legs?"
"We must not leave the boat. It will be only for a few hours, and thenwe shall have plenty of exercise paddling."
Immediately the canoe had been made fast under the mass of vines andshrubbery Poyor stretched himself
out in the bow as if the task ofremaining perfectly quiet during an entire day was a very agreeable one,and Cummings followed his example.
Jake, who had been sitting amidships, moved toward his friends, and thethree spent an hour talking of what was now termed by all "a foolishventure."
There was nothing left for it, however, but to continue on since theywere in the swamp, and after a time Neal said petulantly:
"Well make the best of it, and if an opportunity should occur to go toMerida there must be no hesitation, whatever Cummings may say."
As if this resolution gave them renewed courage, the boys lay down inthe most comfortable position possible, after eating a light lunch, anduntil nightfall no sound save that caused by heavy breathing could havebeen heard from the boat.
Then, when darkness came again, Poyor, who had remained almost withoutmotion during the entire time of the halt, aroused himself, ate half adozen bananas, and took up the paddle.
The precautions against being discovered by those who might be on thewatch were now redoubled. Before rounding a bend the Indian waited in alistening attitude to assure himself no one was moving in the immediatevicinity, and when it became necessary to work the canoe along by aid ofthe foliage the utmost care was exercised to prevent the branches fromrustling.
As the hours wore on and no attack was made Cummings appeared to behighly elated, and Jake's gloomy forebodings were dispelled in thethought of the treasure which they might be able to bring away.
Once, about midnight, when they halted a moment for Poyor toreconnoiter, Neal whispered to the leader:
"How many nights of this kind of traveling is necessary before we reachthe city?"
"When we next halt it will be to leave the boat and continue the journeyon foot. It was the possible difficulties, not the distance, whichrendered the undertaking formidable."
The Indian returned, stepped into the canoe without speaking, and tookup the paddle as if to say there was nothing to prevent them from goingahead.
From this time until faint streaks of light caused by the approach ofthe sun could be seen in the sky there was no lengthy interruption tothe advance, and then as the boat was pulled out of the channel into asort of basin or break of the bank which led among the more denseportions of the forests, Cummings said to Neal:
"In two hours you shall have a full view of the Silver City, and thenthere can be no doubt as to the truth of what I have told you."
