Adventure Magazine Cover — page 96: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a 94 trader men raise when I grab all the avail- able cargo space on that river steamer with our first shipment. Listen well; for the fleet is almost ready.” Which promise he kept within the month. - With a hundred and seventeen canoes he ' descended one day upon Santa Isabel and piled his cargo into ‘tthe old rubber shed. And nobody knew anything about his prepa- rations; for the port, between steamer visits, is but an empty landing stage. and nobody is there but the half-breed with his family who keeps the adobe hut which he magnifi- cently calls the hotel. _ The Pelloroxo wasted no time; but made the shed his home like a true river man by linging his hammock between two posts, and quickly despatched his fleet to bring down another load. Six cargoes he:brought in all; and when the steamer finally wheezed up to the landing stage he sat ready. He went on board and greeted the captain. “Hola, mio Capiiéo. A quick return voyage for you this time; for I have a cargo ‘all prepared for you.” The captain was not one to forget. He offered no open hostility; but he growled that he would carry no cargo for the gringo. The latter laughed easily. “But surely, my Commandante. I have been on the river now for many months and I have learned many of the river ways. I know the rules of the Companha. You must take the first cargo that comes.” As indeed was the fact. For there used to be much wrangling, and not a little blood letting, among those castanha gatherers over Whose cargo should be given preference when the boat was full. On one occasion, between the lot of them, they contrived in their rioting to set fire to the boat. So the Companha instituted a rule of first come, first served—and saved, incidentally, many days delay thereby. Though, as I have said, delay was plenty enough; for nothing could take away from those indolent fellows the hope that cargo space would not still be available after four or five days. The rule, of course, was absolute, and the captain was compelled to recognize it. He glowered at the complacent gringo for a mo- ment and then thought better of it and shrugged. He admitted the rule and said that, bom, he would be ready to begin load- ing cargo as soon as he should have done this thing and that thing connected with the management of his ship. But his eyes Adventure roved far up the stretches, of the river-and down again as he spoke. ‘The Pelloroxo laughed again. In truth, tact was one thing that he very certainly had not learned. He might have gained his point with more circumspection. But he told the captain: “No no, mio Capitdo. I am no longer so much of a fool as I used to be. I know very well that if a single bateldo should come alongside in the interval you would proceed to unload that one, and then another and then any others that might keep arriving; and you would claim that you took them in rotation. By no means am I such a fool. No, you will give me just one tally clerk, and my own Indians will load into your hold.” At this all the ferocity of the captain’s nature blazed forth; and for a long half minute—so the Araujo agent who witnessed it, told me—he thought that violence would ensue; and he made for the shelter of his cabin storeroom. But it turned out as I had prophesied. The captain had very evi- dently heard the tale of that shooting— doubtless exaggerated in order that the teller’s own honor might not be lowered. So his rage passed no farther than his eyes. The fire died in them and he covered their confusion with the lids. Then he shrugged and turned to spit over the rail. That was all. “T thank you, mio Capitaio,”’ said the Pel- loroxo. And he went to the lower deck and gave his orders to the tally clerk. High-handed no doubt. But, as he told me himself later, it was urgently necessary; for his canoe men had told him as long as two days back that one of the casianha padrios was waiting at his si#io but half a day’s journey up river with three bateldos and some dozen canoes, taking things easy till he might come down and meet all his friends for the pleasant monthly carouse. And within the same day he came; and on his heels others began to drift in from up- river and down-river with their baieldos and canoes; and the howl of dismay which went up when they found that all the available cargo space was taken was an ational calam- ity. They appealed to the captain to give them at least the half of the space; to apportion it out according to each man’s offering; and they suggested absurdly that their own men would unload the cargo that was already stowed without expense or delay. Gomicbooks.com