Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 295: what you’re looking at

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286 Desklit gave a look at Riggles, and we joined Elna. “ It is so strange,” she said. “ I can- not find one of the blacks of my house. Even the women are gone. Here and there in the street I see dead men, black and white. There must have been a battle. But where are they all now?” * The thing is inexplicable at pres- ent,’ replied Desklit. “ When that sailor is ready to talk he may throw some light on the situation.” “ There is something now,” I said, as the distant sound of firearms came tous. “ There is still fighting. I sup- pose Pence has stampeded the Ame- zans, priests, laymen, black slaves and all.” | We found a gratifying meal spread on a mahogany table in Elna’s dining- room. It had been prepared by her own hands with Lottie’s help. We set to with energy, being more than half famished, and Gapo, with his great eyes rolling in ecstasy, put himself outside the best meal of his life—so he testi- fied. We felt like new men and women when we had eaten as much as Desklit declared was safe. We had been with- out food so long that to satisfy our hun- ger would mean to gorge ourselves, and that would be fatal. We were in a unique position. A few days before we had been prisoners threatened with death by the priests who ruled Ameza. Now, to all ap- pearances we had Ameza to ourselves. “Tam terribly anxious about my un- cle and his companions,” said Lottie. _ “Do you think, Elna, that the priests have killed them?” “It 1s quite possible, “though they had their minds well oc- cupied looking for us. It is probable that your uncle and his party were res- cued by the sailors, and have joined in the fight.” “It would be a great addition,” I re- marked, with a smile. ‘“‘ Not one of them knows how to shoot.” We returned to the temple, and found 33 replied Elna, - THE ARGOSY. Riggles awake and thirsty. Desklit gave him some cool water from a foun- tain that played near the temple, and the sailor sat up and stared at us as if we were apparitions. His face, pale before, now flushed. He timidly held out a bandaged hand and his eyes looked pleadingly into mine. ‘Oliver Keyburn,” he said, “we committed a crime against you that no man could forgive or forget. But I was powerless in the matter. There were a few among the crew—I was one of them, I swear—that objected to the evil course commanded by Pence and Huskway. But they had the majority with them and threatened to shoot all who rebelled. Revolting as the crime was, we could do nothing. Even had we raised objections we would not have saved you and the doctor, but would have lost our own lives. Thank God, you are alive. I] don't understand it. Not one man in a thousand would have come out alive after being left on that island.” God and fortune favored us,” I re- plied. ‘‘ But that is not the interesting thing now. What we want to know is what has happened here. We have been hiding in a cavern for three days, and when we left this place these priests were in control and very numerous. There were, so I understand, about two hundred of the white Amezans and a thousand black slaves. Now there are none to be seen save a few dead men in the streets.” “Tt is a short story,” said Riggles. “We ascended the Tapajos in boats we got at Santerem. We were camped on the trail leading from the river to this place when we were attacked. It was a strange sort of attack. There were about a dozen in the party, and they had no firearms. They seemed to have some kind of a drug that stupefied peo- ple. We kept a good guard, and about ten men were always awake. These people did not succeed in drugging all, and the alarm was given. bd GOH GOOO SS CO