<h2 id="c8"><span class="small">CHAPTER VIII</span> <br/>A Traitor Strikes</h2>
<p>“Do not move—not one inch!”</p>
<p>Kamuka repeated that warning as the snake’s long
body slid slowly past. Whether or not the creature
was in search of other prey, to move would be to attract
it. Biff realized that from Kamuka’s tone as well
as his words.</p>
<p>Gradually, the sliding coils slackened speed. It was
Biff who spoke now, his own voice strained, but
low:</p>
<p>“It’s turning now, Kamuka. It may be coming
back.”</p>
<p>“Maybe, but stay still. One move, you are gone.”</p>
<p>Despite himself, Biff raised his head, only slightly,
but enough to look beyond the long, hoselike body
that was still gliding by. Aloud, Biff groaned:</p>
<p>“There is Luiz—coming straight toward us—”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div>
<p>Biff threw up his arms to ward off the great boa’s
tail as it lashed past. Looking up, he saw the snake’s
huge mouth yawning toward him. Biff shut his eyes,
thinking there was no hope now. Then a wild scream
came from just ahead.</p>
<p>Biff and Kamuka bobbed up from the grass and
saw what had happened. The anaconda, on the rove
for prey, had lashed out for the first moving thing
that approached it—Luiz. Caught in the snake’s coils,
the guide was shouting:</p>
<p>“Urubu! <i>Ajudo! Ajudo!</i>”</p>
<p>Urubu took one quick look and relayed the call
for help. Serbot and Pepito came from the tent, saw
what was happening, and dashed back for their guns.
Biff didn’t wait to watch what followed. He grabbed
Kamuka’s arm and exclaimed, “Let’s go!”</p>
<p>They went. Behind them, they heard a burst of
gunfire. Those first shots must have wounded the
anaconda or frightened it away, for the next volley
whistled through the foliage as Biff and Kamuka
dived into the jungle. The boys found their path and
raced along it until the shooting dwindled far behind
them.</p>
<p>Breathless, they slackened their pace to a walk and
talked over what had happened. In a worried tone,
Biff said:</p>
<p>“They must have seen us or they wouldn’t have
fired after us. I hope they didn’t know who we were.”</p>
<p>“More likely,” observed Kamuka seriously, “I
think they don’t know what we were.”</p>
<p>“You mean they mistook us for some jungle animals?”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_69">69</div>
<p>“Why not? We were gone quick—<i>pouf</i>! Maybe we
were gone quicker than <i>sucuria</i>.”</p>
<p>By “sucuria” Kamuka meant the anaconda. He was
referring to the giant water boa by its more popular
Brazilian name. Kamuka’s comment brought a smile
from Biff.</p>
<p>“I wonder if they shot the anaconda,” he speculated,
“or whether it managed to get away.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps Luiz will tell us,” rejoined Kamuka, grinning,
“when he gets back to our camp.”</p>
<p>“If Luiz ever gets back there at all!”</p>
<p>The boys lost no time in getting back to camp
themselves. There, they told Mr. Brewster and Mr.
Whitman all that had happened.</p>
<p>“Serbot must have learned a lot from somebody
down in Minas Geraes,” decided Mr. Brewster,
“though how, I can’t quite understand. I checked everyone
who had talked with Lew Kirby, and I felt
sure he had confided in me alone.”</p>
<p>“And how did Serbot hear about Joe Nara?” queried
Mr. Whitman. “There have been rumors of head-hunters
and abandoned rubber plantations off in the
jungle. But no talk of prospectors and gold mines—at
least none that reached me.”</p>
<p>“There were rumors farther up the river,” Biff’s
father said, “according to what Nara told us. When
Joe bought that cruiser and came down to Manaus,
he turned rumor into fact.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div>
<p>“Nara found out about us,” Hal Whitman pointed
out, “so why shouldn’t Serbot find out about Nara?
Or about us, for that matter? We know now where
the leak came. Through Urubu.”</p>
<p>Mr. Brewster weighed that statement, then slowly
shook his head.</p>
<p>“Urubu couldn’t have sent word to Serbot that
fast,” he declared, then, turning to Biff, he queried:
“You are sure Serbot told Luiz to find out what he
could about Nara?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” replied Biff, “and about the map, too.”</p>
<p>“Then it wasn’t Serbot’s man who stole the map,”
mused Mr. Brewster, “unless he wants that missing
corner that I still have. Or else—”</p>
<p>Mr. Brewster interrupted himself, as sounds of excitement
came from the bearers, who were busy
thatching palm leaves to form a shelter. Their babble
of dialect included the name “Luiz,” and a couple of
the bearers were running to help the guide as he came
limping into camp.</p>
<p>“Say nothing,” warned Mr. Brewster. “Just listen
to what Luiz has to tell us.”</p>
<p>Luiz had plenty to tell when they formed a sympathetic
group around him.</p>
<p>“I look for water hole,” Luiz told them, “and I
meet <i>una grande sucuria</i>—one big anaconda! He grab
me around my body, like this!”</p>
<p>Graphically, Luiz gestured to indicate how the
snake’s coils had encircled his body.</p>
<p>Biff and Kamuka kept straight, solemn faces as
Luiz continued.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_71">71</div>
<p>“I pull my gun quick!” Luiz thrust his hand deep
in his trouser pocket and brought out a small revolver.
“I fire quick, until the gun is empty.” He clicked the
trigger repeatedly; then broke open the revolver and
showed its empty chambers. “Still, anaconda hold
me, until I draw knife and stab him hard!”</p>
<p>From a sheath at the back of his belt, Luiz whipped
out a knife that looked far more formidable than his
puny gun. He gave fierce stabs at the imaginary anaconda,
his face gleaming with an ugly smile that was
more vicious than triumphant. Luiz looked like a small
edition of Urubu, whose ways he seemed to copy.</p>
<p>“Big snake go off into jungle,” added Luiz, wiggling
his hand ahead of him to indicate the anaconda’s
writhing course. “Hurt bad, I think. Maybe it is dead
by now. But the animals were still afraid of it. I hear
them run.”</p>
<p>His sharp eyes darted from Biff to Kamuka, but
neither boy changed expression. Clumsily, Luiz pocketed
the revolver with his left hand and thrust the
knife smoothly back into its sheath with his right.
He rubbed his side painfully, then beckoned to two of
the natives and said, “We go look for water hole
again.”</p>
<p>A short while later, the boys had a chance to exchange
comments while they were gathering palm
fronds for the shelter. After making sure that no one
else was nearby, Kamuka confided:</p>
<p>“Luiz had no gun at start of safari. Urubu must
have given gun to him.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_72">72</div>
<p>“To explain the shots if any of our party heard
them!” exclaimed Biff. “And did you see the way
Luiz looked at us when he mentioned scared animals?
Maybe they glimpsed us going into the brush.”</p>
<p>“Maybe,” agreed Kamuka. “I think they shoot anaconda,
or big <i>sucuria</i> would not let Luiz go so easy.”</p>
<p>“That’s another reason why Luiz claimed he shot
it,” added Biff. “We might come across the anaconda
and find the bullet marks.”</p>
<p>Shortly afterward, the boys found a chance to repeat
those opinions to Mr. Brewster, who added a few
points that they had overlooked.</p>
<p>“Luiz couldn’t possibly have brought the gun from
his pocket, as he claimed,” stated Mr. Brewster, “because
the snake was already coiled about his body.
For that matter, he could not have drawn his knife,
either.</p>
<p>“However, from the clumsy way he showed us the
gun and put it back in the wrong pocket, you could
tell he had never handled it before. In contrast, he
was smooth and quick with his knife, which is obviously
his customary weapon.”</p>
<p>One question still perplexed Biff.</p>
<p>“That other camp is a good way off, Dad,” Biff
said, “yet we heard the anvil strokes before we started
out. How come you didn’t hear the gunfire later?”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_73">73</div>
<p>“Urubu may have made the first strokes closer by,”
replied Mr. Brewster. “The anvil sound is also sharper
than a gunshot and should carry farther. That is probably
why they chose it as a signal. Kamuka did well
to detect it.”</p>
<p>That evening, Biff was glad there had been time to
build the thatched shelter, for a tropical dew had begun
to settle, almost as thick as a dripping rain. It was
less damp beneath the shelter, where Biff and Kamuka
had slung their hammocks.</p>
<p>Mr. Brewster, however, had inflated a rubber mattress
and had placed it near the fire, stating that he
would use a poncho to keep off the moisture. From
his hammock, Biff watched his dad arrange small logs
and palm stalks as spare fuel. As he closed his eyes,
Biff could hear his father talking to Luiz, who was
standing close by.</p>
<p>“I will watch the fire tonight,” announced Mr.
Brewster. “You have been hurt. You need rest more
than I do.”</p>
<p>“But, Senhor,” objected Luiz. “Suppose you fall
asleep—”</p>
<p>“I am sure to wake up at intervals. I always do.
But you must get some sleep, Luiz. We need you to
guide us to Piedra Del Cucuy. You are sure you know
the way?”</p>
<p>“Most certainly, Senhor. But it may take longer
than you expect.”</p>
<p>A pause—then Mr. Brewster asked bluntly,
“Why?”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_74">74</div>
<p>“Because the shortest way is not the best way,”
returned Luiz. “We might meet floods, or streams
where the piranha may attack us. They are very dangerous
fish, the piranha—”</p>
<p>“I know,” interrupted Mr. Brewster impatiently,
“but we have no time to waste.”</p>
<p>“You are meeting someone at Piedra Del Cucuy?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” replied Mr. Brewster. “A man named—”
He caught himself, then said in a blunt tone:</p>
<p>“I won’t know our plans until we get there. We
will continue on up the river. That is all that I can
tell you.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you have a map, Senhor?”</p>
<p>Biff opened his eyes at Luiz’s question. He saw his
father start to reach into his inside pocket, then bring
his hand out empty. Shaking his head, Mr. Brewster
said:</p>
<p>“No, I have no map. Go get some sleep, Luiz. You
will need it.”</p>
<p>Biff glimpsed Luiz’s face as the sneaky guide turned
from the firelight. Beneath the hatbrim, Luiz wore
that same ugly smile that showed his satisfaction. Obviously,
Luiz was planning his next move, probably
for tomorrow.</p>
<p>When it came, his father would be ready for it,
Biff felt sure. Soon Biff drifted into a fitful sleep from
which he awoke at intervals. Sometimes he heard the
crackle of the fire and decided that his father must
have thrown on a log and then gone back to sleep.
For, each time, Biff saw the figure of Mr. Brewster
covered by the rubber poncho, near the pile of logs
that had become much smaller during the night. It
must have been the fourth or fifth awakening, when
Biff saw someone move into the firelight’s flicker.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_75">75</div>
<p>It was Luiz. He crept forward. Crouched above
the quiet form, Luiz thrust his hand downward as if
to reach into the sleeper’s pocket.</p>
<p>The figure under the poncho seemed to stir. Luiz recoiled
quickly and sped his hand to his hip. Before Biff
could shout a warning, Luiz had whipped out his long
knife into sight and driven it straight down at the
helpless shape beneath him.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />