“As you remarked, Rawlins, I would like to know where the other man is,” said Mr. Pauling, breaking the silence. “There’s a deep mystery here.”
“I’ll say there is!” assented the diver, “but the whole thing’s been one darned mystery after another, ever since the boys first heard those signals back in New York.”
“Yes and they’ve usually solved themselves as they arose,” Mr. Henderson reminded him. “But it looks as if this one would never be solved. I’m afraid the answer died with that chap back there in the bush.”
“And I’m afraid we’ll never set eyes on the chief of the rascally gang,” declared Mr. Pauling. “I expect he’s come to a violent end also.”
“What puzzles me,” said Mr. Thorne, “is why they left their plane and how they became separated. Of course, there’s a chance that they wrecked their machine in landing or that some accident happened to it later or perhaps they tried to fly away and came a cropper, but even then it seems natural that the men should have remained together.”
“Perhaps they were,” suggested Mr. Pauling. “Isn’t it possible that they were attacked and one was killed while the other escaped?”
“No, I hardly think so,” replied Mr. Thorne. “The avenger never attacks a victim openly--the very nature of his vengeance precludes that. His only weapon is a short club or his bare hands and he’d have no chance against a well-armed man and still less against two. No, he invariably sneaks upon his victim while the latter sleeps or is off his guard.”
“But are you sure that fellow was killed by a Kenaima?” asked Mr. Henderson. “Isn’t it possible they had a quarrel with the Indians and that he was struck down and his comrade taken prisoner or carried off wounded?”
The explorer shook his head. “There are no hostile Indians in Guiana,” he averred. “They are all peaceable and would never dream of quarreling with white men, no matter how great the provocation. Besides, there’s not the least doubt that he was the victim of Kenaima--the wooden spear through his body proves that--and there was no sign of a struggle. No, that man killed an Indian and thereby sealed his own doom. It’s quite possible that his companion was innocent and was not included in the Kenaima and hence was unharmed, but if so, where can he be?”
“I’ll bet old Red-whiskers deserted his bunkie and skipped off,” declared Rawlins. “Then he did up a Buck and got what was coming to him. Let’s beat it for the plane--maybe the Grand Panjandrum’s still over there waiting for his mate to come back.”