Soon the white foam of the rapids showed ahead. Biff steered for what looked like the main channel, and the monteria was swept into a series of whirlpools that licked the sides of jutting black rocks. The contrast in color helped Kamuka ward off those obstacles, while Biff did some fancy piloting to keep to the channel.
Then, as Biff veered from a new hazard in the shape of a sandbank, he saw what he had feared most. Human figures rose from the tall grass beyond the sandy shoal and aimed rifles directly at the swift-moving boat and the boys who manned it.
They were Serbot’s reserves, Biff realized, stationed here to block the flotilla if it came down the rapids, and Biff was sure he saw the gleaming face of Urubu in the midst of the group. Urubu was finding it an easy task with only a single monteria coming his way. He waved his hand as a signal to fire.
As the rifles barked, Biff gunned the motor, adding enough speed to carry the boat from the path of fire. But Urubu’s crew was aiming again, this time at point-blank range. Fortunately their fire never came. The tall grass stirred behind them, and from it sprang Igo, Ubi, and the rest of Nara’s Indians.
The Wai Wais had been stalking Urubu’s riflemen to the edge of the sandbank. The first blast of gunfire had given away the position of Urubu’s men. Now, the Wai Wais were engulfing them like a human tidal wave, while Biff and Kamuka resumed their battle with the rapids, keeping the big, clumsy boat clear of the rocks and sand.
Finally, the water subsided, and they were chugging peacefully down the river past the little settlement of Puerto Carreno and a great jutting point of sand where the Meta River flowed in from the left to join the Orinoco.
Kamuka waved his paddle and pointed ahead. Moored well away from the channel was a sleek white craft that could only be Mr. Stannart’s yacht, the Coronet. Though small, it had a trim build that marked it seaworthy, capable of braving the Caribbean, yet also suited to river travel.
Smiling men in trim uniforms appeared on deck as Biff maneuvered the monteria alongside the yacht. The boys made their boat fast and clambered up a rope ladder to find Mr. Stannart coming from his cabin to greet them. Biff introduced Kamuka, then started to pour out his story in one breath:
“Dad’s upriver in a lot of trouble. Old Joe Nara is somewhere along the rapids. But we’ve brought the gold ore from the mine, down there in the boat—”
Mr. Stannart smilingly interrupted with a wave toward the cabin as he suggested: