“You were,” returned Nara. “That stuff you inhaled is a secret Indian brew that acts like chloroform. Gives you an appetite, though, when you do wake up.”
“And just why,” asked Mr. Brewster dryly, “did you happen to try the stuff out on us?”
“I’ll tell you why,” asserted Nara. “Every now and then, I come down from the mine with Igo and Ubi to buy supplies. Whatever I buy, I pay for with these.”
From his pocket, Nara brought some small nuggets of pure gold which clinked heavily when he trickled them from one hand to the other.
“People have been trying to trail me back up to the mine,” continued Nara, “so I bought this boat, the Xanadu, from a rubber outfit that had gone broke. I decided to come downriver to see who was spying on me. Before I even got to Santa Isabel, I saw a crew unloading supplies at an old abandoned camp.”
“Whitman’s crew!” exclaimed Mr. Brewster. “I sent them up the Rio Negro to wait for me, so I could start on a safari to find your mine.”
Nara gave an understanding chuckle.
“I had Igo and Ubi talk to the natives,” Nara said. “They learned that the expedition had started from a boathouse outside of Manaus. So I came all the way down the river to look into it. We were watching the boathouse when you came along.”
“So you thought we were enemies—”
“Not exactly enemies,” corrected Nara. “Just suspicious characters. After Igo and Ubi grabbed you, I decided to bring you along. Now that you’ve explained yourselves, I’ll turn around and take you back down to Manaus if you want.”