“Please let me try at something else,” pleaded Frank, and when another bird came in range the professor did so. The youth was now more careful and the bird came down like a stone. But it fell into the river and could not be secured.
The shooting lasted all of an hour and at the conclusion Professor Strong declared himself well satisfied with results. “No one is such a terribly bad shot,” he said. “And a little practice will do wonders, as you will soon learn.”
When the town of Bolivar was reached the boys were surprised to find it located on a bluff, sixty or seventy feet above the river level. It is a very ancient place and boasts of a fortress built by the Spaniards ages ago.
“The town is built so high up on account of the swelling of the stream during the wet season,” said Professor Strong. “When the rains are extra severe the river rises fifty and even sixty feet and often carries away large sections of plantations along its bank.”
“There seems to be plenty of shipping,” observed Mark. “There are ships here of a dozen nationalities.”
“Bolivar is the custom-house port for the whole of the Orinoco, which accounts for all those ships being here. The territory to be covered being so vast, an immense amount of business is done, amounting to millions of dollars annually. Gold is exported in large quantities. There are a dozen factories where cigars and stogies are made.”
They were soon ashore and climbing the hilly street to one of the hotels. It was a busy scene, and quite like New York, so Mark declared, on account of the various nationalities to be seen,—American and English miners, German shipping merchants, French and Italian shop and hotel keepers, and negro and other native workmen, all intermingling in the most friendly manner.
“Everybody seems to be smoking,” said Darry. “Negroes, priests, women and all. I never dreamed of such a sight. And some of those workmen haven’t clothing enough to be decent,” he added, in some disgust.
By inquiries at a shipping office it was learned that no steamer for up the river could be had until two days later. This would give them a chance to inspect the city buildings, the parks, and other points of interest.