But hardly a day now passed that he had not a stream of some kind to cross, and wandering by its banks seeking for a ford delayed him considerably.
He was journeying thus one morning when the sound of human voices not far off made him creep quickly into the jungle.
The men did not take long to put in an appearance.
A portion of some wandering, hunting, or looting tribe they were, and cut-throat looking scoundrels everyone of them--five in all.
They were armed with bows and arrows and with spears. Their arrows, Benee could see, were tipped with flint, and the flint was doubtless poisoned. They carried also slings and broad knives in their belts of skin. The slings are used in warfare, but they are also used by shepherds--monsters who, like many in this country, know not the meaning of the words "mercy to dumb animals"--on their poor sheep.
These fellows, who now lay down to rest and to eat, much to Benee's disgust, not to say dismay, were probably a party of llama (pronounced yahmah) herds or shepherds who had, after cutting their master's throat, banded together and taken to this roving life.
So thought Benee, at all events, for he could see many articles of European dress, such as dainty scarves of silk, lace handkerchiefs, &c., as well as brooches, huddled over their own clothing, and one fierce-looking fellow pulled out a gold watch and pretended to look at the time.
So angry was Benee that his savage nature got uppermost, and he handled his huge revolvers in a nervous way that showed his anxiety to open fire and spoil the cut-throats' dinner. But he restrained himself for the time being.
In addition to the two revolvers, Benee carried the repeating rifle. It was the fear of spoiling his ammunition that led to his being in this dreadful fix. But for his cartridges he could have swum the river with the speed of a gar-fish.
What a long, long time they stayed, and how very leisurely they munched and fed!