And so the boys leisurely proceeded up the Amazon, stopping to fish, to hunt turtle eggs, to watch the monkeys climbing the great trees, to hunt the black tiger in the thickets and the alligators in the rivers. They frequently spoke with traders on the river, and now and then heard news from Chicago.
At last, along about the middle of September, they came to Tabatinga, where the Amazon enters Ecuador. Here they secured additional supplies of gasoline and such provisions as they would need and made a few repairs to the boat. The upper Amazon country is never very “dry,” as storms are likely to come on at any time during the early fall, so the boys set up a little stove in the cabin and made ready for the days of slow rain and wind which might come on.
From the time of leaving Marajo island they had not seen or heard of the Señorita, and the boys, all save Frank, were flattering themselves that the pursuit had ceased. They had passed, and been passed, by many steamers on the river, but none of them resembled the little vessel they had first seen on the South Branch. But at Tabatinga their dream of being free from pursuit by Frank’s enemies vanished.
CHAPTER XVIII.—JUST AHEAD OF A MOB
The Rambler lay in front of Tabatinga, ready to take to the reaches of the upper river, one morning, when Jule called Clay’s attention to a small steamer, painted a silver gray, which was steaming into a crude slip not far away.
“That boat looks familiar,” the boy said. “How many times have we passed her on the way up?”
Clay viewed the boat critically and then went for his glass. Frank had heard the question, seen Clay take the glass from the hook on the wall of the cabin, and followed to the side of the boat. Clay looked long at the steamer and then handed the glass to Frank.
“What do you make of her?” he asked.
“Which way did she come from?” asked the boy, placing the glass in position.
“Up river,” answered Jule, at an inquiring glance from Clay.