"Which of 'em hasn't!" said the Chief grimly. "I don't trust any of these Venezuelans beyond eyeshot. Well, he's had his trouble for nothing. There's no camp left, and we'll take care to arrange things differently now. Get a gang to move the safe, there's a good fellow: hanged if it isn't about the only thing left standing."
The safe was conveyed on trolleys to another part of the enclosure, and the Chief's tent was reerected around it. During the next few days he watched the native foremen narrowly, but saw nothing to lead him to suspect any one of them to be the traitor. They appeared indeed to be in good spirits over the news which had just come in through Antonio de Mello, who visited the camp one day and reported that the Government had made some progress in stamping out the revolt in Valencia. Free from danger in that quarter, it might be expected that the Government troops would soon be at liberty to deal with the outbreak in Guayana; and if General Carabaño had not succeeded in capturing Bolivar before there was a movement against him, his chance of ultimate success was very small. De Mello confirmed Azito's information as to the General's lack of money, which was the strongest weapon the Government possessed.
Sangrado, the foreman whom Will had mentioned, declared that the rebuff Captain Espejo had suffered would prove to be the ruin of the revolution. It had not merely deprived the General of the sinews of war on which he had no doubt confidently reckoned, but had so much damaged his prestige that he would find great difficulty in obtaining recruits.
"A courier will come one day, señor," said the man, "with the thanks of the Government. You will be a great man in Venezuela."
"We won't hallo until we are out of the wood," replied the Chief. "You don't want a revolution, then, Sangrado?"
"Certainly not, señor, nor any of us. We know which side our bread is buttered."
"Honesty is the best policy," remarked the Chief to the Englishmen of his staff afterwards. "I think the men are all right as long as they get their pay. But I'm not so sure they'd stick to us if a higher bidder came along."
The disorder in the camp was repaired: the work went steadily on: and as the line advanced, and the distance between railhead and the camp increased, Mr. Jackson began to think of shifting to another site, and questioned whether it would be worth while to spend time in fortifying it. He decided to remain in his present quarters until after next pay-day. The money would arrive by train from Bolivar, together with a large quantity of stores, the wages of the peons being paid partly in kind.
On the morning of the day when the train was expected, Machado handed the Chief a telegraphic message to the effect that the agent of the Company in Bolivar had sent six extra trucks with rails just landed from a steamer that had arrived from Antwerp, the contract for rails being in the hands of a Belgian firm.
"They're a few weeks before they are due," said the Chief, "but that's a fault on the right side. When will the train arrive?"