"How was that?"
The man hesitated, then mumbled something which Will failed to catch. Evidently he was suspicious, and did not wish to be communicative. Will noticed scars on the upper part of his body; and from other slight indications, as well as the man's manifest nervousness, guessed that he was a fugitive.
"Well, you had better go," he said, "and keep out of the way of tigers. Here, take this beast if it's any good to you."
"It is yours, señor," said the man, surprised.
"I don't want it; you may have it."
He had seen that the animal's skin was ruined by the impact of the hydroplane. The Indian, however, was delighted with the gift; the claws would be valuable to him. He thanked Will with servile effusiveness, and stooped to the animal. Will stood watching him for a few moments, then got into his vessel and started it down-stream, increasing the speed until it reached at least thirty knots. In about a quarter of an hour he came to a tributary entering the river on the right bank. He had already slowed down, and steering the vessel round, he made his way up the smaller stream. In parts it was very narrow, and so closely overhung by trees on both banks that Will more than once had to bend to avoid the branches. Here and there the stream was shallow; but the hydroplane drew so little water that she was nowhere in danger of running aground.
Following its winding course for some two miles, Will came to a straight canal scarcely twenty feet broad, running into the stream on the left. He steered his vessel into this, and arrived in a few minutes at a small lake. On the further shore, some feet above the water-level, stood a fine hacienda--a sort of superior bungalow--surrounded by luxurious gardens. It was a long, broad dwelling of one storey, with verandas, the door, which was open, leading through a light hall into the patio--a spacious court, with a flowerbed in the centre, on which all the rooms of the house opened. Below, at the foot of a terrace, a small jetty projected into the lake. Will steered the hydroplane to this, and moored her beside a diminutive sailing yacht that already lay there. Then he made his way towards the house, giving a loud coo-ee.
He was half-way to the door when a young man, a few years older than himself, came to meet him. He was dressed in white drill, with a brilliant sash or cummerbund about his waist, a white sombrero on his head, and a long cigarro in his mouth.
"Hullo, old chap!" he said, with a scarcely noticeable accent. "I wondered when you would come again. I was just thinking of coffee: come along!"
He linked his arm with Will's, and led him towards the house.