“Well, then, we must be satisfied of the fact, before we can venture to make a move. What proof can you give us that the river lies in that direction?”
“Patron! You know the month? It is the month of March.”
“Certainly it is. What of that?”
“The echente.”
“The echente? What is that?”
“The flood getting bigger. The water on the rise,—the Gapo still growing,—that is the echente.”
“But how should that enable you to determine the direction of the river?”
“It has done so,” replied the Indian. “Not before three months—in June—will come the vasante.”
“The vasante?”
“The vasante, patron: the fall. Then the Gapo will begin to grow less; and the current will be towards the river, as now it is from it.”