You must not suppose that all the party of our adventurers went even thus far. In fact, all of them remained in the Brazil-nut, except the two who had acted as explorers on the former occasion,—Richard and the Mundurucú. It would have been worse than idle for any other to have accompanied them.
It was near sunset when they returned with their report, which to Trevannion and his party seemed anything but encouraging. The explorers had penetrated through the forest, finding it flooded in every direction. Not an inch of dry land had they discovered; and the Indian knew, from certain signs well understood by him, that none was near. The rapid drift of the current, which he had observed several times during the day, was one of these indications. It could not, he declared, be running in that way, if dry land were in the vicinity. So far, therefore, as reaching the shore was concerned, they might make up their minds for a long journey; and how this was to be performed was the question of the hour.
One point the explorers had definitely determined. The igarápe terminated at their sleeping-place. There was no sign of it beyond. Instead, however, they had come upon an opening of a very different character. A vast expanse of water, without any trees, had been found, its nearest edge being the limit of their day’s excursion. This open water did not extend quite to the horizon. Around it, on all sides, trees could be seen, or rather the tops of trees; for it was evident that the thicket-like bordering was but the “lop and top” of a submerged forest. On returning to the “roost,” Munday urged their going towards the open water.
“For what purpose?” inquired the patron, who failed to perceive any good reason for it. “We can’t cross it, there being no sort of craft to carry us. We cannot make a raft out of these green branches, full of sap as they are. What’s the use of our going that way? You say there’s open water almost as far as you can see,—so much the worse, I should think.”
“No, patron,” replied the Indian, still addressing Trevannion as respectfully as when acting as his hired tapuyo. “So much the better, if you give me leave to differ with you. Our only hope is to find open water.”
“Why, we have been all along coming from it. Isn’t there plenty of it behind us?”
“True, patron; but it’s not running in the right direction. If we launched upon it, the current would be against us. Remember, master, ’tis the echenté. We couldn’t go that way. If we could, it would only bring us back to the river-channel, where, without some sort of a vessel, we should soon go to the bottom. Now the open Gapo we’ve seen to-day is landward, though the land may be a good way off. Still, by crossing it, we shall be getting nearer to firm ground, and that’s something.”
“By crossing it? But how?”
“We must swim across it.”
“Why, you’ve just said that it stretches almost to the edge of the horizon. It must be ten miles or more. Do you mean to say we can swim so far?”