“And what is that?”
“That property is sacred; and it necessarily follows that to acquire what is mine, requires something from you in return.”
“But I do not see how you are going to put any ideas of that kind in the minds of these devils.”
“I will answer that in this way: You have brought with you a number of little mirrors, and various trinkets. The savages value things of that kind immensely. In their present condition, the plan on which they work, is to take them by force. Suppose I should say to them: ‘Bring fifty pounds of ramie fiber, or twenty pounds of barley, or some game, and I will give you a mirror.’ Such a proposal would show him the easiest route, unless he was too infernally lazy, to get the coveted article.”
“But suppose he should say that he doesn’t want to buy it, and purposes to take it in his own way?”
“Then he must be made to understand, by forcible means, that there is only one way to get it, and that is by barter.”
On the following day the course did not improve; they were still on the ridge that separated the two rivers, one flowing to the north, and the other to the south. Before nine o’clock Muro came back with the intelligence that some band could be discerned directly ahead of them, and in the line of their travel.
To go southwest would bring them right into the heart of the Kurabus’ territory, and southwesterly of their position would bring them within range of the two hostile tribes. The band was still too far away to distinguish them. Muro hoped it was his own people, but this was not considered likely, since they had not sent any runners to inform Muro of the course they were taking.
Muro knew that this would be done in any event. Blakely asked: “May it not be possible that the messengers were sent in the direction of our wagon in the north?”
“I told him where we were going, and they would follow the wagon trail.”