But I was
lucky in one way. The chief told Vic that if we had gone yesterday we
should all have been killed, as without knowing anything about it,
we should have got there just after the fight. So for once fever
had done me a good turn, a "providencia," I think Vic called it,
as I should have reached my destination the previous day if I had
not been delayed by fever. Out of curiosity to see what the chief
would say, I told Vic to tell him that I would help him with my gun,
but the chief was ungrateful and contemptuous, saying that they
would shoot me before I could see to shoot them. Vic thought I was
serious, and said he would not go with me, and begged me not to go,
saying, in a mixture of English and Spanish, "What will your father,
your sister, and your brother say to me when Buquil arrow make you
dead?" Needless to say I was not keen on stalking Buquils who were
waiting for me with steel arrows in long grass, and, besides, if I
went with the gallant little nine hundred, I should miss my steamer. I
never heard the result of that fight, much as I should like to have
known it. After the meeting had dispersed, we returned to the river
and rested. I bathed and took a swim in a big, deep pool under a huge
tree, which was one mass of beautiful white flowers.
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