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having one foot firmly planted against a stone , and being more active than I should have expected from a somewhat corpulent Brazilian . I commenced a descent to rescue my negro from danger , but iny mule began to show signs of stubbornness , thinking that it had been hired to go and return , not to make excursions on the way . It was some time before , by a vigorous application of a thong and my heels , I could induce the refractory beast to make any progress , and when
I came again in view of the scene of strife , which another turn in the road had hidden from me , I saw a third figure added to the group . This was none other than the tall form of the captain of the Maria Isabella , who was rushing up from the opposite direction with a knife in his hand , as I supposed to take part against th & JELegro . I therefore quickened my mule ' s pace and rattled down the path at a full gallop , with the certainty of arriving before the captain . Seeing this , and resolved not to be forestalled , he hurled the knife with the
utmost nieety and precision , not at the negro , but at his opponent . The missile went straight as an arrow , and before I reached the spot , was quivering in the white man ' s breast . Such is the accustomed accuracy wherewith a Brazilian can strike an object . I pulled up close to the body , and the captain coming up withdrew his knife , and cut a sort of symbol with it upon the dead man ' s forehead . He then threw the body over the cliff , greeted me politely , and after some little conversation on things of trifling import , walked
away . When he had gone , I demanded from my negro the meaning of this " . That man , Senor , " answ ered he , " was Joachim Breves : " no more words were needed to explain the struggle between him and
the negro . But why should the Captain of the Maria Isabella have thus taken part against a white man . I mused on this for some time , thinking over the Captain ' s voice , the slight uneasiness he had evinced in my presence , and the suspicious mark he made on the forehead of Joachim Breves , and the idea suddenly flashed on my mind that the Captain of the Marm Isabella was the man whom Villiers had chased from the ambassador ' s house to the secret
cavern , which we had explored . I had heard his voice then when he explained the circumstances of his visit to the ambassador ' s , in that subterranean chamber . And these suspicions of mine were not long before being corroborated . As we sailed towards Bio , a canoe came off to us while we
were outside the harbour , and after some conference between the boatman and the Captain , the latter ordered the first mate to take the vessel in , saying that particular business rendered it necessary for him to land outside the town . When we had got into the
harbour , a large guard-boat came alongside with some Brazilian officers , and a warrant for the arrest of the Captain , as a member of an illegal society , known by the name of the " Society of the Skull . " One or two of the members of this had been arrested and severely punished .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
having one foot firmly planted against a stone , and being more active than I should have expected from a somewhat corpulent Brazilian . I commenced a descent to rescue my negro from danger , but iny mule began to show signs of stubbornness , thinking that it had been hired to go and return , not to make excursions on the way . It was some time before , by a vigorous application of a thong and my heels , I could induce the refractory beast to make any progress , and when
I came again in view of the scene of strife , which another turn in the road had hidden from me , I saw a third figure added to the group . This was none other than the tall form of the captain of the Maria Isabella , who was rushing up from the opposite direction with a knife in his hand , as I supposed to take part against th & JELegro . I therefore quickened my mule ' s pace and rattled down the path at a full gallop , with the certainty of arriving before the captain . Seeing this , and resolved not to be forestalled , he hurled the knife with the
utmost nieety and precision , not at the negro , but at his opponent . The missile went straight as an arrow , and before I reached the spot , was quivering in the white man ' s breast . Such is the accustomed accuracy wherewith a Brazilian can strike an object . I pulled up close to the body , and the captain coming up withdrew his knife , and cut a sort of symbol with it upon the dead man ' s forehead . He then threw the body over the cliff , greeted me politely , and after some little conversation on things of trifling import , walked
away . When he had gone , I demanded from my negro the meaning of this " . That man , Senor , " answ ered he , " was Joachim Breves : " no more words were needed to explain the struggle between him and
the negro . But why should the Captain of the Maria Isabella have thus taken part against a white man . I mused on this for some time , thinking over the Captain ' s voice , the slight uneasiness he had evinced in my presence , and the suspicious mark he made on the forehead of Joachim Breves , and the idea suddenly flashed on my mind that the Captain of the Marm Isabella was the man whom Villiers had chased from the ambassador ' s house to the secret
cavern , which we had explored . I had heard his voice then when he explained the circumstances of his visit to the ambassador ' s , in that subterranean chamber . And these suspicions of mine were not long before being corroborated . As we sailed towards Bio , a canoe came off to us while we
were outside the harbour , and after some conference between the boatman and the Captain , the latter ordered the first mate to take the vessel in , saying that particular business rendered it necessary for him to land outside the town . When we had got into the
harbour , a large guard-boat came alongside with some Brazilian officers , and a warrant for the arrest of the Captain , as a member of an illegal society , known by the name of the " Society of the Skull . " One or two of the members of this had been arrested and severely punished .