ustomary piles
of wood which the natives sell to the passing steamers for boiler
fuel, and which are found at frequent intervals along the river. At
one of these the Honda halted to replenish its supply. The usual
bickering between the negro owner and the boat captain resulted in a
bargain, and the half-naked stevedores began to transfer the wood to
the vessel, carrying it on their shoulders in the most primitive
manner, held in a strip of burlap. The rising moon had at last thrown
off its veil of murky clouds, and was shining in undimmed splendor in
a starry sky. Jose went ashore with the passengers; for the boat might
remain there for hours while her crew labored leisurely, with much
bantering and singing, and no anxious thought for the morrow.

The strumming of a _tiple_ in the distance attracted him. Following
it, he found a small settlement of bamboo huts hidden away in a
beautiful grove of moriche palms, through which the moonbeams filtered
in silvery stringers. Little gardens lay back of the dwellings, and
the usual number of goats and pigs were dozing in the heavy shadows of
the scarcely stirring trees. Reserved matrons and shy _doncellas_
appeared in the doorways; and curious children, naked and chubby, hid
in their mothers' scant skirts and peeped cautiously out at the
newcomers. The tranquil night was sweet with delicate odors wafted
from numberless plants and blossoms in the adjacent forest, and with
the fragrance breathed from the roses, gardenias and dahlias with
which these unpretentious dwellings were fairly embowered. A spirit of
calm and peaceful contentment hovered over the spot, and the round,
white moon smiled down in holy benediction upon the gentle folk who
passed their simple lives in this bower of delight, free from the goad
of human ambition, untrammeled by the false sense of wealth and its
entailments, and unspoiled by the artificialities of civilization.

One of the passengers suggested a dance, while waiting for the boat to
take on its fuel. The owner of the wood, apparently the chief
authority of the little settlement, immediately procured a _tom-tom_,
and gave orders for the _baile_. At his direction men, women and
children gathered in the moonlit clearing on the river bank and, while
the musician beat a monotonous tattoo on the crude drum, circled about
in the stately and dignified movements of their native dance.

It was a picture that Jose would not forget. The balmy air, soft as
vel