g the tall-bonneted
cannibals and the broad-hatted pair of whites.

Man for man, these Red Bones were in every way inferior to the
emissaries of Monitaya. Their bodies were more gaunt, their skins more
coppery, their foreheads lower, and their expressions much less
intelligent. Furthermore, they wore not even the bark-cloth clouts which
formed the sole body covering of the Mayorunas--they were totally naked.
The one point of similarity between the two tribes was that the faces of
the Red Bone men were streaked with red dye. But the facial design was
much different: two short transverse stripes on the forehead, and three
lines on each cheek, running from the eyes, the end of the nose, and the
corners of the mouth, straight back to the ears. Studying those visages,
Knowlton and McKay recalled Schwandorf's statement that these people not
only ate human flesh, but tortured prisoners of war. It was easy to
believe that he had told truth.

McKay, standing behind Pedro, shifted his position a bit. At once the
eyes of the three Red Bones widened and riveted on his face. Heretofore
they had seen only his hat and eyes, the rest being hidden from them by
Pedro's neck and an intervening palm tip. Now that they saw his
black-bearded jaw, they started slightly and peered intently at him.

"I think, Capitao, you would do well to shave," Pedro suggested, with a
smile.

"'Fraid so," the captain granted. "Black beards evidently are _de trop_
in the jungle social set at present."

But then one of the Red Bone men came forward, still squinting narrowly,
and his expression was not hostile. In fact, it was more friendly than
it had yet been. After a closer scrutiny, however, his face turned
blank. Slowly he stepped back and muttered something to his companions.

At this Pedro's eyes narrowed speculatively. But his expression did not
change, and he said nothing.

A lengthy conference took place between Lourenco and Tucu on the one
hand and the three Red Bone tribesmen on the other; a difficult talk in
which words and sign language both were used and frequently repeated.
Eventually an understanding was reached. The three stepped back, picked
up some small game which they had dropped on beholding Lourenco,
returned, and led the way along the path. Lourenco cast aside his poke
stick and resumed his usual place in the column. The whole line moved
ahead at a much smarter gait than before.

"Note--this path is not mined," thought Knowlton.