the rain came on, that so long as they were able to do this
they would be running up the centre line of the river and could not come
to very much harm.

The first violence of the rain lasted about twenty minutes, and then it
settled to a quiet, steady downpour for about an hour, during which the
thunder and lightning gradually subsided until the thunder became a mere
muttering in the extreme distance, and finally died away altogether.
But the sheet lightning continued to play intermittently, low down on
the northern horizon for some time longer, affording light enough for
the fugitives to see where they were going, and as the wind still
continued to blow strongly they held on, hour after hour, making the
most of the splendid opportunity thus afforded them to make good their
escape, so that when at length the morning came and the wind died down
with the rising of the sun, they were far beyond the reach of pursuit by
the Mayubuna.

Now ensued a month of comparative uneventfulness, during which the two
dauntless young Englishmen forced their way up that great river which,
where it falls into the Amazon, is named the Maranon, while in its
higher reaches it is called the Ucayali, and higher still, the
Quillabamba. But although their journey up this magnificent stream may
be fitly described as comparatively uneventful, it must not be inferred
therefrom that they met with no adventures at all; on the contrary,
there was scarcely a day when they did not meet with an adventure of
some sort, but it was scarcely of a sufficiently notable character to
justify amplification in these pages, being merely the sort of
occurrence that is inevitable in a river journey through wild country in
the tropic zone. For example, there were frequent rapids and cataracts
to be negotiated, food to be sought for and obtained, in the course of
which search many strange creatures were seen, many curious and
wonderful sights witnessed, and occasionally savage animals encountered.
Also Indians began to be met with at frequent intervals, some of whom
proved friendly while others were hostile and would fain have disputed
the right of the white men to be in the country at all--thanks to the
tyrannical treatment which they had experienced at the hands of the
Spaniard; and once they encountered a tribe of genuine Amazons, women
who had turned the usual order of things upside down, having usurped the
functions of the men, such as fighting, hunting, and fis