the quick march that day,
and I was once more walking with bare feet. Marching so quickly, one did
not always have time to detect thorns. That day my feet were indeed in a
pitiable condition.

The last trial of all was yet to be added, when we had come to within 300
m. of the river. The _seringueiro_, from whose hut we had started on our
way out, had evidently since our departure set the forest on fire in
order to make a _roca_ so as to cultivate the land. Hundreds of
carbonized trees had fallen down in all directions; others had been cut
down. So that for those last two or three hundred metres we had to get
over or under those burned trees and struggle through their blackened
boughs, the stumps of which drove holes into and scratched big patches
of skin from my legs, arms and face. Where the skin was not taken off
altogether it was smeared all over with the black from the burnt trees.
We did not look unlike nigger minstrels, with the exception that we were
also bleeding all over.

[Illustration: A Trading Boat on the Tapajoz River.]

[Illustration: The S.S. "Commandante Macedo."]

What had remained of my poor coat had been torn to shreds, so that all I
possessed now in the way of clothing was a shirt. As the _seringueiro_
had a wife I could not well appear in that condition before her when we
had reached the hut. Hiding behind a tree, we shouted for the
_seringueiro_ to come to our assistance. Benedicto, who was not so
bashful, and whose costume was not much better than mine, proceeded to
the house.

A few minutes later, as I peeped from behind my tree, I had a moment of
great joy. I had been wondering during the last few days whether my men
had died in the forest, or what could have become of them, as we had not
received an answer to our signals. There I saw Alcides rush out of the
house and run toward me. His cheeks streamed with tears. "Senhor!
Senhor!" he sobbed, embracing me.

Antonio, who followed behind, came up and shook hands, merely saying
"Good morning!"

"Where is white Filippe? Where is the man X?" I hastily inquired, in
order to make sure that they were still alive.

"They are fishing on the river." Alcides called out to them: "Come
quickly! 'El Senhor' has returned!"

White Filippe immediately ran up, but the man X shouted back that he was
busy fishing; he would come up later.

Alcides was much upset on seeing my plight. He ran immediately into the
hut and got me some clothes from the _serin