her men. You can keep your old
gun, too."

Benedicto embraced and kissed my hands, then my feet. The poor man's joy
was so great that it was really worth living to see that such moments of
happiness could be procured in a man's lifetime.

Benedicto was a free man again, and for the first time in his life was
earning genuine money! He was handed a paddle, and he paddled away for
all he was worth, splashing with water those in front and behind him. He
was in a state of great excitement, tears flowing freely down his cheeks
and beard, and dripping on to his knees as he sat in the bottom of the
canoe. He sobbed to his heart's content, and kept on splashing us all
over with his paddle. We were all so touched by that pathetic scene that
we preferred getting wet to remonstrating.

Fortunately the river was placid enough under the _corrideira_. When
things had quieted down a little, I taught Benedicto and the others how
to paddle properly, and Alcides how to steer straight. I had then five
men. That improved matters greatly, as four could paddle while the fifth
was steering.

The Arinos River flowed from Porto Velho in a south-westerly, then in a
due westerly direction, then north, then again west, from which last
point it doubled, as it were, and proceeded east and south-east,
returning to within quite a short distance of our original point of
departure. We sounded our horn, and immediately heard in reply the horn
of the seringueiros at Porto Velho. Judging by the sound, the distance
could not have been more than a few hundred metres, although we had
travelled some six thousand metres down stream.

[Illustration: The First Rocks in the Arinos River.]

[Illustration: Enormous Globular Rocks typical of the Arinos River.]

For the first time I noticed swallows flying swiftly over the river,
close to the water. Another easy _corrideira_ was encountered. When we
had been out several hours my men were already beginning to get into
the right way of paddling, and Alcides was commencing to understand the
capricious mysteries of the steering-gear.

On account of my men's inexperience--and due credit being given to the
current--we went at the rate of 13 kils. an hour. Innumerable were the
rubber trees all along the banks. Occasionally small sand beaches were
met with. Here and there a fallen giant tree obstructed part of the
river. Families of _ariranhas_ (_Lutra brasiliensis_) played in the
water. The pretty little animals--not