304 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



had three or four carbines, which were sometimes carried 

 by those who were not their owners. 



On this morning, at the outset of the portage, Pedrinho 

 discovered Julio stealing some of the men's dried meat. 

 Shortly afterward Paishon rebuked him for, as usual, lag- 

 ging behind. By this time we had reached the place 

 where the canoes were tied to the bank and then taken 

 down one at a time. We were sitting down, waiting for 

 the last loads to be brought along the trail. Pedrinho was 

 still in the camp we had left. Paishon had just brought in 

 a load, left it on the ground with his carbine beside it, and 

 returned on the trail for another load. Julio came in, put 

 down his load, picked up the carbine, and walked back on 

 the trail, muttering to himself but showing no excitement. 

 We thought nothing of it, for he was always muttering; 

 and occasionally one of the men saw a monkey or big 

 bird and tried to shoot it, so it was never surprising to see 

 a man with a carbine. 



In a minute we heard a shot; and in a short time three 

 or four of the men came up the trail to tell us that Paishon 

 was dead, having been shot by Julio, who had fled into the 

 woods. Colonel Rondon and Lyra were ahead; I sent a 

 messenger for them, directed Cherrie and Kermit to stay 

 where they were and guard the canoes and provisions, and 

 started down the trail with the doctor an absolutely cool 

 and plucky man, with a revolver but no rifle and a couple 

 of the camaradas. We soon passed the dead body of poor 

 Paishon. He lay in a huddle, in a pool of his own blood, 

 where he had fallen, shot through the heart. I feared 

 that Julio had run amuck, and intended merely to take 

 more lives before he died, and that he would begin with 





