ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
I offered Benedicto and Filippe a large reward if 
they continued marching without abandoning the precious 
loads. Brazilians have a great greed for money, and for 
it they will do many things which they would not do 
otherwise. 
On September fourteenth we made another most pain¬ 
ful march of 20 kilometers, again up and down high hills, 
some as much as 300 feet above the level land of that 
country, and all with steep, indeed, almost vertical, sides, 
extremely difficult for us to climb in our exhausted 
condition. We saw several streamlets flowing west. 
When evening came we had before us a high hill, which 
we ascended. When we reached the top we just lay upon 
the ground like so many corpses, and, ants or no ants, 
we had not the energy to get up again. Once more did 
the rain come down in torrents that night, and to a cer¬ 
tain extent washed the ants from our bodies. 
My surprise was really great the next morning when 
I woke up. I felt myself failing fast. Every time I 
closed my eyes I expected never to open them again. 
On September fifteenth we made another trying 
march, collapsing under our loads every few hundred 
metres. My men were constantly looking in all direc¬ 
tions for something to eat, but could find nothing. Bene¬ 
dicto and Filippe were now all the time contemplating 
suicide. The mental strain of perpetually keeping an 
eye on them was great. 
We were sitting down, too tired to get up, when 
Filippe amazed me considerably by the following words, 
which he spoke in a kind of reverie: 
“ It would be very easy,” he said, “ now that you 
have no more strength yourself, for us two to get the 
big knife and cut your throat. We know that you have 
a big, big sum of money upon you, and if we robbed 
you we would be rich for ever. But we do not want to 
do it. It would not be much use to us, as we could not 
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