A TOUCHING SCENE 
get out of the forest alone. I believe we shall all die 
together, and all that money will go to waste.” 
Filippe said this in quite a good-natured manner. 
The two poor fellows were so depressed that one had to 
forgive them for anything they said. 
As the river seemed to describe a big loop, I had 
left it three days before, seeing plainly by the conforma¬ 
tion of the country that we should strike it again sooner 
or later. We were marching once more by compass. 
My men, who had no faith whatever in the magnetic 
needle, were almost paralyzed with fear that we might not 
encounter the stream again. A thousand times a day they 
accused me of foolishness in leaving the river, as they 
said it would have been better to follow its tortuous course 
— notwithstanding the trouble we had in following it, 
owing to the dense vegetation near the water — rather 
than strike once more across country. They were begin¬ 
ning to lose heart altogether, when I told them I could 
see by the vegetation that we were once more near the 
water. Anybody accustomed as I am to marching through 
the forest could tell easily by the appearance of the 
vegetation some miles before actually getting to a stream. 
I reassured my companions, saying that within a few 
hours we should certainly meet the “ big water ” again. 
In fact, not more than half an hour afterwards we sud¬ 
denly found ourselves once more on the large stream — 
at that point seventy metres wide. 
My men were so amazed and delighted that they 
embraced me and sobbed over my shoulders for some 
time. From that moment their admiration for the com¬ 
pass was unbounded; they expected me to find anything 
with it. 
With gladdened hearts we followed the stream again, 
Benedicto and Filippe shouting at the top of their voices 
for help in case anybody were near. But they called and 
called in vain. We listened, but not a sound could be 
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