Arthur O. Friel

“ His cruelty was notorious, and he was as big as I am; bigger, in truth, for he was bloated from drink and inaction, while I keep myself lean by long journeys. Not that he was unwieldy; he could handle himself if he needed to; but he seldom needed to. Every man in the Atures gang was afraid of him, and all he had to do was to look hard at one of those cutthroats and lick his lips in a way he had, and that tough bird would sweat blood. He was the man for the place, was Atroz. ”

“ Without seeing, I knew Matá was giving him a taste of his own medicine; making him feel some of the pain he had enjoyed so much when he inflicted it on others. Whatever she was doing to him was no worse than he had done to her own man; probably it was the very same thing. But it was unpleasant to me when I only heard it—more so when I saw it.
The herd of Indians pressed back and broke into two sections, leaving a way open from the cave. Two other Indians came out, hauling at a rope. At the end of the rope came Atroz, staggering, stumbling, with more men shoving him from behind. ”

“ If all the men who have mysteriously disappeared up here could come back, they would have some strange tales to tell. And if their ghosts could walk up to this camp-fire tonight and stand here looking as their bodies looked when last seen, you’d need several drinks to make you sleep, I’ll bet. Many of them would be headless—men decapitated with machetes by the outlaw army of Coronel Funes—and some battered out of shape by death in the rapids, and some torn apart by crocodiles ”

“ If I had told them the thing was an ogro they would have believed it to be a demonio, and would have been scared witless and useless; for a demon is a terrible thing to your Indian, a fiend not to be escaped or resisted, while even the worst tigre or serpent or other living thing can be killed and so does not paralyze him with horror. So, after a bit of muttering among themselves, they took their task calmly enough. Ciro squatted with my machete in his hand and every sense alert—senses keener than those of any white man, for that sort of thing—and the rest of us went to sleep. ”

“ If he should ever strike a man in earnest, that man would be dead on his feet. But I doubt if he ever did. I don’t believe he had killed a man of the Funes gang. He was just a poor tool used by Matá to simulate a demon by making tracks, and perhaps used by his companions as beast of burden to transport the dead men to the waiting canoe at the Catañapo. It would require a much keener intelligence than his to creep up on two armed sentries and kill them without even time for a shot or a yell. ”

“ There was little sense in telling a man of his type that my way of getting on with Indians was by treating them decently, not by abusing them. “I perceive that you have heard of me, since you know I live in the Guahibo country.”
“Sí,” he admitted. “The name of Sixto Scott has come to me. Men say you are loco.”
“Quite likely they are right,” I grinned. “But being crazy is like being drunk; if one enjoys it, why be sensible or sober?” ”

“ Now tell me, has this ogro taken any one but Funes men? Has any peaceable person of the pueblo been attacked?”
“No, Sixto, not yet,” says he, glancing about to make sure nobody overheard. “It is only these bandidos who have been killed, thus far. Carlos Baltazar, now, one of my bullock drivers, he lay drunk in the road all one night and was unharmed, the very night of the killing of a guard at Salvajito. But do not tell this. Carlos fears he may be blamed in some way by Atroz if it is known that he was out that night. There would be no sense in accusing him, but Atroz is—he is muy atroz.” ”

“ Then, to make sure that it was not Sixto Scott who vanished—for I am not altogether foolhardy, nor so simple as I may seem at times—I set sentries of my own, and better ones than Atroz had. On entering my hut I spoke quietly to my Guahibos, waking those who had gone to sleep; and when all were alert I told them:
“Muchachos, I have learned that a big bad tigre has come to this place and walks here by night; a silent tigre that never coughs, but prowls without a sound, and kills men. So we must keep watch until daylight comes. ”

“ Matá, escaping from Atroz with vindictive hatred in her heart, had made her way back to her people; brought a gang of men down here, established this camp, and begun a systematic war of revenge on the Funes garrison. Her people were bow-and-arrow Indians, too few and too poorly armed to make an open attack on the riflemen and massacre them; so they were carrying on stealthy night raids, killing a man here and a couple there, striking now at the outposts and now at the pueblo, and taking away their victims every time. ”

“ If I interfered I’d be through, pronto, and serve me right. Some day I may get killed trying to defend somebody, but if I do it will be for a better man than Atroz. Until then I take care of Sixto Scott.
And I began looking out for this man Scott right then, for I saw my chance. Every eye was on the spectacle. One more look at the pitiless face of Matá, and I spoke low to Noé.
“We go now. None watches. Walk fast, but don’t run.”
He shot one glance around, nudged Ciro and the other, and walked away. To my surprize, he went in the direction of his cave, up-hill, not down along the cañito. ”

“ Right out in the open, about a league back from the road to Salvajito, is the Cerro Pintado—the Painted Hill—a huge rock inscribed with picture writing put there by nobody knows who; and somewhere near-by is a great cave-tomb full of bones; and there are other odd things, pretty weird in a way, known to some folks, and plenty more unknown to anybody.
Well, I had no intention of going very far, and no real expectation of trailing the ogre to his den, or even of finding any more sign of him; for a water trail is no trail at all. ”

“ So that is the tigre that walks like a man! He is more like a tapir. But, Noé, what is it that eats the men brought here?”
“Caribes,” he answered.
“Caribes!”
“Yes, Capitán. The pond down yonder is full of them. Men throw in the dead. The fish eat. When the bones are clean they are raked out and dried.”
“Dios mio!” I marveled. “But how come caribes in that tiny cañito?” ”

“ All these little ladies are good companions, I’ve no doubt. But to be frank, I have a mean headache—maybe a touch of fever, though I hope it’s only sun—and I think I’d better sleep it off. Wait until I bring back the Maracaibo, and then perhaps we can all have a large evening together.”
I grinned at all the girls, and most of them smiled back at me, while Atroz chuckled at the thought of an orgy. The girl with the burning eyes looked at me again, too, and this time she kept looking. I don’t believe she understood my words, but perhaps my voice interested her. ”

“ Even if Funes reinforcements should come, they could kill the new men as easily as their predecessors. They were expert killers, those mountain Indians. No doubt they had spies posted in the woods near the pueblo, and when the giant and his company paddled down the Cantañapo at night they found the night’s program of attack all arranged.
But what about that giant, and the devouring of the dead men, and the returning of their remarkably clean bones? I could answer only the last part of that question. The bones were carried back to Atures as a part of the campaign of frightfulness. ”

“ In fact, I decided that even if no cartridges could be found I would still take a gun; my own, if I could find it. With this in mind I was just about to rise and go to camp when I heard a rustle of leaves. At once I assumed a dull expression and sat limp and sluggish.
Through the bush came Matá. I blinked up at her as vacantly as possible. Standing beside me, she returned my gaze smilingly, but with something of contempt in her face, too. No woman has much respect for a man altogether her slave, even if she still likes him ”

“ After some distance it grew brighter and suddenly let me out in a queer place; a cavity without a roof, rock-walled, into which the sun streamed hot. In the middle of this hole was a pole table, such as Indians use for broiling tapir meat, and on it lay bones. They were human bones; the larger bones of two men, the skulls split, the others absolutely bare of flesh; all dried, or drying, in the direct heat of the overhead sun. The sight jolted me a minute. My brain woke up and told me these were the bones of the two fellows carried off by the ogre that night while I slept in Atures. ”

“ The rest of the men stood dumb, looking sick with fear. Now I saw that beyond those bones, in the thin dust of the road, were enormous tracks; human tracks, but ending in claw-prints instead of toe-marks. They led toward the Catañapo.
Another grumble from the corporal brought my attention back to him. Beside the big rock he had picked up a ragged straw sombrero. A yard or two away lay another. That was all that was left of the two outposts who had last been stationed at that stone to guard the northern approach to the pueblo. ”

“ As long as Atroz ran the place right Funes didn’t care how he amused himself. So the big brute could be as brutal as he liked. And he was.
I got on well enough with him, though, when I made my trips through Atures. For that matter, I never had any real trouble with any Funes men anywhere. I was out of their jurisdiction, so to speak, being a Colombian, with my headquarters a long way west of the Orinoco; and besides, it was well known that I was just a hammock trader who minded my own business and let others do the same ”

“ They made him feel more at ease about the things he himself had said of Atroz. When I had finished he chuckled:
“I am grieved to hear you speak such impolite sentiments about my commander, Sixto, and perhaps I should report them. But instead I shall forget them. Now I go ashore. Remember to sleep within walls tonight.”
“Wait,” I objected. “Tell me more of that ogro. You say its feet have claws? Have its tracks been traced? Where does it go?”
“Only the devil knows,” he said. “The tracks are found near the bones, and near the places where men disappeared, but they can never be followed far. ”

“ With a nod to my own men I walked away, returning to the rancho. The Guahibos followed close. Back at our hut, I sat down and smoked, watching the Funes men plod past with the relics left by the ogre. They disappeared beyond the Otero house, heading for that of their capitán. As they went, the sun shot its first long rays across the town, and doors began to open.
“Ciro,” said I then, “what do you think of this tigre that walks like a man?” ”

“ In about one minute, or less, I began to see light, or thought I did; a very dim one, but one that made me tell him:
“You go back to that place—now, at once, before others come—and look farther. Vaya!”
“Ump,” says he, meaning “All right.” Then he spoke one word to another chap and picked up my machete, and the two of them loped out into the sun, their eyes shining as if they were taking a hot trail.
They were gone some little time. My cook got breakfast, and old Otero came out, looking relieved when he found me safe and sound, and asking how soon I wished the carts to move. ”

“ And anything he commands to be done will be done pronto. I am giving you friendly warning.”
“Gracias,” I nodded. “I appreciate it. An atrocious hombre, this Atroz, eh? But tell me, now, does he rob peaceable travelers?”
“Oh, he takes what he likes, of course.” Roco shrugged. “But since you have only hammocks he probably will not disturb you in that way.” Then he grinned and added: “If you had a handsome woman with you it might be different.”
“Ah, so that is his preference?” I asked.
“Truly. He is a glutton for young women. Any man who brings one to Atures now is a fool.” ”

“ So that ended the mystery of the ogre. That explained the stripping of the bones. Caribes, you know, go mad when they taste blood, and chop at meat until none is left; they would chop up the bones, too, if they could. True enough, as I had thought last night, the ogre did live in that pool; a hundred of him, probably. And that eating part of the ogre, like this walking part here in the cave, was born from the brain of Matá, beyond a doubt. She had caused that dam to be built; the fish to be trapped and brought there; the bodies to be devoured ”

“ Otero is dead now, and the Funes army broken up and gone, but the story lives on, and sometimes somebody tells it to a newcomer at Atures. That’s why I thought you might have heard it. But the ogre really was just what I’ve told you—a poor freak of Nature, a pool of fish, and a vengeful woman. And sometimes now, when I’m making the Atures portage, I look up the Catañapo and wonder where Matá and her monster are and how life is treating them. She wasn’t such a bad sort, Matá. ”

“ That is a good thought,” came the voice of Atroz. “Bring enough of the Maracaibo, and we shall have a night you will remember long after you go back to your Indios.”
“Right,” said I, taking my attention off the girl. “Buen’ noche’.”
And I left the house. As I passed out of the room, though, I glanced back. The mountain girl still was watching me. And when I walked away through the pueblo to the rancho of Otero I still could see her eyes.
Not being a reader of minds, I don’t claim to be able to tell a woman’s thoughts by the way she looks at me, unless she makes them unmistakable ”

“ Those boys of mine were entitled to my protection, both because I was their capitán and because they had no other defense. When we travel the Orinoco, you know, I make my men go unarmed, because I’ve found that they are less likely to get into trouble with the river people if they carry no weapons. Most folks along here are habitually hostile to armed Indians. ”

“ Ciro shall watch first, squatting on the ground at this corner. When he is tired he shall wake another of you to take his turn, and so on through the night. If the man on watch hears or sees or smells anything not right, he must wake every one else at once, quietly but very quickly. ”