Arthur O. Friel

“ Pedro went on. “Boots are scarce in this bush. Lourenço and I wear none. Indians wear none. The two dead men we have found since leaving the camp of Black Hawk had none. I do not believe there are more than two pairs of boots within many miles of this spot; and both of those pairs are your own.”
“But,” I objected, too if those boots which went to the maloca were Senhor Tom's the feet of the senhorita may not have been in them.” ”

“ True, the heel-tracks of the prisoner taken to the maloca were those of a man's boots; but we know that the senhorita was wearing your extra boots, and I believe the tracks are hers.”
That was true enough. As the time when the girl was saved from Black Hawk she had had no clothing except a long shapeless garment given her by an old Indian woman, and Senhor Tom had given her his spare kit to wear until she could reach a place where she could get something more suitable. She had had to stuff leaves into the boots to make them small enough for her feet, but she had worn them. ”

“ Usually some women would be at work near a tribal house and men would be moving about; but no grown person was in sight here. That could mean only one of two things; either every one had left the place, or something inside the house was so interesting that the usual tasks of the tribe were being neglected. ”

“ We hoped we should not have to use it at all, but if we did we should undoubtedly shoot at such close quarters that we could not miss, no matter how worn and foul its barrel was. With it and our machetes we were well armed against anything likely to oppose us. ”