ROBBER AND ROBBED 267
for good, and to return toward the Amazon, when he heard
the sound of voices. Yes! the sound of human voices.
These were speaking about twenty paces to the right of him.
The first care of Torres was to hide himself in a dense
thicket. Like a prudent man, he did not wish to show him-
self without at least knowing with whom he might have
to deal. Panting, puzzled, his ears on the stretch, he waited,
when suddenly the sharp report of a gun rang through the
woods.
A cry followed, and the monkey, mortally wounded, fell heavily to the ground, still holding Torres' case. By Jove," he muttered, "that bullet came at the right time!" And then, without fearing to be seen, he came out of the thicket, and two young gentlemen appeared from under the trees.
They were Brazilians clothed as hunters, with leather boots, light palm-leaf hats, waistcoats, or rather tunics, buckled in at the waist, and more convenient than the na- tional poncho. By their features and their complexion they were at once recognizable as of Portuguese descent. Each of them was armed with one of those long guns of Spanish make which slightly remind us of the arms of the Arabs, guns of long range and considerable precision, which the dwellers in the forest of the Upper Amazon handle with success.
What had just happened was a proof of this. At an angular distance of more than eighty paces the quadruman had been shot full in the head.
The two young men carried in addition, in their belts, a sort of dagger-knife, which is known in Brazil as a foca, and which hunters do not hesitate to use when attacking the ounce and other wild animals, which, if not very for- midable, are pretty numerous in these forests.
Torres had obviously little to fear from this meeting, and so he went on running toward the monkey's corpse.
But the young men, who were taking the same direction, had less ground to cover, and coming forward a few paces, found themselves face to face with Torres. " The latter had recovered his presence of mind. Many thanks, gentlemen," said he gayly, as he raised the brim of his hat; "in killing this wretched animal you have just done me a great service!"
