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The splendid imagery of Genesis is literally exact. "Let there be light; and there was light . . . and God divided the light from the darkness." Long before the Andorinha had crept round the southern headland of the Macayo estuary she became visible again. About six o'clock a grand review was held in the Plaza, or chief square. Dom Corria, a resplendent personage on horseback, made a fine speech.
As Andorinha means "swallow" in English there was some point to the remark. Nor was he making a vain boast. The most astounding feature of every revolution in a South American republic is the alacrity with which the army will fire on the navy, et vice versâ. The two services seem to be everlastingly at feud.
Every man, and the one woman whom chance had thrown in their midst, remained on deck and watched the slumbering town. It was only a small place. The Andorinha lay at one end of the harbor, the Unser Fritz at the other. They were barely half a mile apart, and Maceio climbed the sloping shore between the two points.
Mr Robarts was a very merry, kind person, and we spent a very pleasant life on board the little Andorinha. We put into several of the large rivers, as the object of Mr Robarts was to collect some of the wildest productions of the country from the natives inhabiting their banks. When, we entered the Amazon, I could scarcely believe that we were in a river, so wide and grand is the stream.
Directly one of the officers undertook to instruct her, and presented her with a handsome instrument, which he said he hoped she would keep in remembrance of her visit to the Andorinha. The time thus passed very pleasantly on board. Still having some doubts from what Timbo had said about the vessel, I asked Jack, whom I met the next morning, what he thought of her.
For instance, what could be more admirable than the scaring of the bird by General Russo? He drew up his three batteries on the wharf opposite the unsuspecting Andorinha, and endeavored to plant twelve shells in the locality of her engine-room without the least hesitation. There was no thought of demanding her surrender, or any quixotic nonsense of that sort.
The shells made a sad mess of the superstructure, but left the engines intact. The sailors, on their part, knew exactly what had happened. Every man who escaped death or serious injury from the bursting missiles ran to his post. A wire hawser and mooring rope were severed with axes, the screw revolved, and the Andorinha was in motion. Though winged, she still could fly.
You have my unqualified approval of the military scheme drawn up by you and my other friends. There is one thing a gunboat lies in the harbor. Is she the Andorinha?" The newly-promoted general smote his huge stomach with both hands "beating the drum," he called it and the rat-tat signified instant readiness for action. "The guns will soon scare that bird," he exclaimed.
The Andorinha was undoubtedly a fast craft, and there seemed little probability, if the breeze continued, of the brig overhauling us. That she was a British man-of-war, I had no longer any doubt. What then could be the schooner? It was now late in the day, and I saw that there was every probability of her escaping.
We selected four turtle, and filled a basket with a quantity of the round soft eggs, and then paddled back to our egaritea. Soon after it was daylight we started on our passage down the river, which, as we had a strong current in our favour, was very quickly performed. The Andorinha was just ready to sail, and as we had a fair breeze, we did not stop at Para, but proceeded at once to sea.
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