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Updated: June 24, 2025
"Impossible, master they are poison trees!" "You are talking foolishly, Guapo. These are molle trees." "I know it, senor; but they are poison. If we sleep under them we shall not awake in the morning we shall awake no more." And Guapo, as he uttered these words, looked horrified. "This is nonsense; you are superstitious, old man. We must abide here. See, the llamas have lain down.
All wondered what Guapo meant to do with these fruits, for they tasted them and found them very bitter. Guapo soon showed them his intention. Having prepared a sort of furnace, he set the nuts on fire; and when they were thoroughly reduced to ashes, to the great joy and astonishment of all, these ashes, which were as white as flour, had the taste of salt!
Guapo knew that he had got his hands upon a bag of dried macas, and although their owner was absent, he had already come to the determination to appropriate them for himself and party. His joy at the discovery had not subsided when another bag drew his attention, and this was the signal for another delightful surprise. His hand touched the new bag in a trice. There was a rattling sound within.
Its predominating colour was a fleshy red, or coral, from whence it has its name, for both Don Pablo and Guapo, as soon as they saw it, pronounced it the "coral snake." Beautiful as it appeared, all knew that it was one of the most poisonous of serpents one of the most dreaded of South American reptiles.
It was Guapo himself that killed the llamas, and, having skinned them, he cut the flesh into thin strips, and hung it upon the branches to dry in the sun. This, of course, was necessary, as they had no salt to cure it with; but meat well dried under a hot sun will keep good for a long time.
They soon got back to the pit-fall, Guapo of course leading the way. "Hola!" cried the latter, when he came in sight of it, "hola, young master! he's in the trap!" Sure enough he was; and the next moment they stood upon the edge of the pit, and beheld the great brown body struggling and tumbling about at the bottom. Guapo did not pause a moment, but leaped in, machete in hand.
He knew by the words of Guapo, and the earnest gestures of the rest, that there was some danger: but of what? Why was he to run? He could not comprehend it. He hesitated, and might have stayed longer on the spot, had not his father, seeing his indecision, shouted out to him in a loud voice "Run, boy! run! The jaguars are after you!"
It was followed by many others, until one of the cinchonas lay along the sward. Then Guapo attacked another, as near the root as was convenient for chopping. Don Pablo's part of the work now began. Armed with a sharp knife, he made circular incisions round the trunk, at the distance of several feet from each other, and a single longitudinal one intersecting all the others.
Guapo now bethought himself of the narrow escape he himself had had while swimming across to the palm-woods; and the appearance of the gymnotus only rendered him more determined to keep the promise he had made to Leon, that is, that he would revenge him of the caribes. None of them could understand how Guapo was to get this revenge without catching the fish, and that would be difficult to do.
His eyes were mutilated by the beaks of the birds. He was blind! Guapo said the vultures would not leave him until they had made a meal of his eyes, and that was all they wanted. He would then remain on shore, perhaps without finding his way back to the water, and most likely be attacked by jaguars, or other preying creatures, who could conquer him the easier now that he was deprived of his sight!
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