Along in the early afternoon we reached bolder shores in which the trap rock descended sheer beneath the surface of the water. Directly ahead of us rose a mountain like a cone of verdure. We glided around the base of it, and so came to Gorgona, situated on a high bluff beyond. This we had decided upon as the end of our river journey. To be sure we had bargained for Cruces, six miles beyond; but as the majority of our ship's companions had decided on that route, we thought the Gorgona trail might be less crowded. So we beached our boat, and unloaded our effects; and set forth to find accommodations for the present, and mules for the immediate future.
At first there seemed slight chance of getting either. The place was crowded beyond its capacity. The Hotel Française--a shed-and-tent sort of combination with a muddy natural floor--was jammed. The few native huts were crowded. Many we saw making themselves as comfortable as possible amid their effects out in the open. Some we talked with said they had been there for over a week, unable to move because of lack of transportation. They reported much fever; and in fact we saw one poor shaking wretch, wistful-eyed as a sick dog, braced against a tree all alone. The spirit was drained out of him; and all he wanted was to get back.
While we were discussing what to do next, our muslin-clad ex-_padrone_, who had been paid and shaken by the hand some time since, approached smoking a longer cigar than ever. This he waved at us in a most debonair and friendly manner.
"Bread on the water," commented Talbot after a short conversation. "He says we have treated him like a brother and a true comrade in arms; which means that _I_ did; you fellows, confound your spiteful souls, wanted to throw him overboard a dozen times. And now he says to follow him, and he'll get us a place to stay."
"Some native pig-sty with fleas," I remarked skeptically, aside, to Johnny.
"You com'," begged the _padrone_, with a flash of teeth.
We came bearing our household goods, because we could nowhere see any one to bear them for us. At that we had to leave the heaviest pieces on the beach. Talbot insisted on lugging his huge bundle of newspapers.
"They may come in handy," he answered us vaguely. "Well, they're mine, and this is my back," he countered to Johnny's and my impatience with such foolishness.