"You have the plan nicely in your heads, comrades," said their spokesman, draining his pannikin. "You are poor?"
"Poor! As poor as mice who live in a church," laughed one of the men. "We have not a dozen coins to toss among us. We are at the end of our tether, and look to you and other kind friends to help us to improve our fortunes."
"Then you have an easy way before you," went on the leader, leering round at the men. "A friend of mine in Montevideo has pointed out a way in which we can all gain wealth easily. You have heard of the estancias and their owners? Yes, I see that you have. Well, are they not wealthy?"
"As rich as bankers," came the answer. "When they have paid their gauchos, and sold their cattle, they have money in hand. I should know, considering that I spent a dozen years on the pampas."
"And you also know the time when their cattle are sold. Twice a year, is it not, comrade?"
"That's correct. Twice a year, and just now is one of the times. The owners have money to chink, and many will not have banked it yet."
"That is just what my friend said. He advised us to form a band to raid these estancias, and to gather what money we could. We commence with this man called Blunt."
The English sailor pricked up his ears at that, and asked a question in very indifferent Portuguese.
"Blunt?" he said. "That's an Englishman. Who is he?"
"A great friend of my friend's," came the leering answer. "So great a friend that we are to attack him first. He is in the boat lying below us. Now, comrades, can you say why I induced our captain to haul in here above that other boat? No? Then I will explain. If we slacken the ropes we shall be carried down silently against the boat, and then----"
The ruffian touched his knife significantly.
"In an hour or two, perhaps," he said. "Our comrades will have returned from the saloons by then, and will be ready to help us. Till then we can smoke."
He reached out for the spirits and replenished his pannikin with liberal hand. Then he continued to chatter in low tones with his comrades. As for the sailor, he was a garrulous ruffian, and had imbibed sufficient spirit to make him even more talkative. He found it lonely to sit at the table while men conversed in an unknown language, and presently, feeling that he too must chatter, he turned on his seat, stretched out a grimy paw, and shook someone who lay asleep on one of the long benches against the wall of the cabin. A tall, slim young man sat up, rubbing his eyes, and stared round at the group about the table with every sign of annoyance and disgust. Indeed, a glance at him was sufficient to show that he was of a different stamp entirely. He was dressed as a gaucho but hardly had the appearance of one of those fine fellows. His cheeks were not tanned, and his hands looked as if they had done little work. Still, for all that, he was sturdy enough, and, if one might venture a guess, was decidedly English. In fact he had only recently arrived out from England, and had taken a passage up the river in this particular boat.