The Adventurers

Chapter 23

When the ritual ended and the tribe all filed down inside the jaguar's mouth, Le Clerque slipped from his blind and sneaked up to the platform where he believed the chief would sit and did a quick survey. Inside he could hear shouting and yelling and more chanting and he decided not going in was his smartest play

He stepped around the side and spotted the doorway leading to Sam's quarters and when he got inside he stared with amazement at the furnishings and the decor, realizing that a white man had taken up residence and the old airplane parts suggested how he got there.

He turned to leave when the hole in the far wall caught his eye and he crossed the room to investigate. Outside in the dark, Le Clerque could just make out the ground several feet below and he decided to expand his investigation. He landed with a soft thump and staid perfectly still, listening to the night. Insects flitted about his face and he could sense the subtle activity in the jungle close by; the nocturnal creatures that began their foraging.

A new sound reached his ears and he turned his face toward the source. A definite cracking of a branch; not a native. He quietly took off toward the sound, his body as close to the ground as balance would allow, and he heard another irregular noise. He didn't know who he was following but he did know they were sneaking away and for that reason Le Clerque would catch them up and determine why.

* * *

Pazzo and his men wandered into the deserted village and stared up at the giant carving. Deep inside they could hear sounds of many voices and the screams of one. One of the Katopi started to back away but Pazzo smacked him and told him to get up there and see what was going on. It took the threat of his knife to make the man obey while the other huddled down with his arms clasped about his knees.

Just as the native reached the entrance, two of the village men emerged and there was a brief struggle before the Katopi was impaled on one of the men's spears. They shouted something and jumped down from the jaguar's mouth, brandishing their weapons. Pazzo drew his pistol and fired, killing one and wounding the other but in a matter of seconds a swarm of natives poured out of the carving and down onto the village floor to surround the new intruders.

Another shout told the throng that there was no one in the Sky God's quarters; he was gone and so were the other prisoners. The sound of anger in the voices increased and Pazzo and his man were roughly forced up the steps and inside the huge carving. When they saw the arena they both began to struggle. The interruption had left no time to clean up from the previous ritual and the ripped and bloody body of a man lay strewn about the sand pit.

Both men were lashed to the post back to back while the natives began a methodical cleansing of the area in the pit, replacing the soiled sand with a fresh load. Pazzo kept shouting and swearing to no avail and when they heard the roar from beyond the arena, the Katopi fainted dead away.

******

Sam called a halt and had the group gather around him. "This is as far as I've ever gone so I don't know what's ahead or even which direction to go. According to my compass, that's north and from what I think I know, the Gingi River is somewhere in that direction. That would be our best bet to get away."

Sax beckoned the two Katopis forward and told them the situation. Matzumen said he would go ahead and locate the river, not try, but locate. Sax was confident he could but he impressed upon him that they couldn't stay where they were for long. Matzumen nodded and quickly disappeared into the jungle.

Tapuk said he would backtrack and see if they were being followed; he would come back shortly.

"So we wait I guess." Chessery found a place to sit and encouraged Krena and Luna to join her.