Stained River (14 page)

Night brought another soaking
rain. Connery, covered with leaves the size of elephant's ears, stayed relatively dry. He lay awake listening to the rain, thinking about what Teman-e had done for him.
Was he so savage?
What compelled him to care for a total stranger?
He had hoped for something like this, yet was surprised. The more he thought, the more perplexed he became, trying to fathom a dichotomy he couldn't understand. In many ways, this man was better than he. He didn’t deceive, he had compassion. The time would come, however, when he would witness the full extent of Teman-e’s wrath and discover a second personality, one quite different from what he observed thus far.

It took three days before
Connery’s feet healed. Teman-e used the time wisely to find food. He killed a snake and found a few lizard eggs. He also found two coconuts on the ground. These he broke open with a stone and they both drank the milk. After he scooped the meat, it left him with a container to catch rainwater. He prepared a mixture of lizard eggs and grubs, then added several pieces of snake meat. He held the coconut bowl to his lips, and sipped the chunky fluid, slowly chewing the protein filled meal, then passed it to Connery. They finished with coconut meat for desert.

Until then, both
had communicated mostly by gesturing and pointing. It was time to learn some basic words. Connery initiated the teaching lessons by pointing to different objects, like the snake, saying the word in English. This worked well as long as the discussion centered on objects. He repeated each word several times. He knew he had it right when the Indian smiled.  There was no Machi-te word for please or thank you, but they could agree on words like water, river, rain, or food.

Connery
thought he understood the Machi-te word for snake after pointing to the remains of the meal. Then he spied a tree snake and said the word again. Teman-e uttered something different. It took a while before he realized the Machi-te spoke one word for a live snake, another for a dead one. This was true for all living things, making communication more challenging. Despite the barriers, they gradually built enough words to understand one another, even make jokes and laugh. That day was a breakthrough in their relationship when Connery learned to speak many Machi-te nouns. Verbs proved much more difficult, however.

  After the meal and language lesson, Connery opened his backpack
and took out the digital camera. Without thinking, he pointed it at Teman-e. The flash caught him by surprise and he jumped back in fright. He thought it was sorcery and became furious. The situation could have deteriorated rapidly but when Connery showed him the image, he regained his composure, smiled broadly, astonished at the revelation. For just a moment, however, Teman-e revealed the other side to his nature.

The third day
Teman-e pointed to Connery's feet, and smiled.  Bending down, he removed the aloe leaves carefully and was pleased with the results. The redness was gone, the infection healed. He motioned for his patient to stand.

Connery would have to walk gingerly until his soles toughened
, otherwise, he was much better off. The festering boil on his leg needed attention. He found the large needle and cleaned it. He braced himself, bit on a small piece of wood, and cut into his leg, stifling any cry of pain. Teman-e watched the procedure, admiring his stamina and courage.

The time spent recovering proved advantageous. Not only were both strengthened, but more important, they remained undiscovered
, safe from the Wakawakatieri. The next day, before dawn, they would leave their enclave.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Uxhomeb found the camp shortly after they left. He examined the hammock, poked at the remains of food and knew his quarry was not far ahead. He was surprised to find signs that not one, but two men were there only a short while ago. The hammock itself told him they had been there for at least three days. He ordered five of his fastest men to find them alive or their heads would hang from his waist. They knew well enough it was no idle threat. For Uxhomeb, the hunt was now personal. He would forget about raiding villages and find these insects who had humiliated him. He believed they were heading toward a large tributary, but the rains made crossing it near impossible. They would soon be in his grasp.

A four-hour head start should have put more distance between them. Connery, however, had trouble walking. As much as the shoes were a source of infection, they had also protected the soles of his feet. He was as much of a liability now as he was three days ago. Valuable time had been lost and a successful escape was now in jeopardy. He limped along, wondering how much further he could walk. The sky was a cauldron of turbulent storm clouds, rain a few minutes away, sweeping in from the northwest where waters had already begun a massive surge toward them. Connery turned to look behind and his heart sank. Making their way along the river’s edge, were Uxhomeb’s men about two hundred yards away, plainly visible.

“
Teman-e! Look!”

Within minutes, they risked discovery and capture. The
skies opened and a deluge of water that began in the north, sent the river surging over its banks. This time they welcomed the rain, for it produced a visibility close to zero. They could no longer see the warriors and their enemy couldn’t see them.

The rains and gale winds sent
large chunks of soil, uprooted trees, and panicked animals, into the swollen river. A lone warrior appeared, stopping to shield his face from the biting rain. With their hunters so close, there seemed little hope of escape. The two chose to hazard the river. Drowning would be better than facing what Uxhomeb would have in mind for them.

They came to a place where rapid erosion toppled many trees that joined a floating mass of debris careening down river. Others were on the verge of being swept away and would fall within minutes. The wind picked up to almost forty miles an hour, blowing the rain almost horizontal.
Teman-e was forced to use gestures, and the few words he knew to communicate what he intended. They would choose the tree closest to toppling, ride it into the river, hoping the roots would slow its break from the soil. It was simple, also extremely dangerous.

He
pointed to the one with the most leaves. They inched their way toward it, covered in mud, trying to ignore the roiling water. The tree leaned precariously, held only by a few roots.  Connery followed Teman-e, climbing on the swaying trunk as water tore at the embankment. Only yards behind, Uxhomeb’s men made their way along the bank. For the moment, they had lost track of their quarry.

Teman-e
clung to the branches, making sure he blended in with the thick leaves. Connery had less cover. This left him partially visible to the fast approaching tribe. The wind howled as the tree dipped nearer the surging water. Connery knew that if he were spotted, Teman-e too would be seen. It made no sense for both to die. His choices were limited. He could drop into the water and risk being swept into the current, or make his way back to the riverbank and lead the warriors away. That decision became unnecessary when the roots broke free, hurling the tree into the river. It moved rapidly away into the fast moving current.

Connery
hung tenuously to the underside of the trunk. Under water for what seemed like an eternity, his lungs were near bursting when his head finally broke surface. He gasped for breath, coughing and spitting. No one heard. The Wakawakatieri were aware only that another large tree had fallen, and they moved back to save themselves. Both Teman-e and Connery held on to a water borne craft over which they had no control.

The tree
bobbed and rolled, picked up speed and slammed into other objects. But the gamble had paid dividends. They traveled further and faster than any attempt they might have made had they chosen to stay on land. What lay ahead, however, proved treacherous; foaming water, trees colliding with large rocks creating geysers that splashed high, the tree trunks forced straight into the air with each violent impact. The sheer momentum of a twenty-ton tree crashing into rocks could surely kill them in an instant.

A frightened Teman-e was the first to leap, then Connery. Both sunk into the raging turbulence and disappeared. When at last they regained the surface, Connery looked to his friend and saw panic in his eyes. He realized then, Teman-e couldn’t swim. Teman-e tried desperately to avoid going under a second time when an enormous branch hit him full force, knocking him unconscious. His limp body slumped like a rag doll. Connery saw his plight and swam with the current, hoping it would allow him to grab the lifeless form. Large objects appeared from nowhere, moving at rapid speed. He succeeded in dodging them but had make shore quickly or he too would die.

They were nearer to the far
side of the river when he caught up, grabbed Teman-e’s arm and held on as the unresponsive body slipped from his grasp. He fought with every bit of his strength to gain purchase on anything that might save them. It was a vine that saved them. He pulled, and with a final heave, felt the riverbed beneath his outstretched toes. He dragged Teman-e onto the shore then collapsed. Connery lay face upward into the rain until he caught his breath. Then he rolled Teman-e on to his back. A sharp slap brought no response.

“
Teman-e! Dammit! Wake up!”

Afraid that the severity of the concussion had killed Teman-e, Connery turned him over and pushed on his back until a trickle of water began flowing from his mouth. He continued trying to revive him but with no apparent results. After ten minutes, he felt for a pulse. There was none. Reality struck another blow. Once again, he would be on his own. The man he had counted on, had grown to like, lay still as death. The wind and rain washed over them as he got up and looked despondently at the body. He would find shelter, then return to bury him as best he could.

A short distance away, he found the remains of a giant tree, its hollowed out trunk forming a cave like
sanctuary. He expected to see it occupied by an animal loathe to surrendering its protective quarters. Instead, it was empty, relatively dry, a perfect place to bed down and rest. He spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning it out thoroughly, then went back to where he left his friend.

Who
was nowhere to be found.

He had left
thinking he was dead. He began a search with no success. Connery thought,
this could be a good sign
. A short while later, Teman-e walked out of the bush holding a hen, its neck wrung, and three eggs in his other hand. Connery grabbed him in a bear hug. In his exuberance, he almost broke the eggs.

“I thought you were dead! You scared me!”

Teman-e grinned.
He understood Connery’s emotion.

They walked the fifty yards to the hollowed tree. After so many days of soaking rain and dampness, the dry place was a respite, a welcome haven with grass and twigs for kindling. Uxhomeb’s men were unlikely to be a worry. They were deranged enough to attempt the same crossing, but that wouldn’t be possible for at least another day. Perhaps a small fire might be risked.

They camped that night in the easy glow of a pink and blue sunset that spread its hues over the rain-dampened jungle. The storm had ceased, the chatter of monkeys resumed. Bats, hungry for fruit, darted and swooped in the twilight while owls soared silently into the high trees.

Before darkness, Teman-e gathered enough twigs to last the night, placed some on top of dry grass and flicked the lighter several times before it ignited into glowing flames. He used Connery’s knife to gut and skewer the bird he had caught. Shortly after, the aroma of roast hen filled the wooden cave. They ate ravenously, leaving nothing but cleaned bones, and followed up with raw eggs, topped off with papaya. Both settled into the comfort of the hollowed tree, tasting the warmth of the fire. No words were spoken. Connery, who had dined in the finest restaurants worldwide, could not remember a meal ever tasting that good.

CHAPTER
TWENTY ONE

Brasilia

Senator Reyes smiled graciously as he was handed a snifter of fine French cognac and a Cuban cigar. His smile broadened when he saw the large envelope on the table in front of him. They were alone in Castelo Branco’s executive office suite on the twenty fifth floor. It was nearing mid- evening, the lights in surrounding high-rise office buildings formed checkered patterns in the city sky. Below, the Esplinada dos Ministerios, illumined a broad path to the president’s palace. Castelo Branco pushed the envelope toward the senator.

“I think you will find this to be adequate for what I am about to
ask. I have taken the liberty to include a luxury vacation in Monaco for you and your wife. You will find the accommodations palatial and the gambling allowance quite generous.”