A silence followed. Again Lourenço looked searchingly into the face of each American. Pedro contemplated the opposite wall, taking occasional puffs from his cigarette. At length Knowlton suggested, tentatively: "We will pay well--" Both the bushmen frowned. The coronel spoke in a tone of mild reproof: "Senhor, it is not a matter of pay. These men can make plenty of money as _seringueiros_." "Pardon," said Knowlton, and thereafter held his tongue. Deliberately Lourenço finished his smoke, pinched the coal between a hard thumb and forefinger, and spoke for the first time. "May I ask, senhor, if you are the commander?" His gaze rested on McKay. "I am." "And do I understand that we shall at all times be subject to your orders?" "In case any orders are necessary--yes. But I assume that you will not need commands." A quiet smile showed in the bushman's eyes. He glanced at Pedro. The latter met the look from the corner of his eye, without wink, nod, or other sign. But when Lourenço turned again to McKay he spoke as if all were arranged. "When do we start, Capitao?" Tim slapped his leg and cackled. "By cripes! there ain't no lost motion with these guys. Hey, Cap?" McKay smiled approvingly. "We shall get on together" he said. "Lourenço and Pedro, this is not a one-man party. We are three comrades, who now become five. If at any time one man needs to command, I, as senior officer, will take that command. Otherwise we are all on an equal footing." "Just so," Lourenço agreed. "If it were otherwise you would still be three men--not five. Since that is plain, let me say frankly that your big canoe had best stay here, also everything you do not need in the bush. Two light canoes are faster, easier to handle and to hide. Pedro and I have our own canoe and will provide our own supplies. We will pick out a three-man boat for you and load it with what you select from your equipment. After that every man swings his own paddle." "_Cada qual por si e Deus por todos._ Each for himself and God for us all," Pedro summarized. "That's the dope," applauded Tim. "Now say, Renzo, old feller, what d'ye know about these here, now, Red Bones up above here? And have ye got anything on that Raposy guy?" Lourenço shook his head. "I know little of the Red Bone people, for I have never met them. That is one reason why I now should like to meet them. I have heard of them, yes; and the things I have heard are not pleasant. Yet it may be that the tales are worse than the people. I have also heard terrible stories of the light-skinned cannibals, the Mayorunas; yet I have been among the cannibals and found them not so bad--though it is true that they eat the flesh of their enemies; I have seen it done. But it makes a very great difference how they are approached and who the men are who approach them. It is possible that we may go unharmed among even _los Ossos Vermelhos_--the Red Bones. We shall see. "Of the Raposa I think I do know something. I have seen him."