Adventure stories; Brazil -- Fiction; Fantasy literature; Jungles -- Fiction
"Ah! But the war has passed, senhores. Senhor Schwandorf was not a
soldier of Germany--he has been in Brazil for more than six years."
"War's over. That's right," McKay agreed. "But don't bother to send
word. We'll find him if he's at the hotel. Going there ourselves. Glad
to have met you, sir. Good luck!"
"And to you also luck, Capitao and Tenente," smiled the official. McKay
and Knowlton strode out.
"Guess this is the hotel," hazarded McKay, glancing at a house which
rose slightly above the others. "I'll go in and charter rooms. You get
Tim and have somebody rustle our impedimenta up here."
He turned aside. Knowlton trudged on through the glare of sunset to the
river bank where Tim and the army of Remate de Males still loafed up and
down, the admired of all beholders.
"All right, Tim. We're moving to the hotel. No more war, I see."
"Lord love ye, no," grinned Tim. "Me and this feller are gittin' on
fine. He's Joey--I forgit the rest of his names; he's got about a dozen
more and they sound like stones rattlin' around inside a can. But Joey's
a right guy. After me tour o' duty ends he's goin' to buy me a drink and
maybe introjuce me to a lady friend o' his. Want to join the party,
Looey?"
"Not unless the ladies are better looking than these," laughed the
ex-lieutenant, moving his head toward the pipe-smoking females.
"Faith, I was thinkin' that same meself. Unless he can dig up somethin'
fancier 'n what I see so far, I'd as soon have Mademoiselle."
"Who?"
"Mademoiselle of Armentières. Sure, ye know that one, Looey. Goes to the
tune o' 'Parley-Voo.'"
Wherewith he lifted up a foghorn voice and, much to the edification of
"Joey" (whose name really was Joao) and the rest of Remate de Males,
burst into song:
"Mademoiselle of Armenteers,
Pa-a-arley-voo!
She smoked our butts and bummed our beers,
Pa-a-arley-voo!
She had cockeyes and jackass ears
And she hadn't been kissed for forty years,
Rinkydinky-parley-voo!"
As his musical effort ended, out from the dense jungle hemming in the
town burst a hideous roaring howl. Again and again it sounded in a
horrible crash of noise.
"Holy Saint Pat!" gasped Tim, throwing his rifle to port and bracing his
feet. "Now look what I went and done! Is that the echo, or a couple
dozen jaggers all fightin' to oncet?"
"Guariba, Senhor Ree-ann," snickered Joao. "Not jaguars--no. Only one
little guariba monkey. The howler."
"G'wan! Ye're kiddin'!"
"But no, _amigo_. It is as I tell you. One monkey. It is sunset, and the
jungle awakes."
"My gosh! I'll say it does. Sounds like a Sat'day night row in a Second
Av'noo saloon, except there ain't no shootin'. Guess you boys have some
night life, too, even if ye are away back in the bush."
"Time for us to move, Tim," laughed Knowlton. "It'll be dark in no time.
Joao, will you have our baggage moved to the hotel?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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