XVI
THEY’RE OFF!
THE day that the fourth canoe was launched, the fellows got their bags ready, expecting an early start in the morning. Letters were hastily sealed to be sent back to Cuiaba. They said good-bye to their waterfall camping site in order to sleep at the camp below to be ready to leave first thing in the morning. By now Harry’s sores had started to reopen on his hands and legs. With the first streaks of dawn the men were stirring. They dressed, gulped down coffee, and were ready for the embarkation. The cargo didn’t seem to be well balanced. So off it came and all started to readjust sacks of beans and rice, which should have been in tins to escape being soaked. A hamper of grated manioc root split open, and after some hunting about for empty sacks it was gathered up again. Some of the paddles had been mislaid and were discovered under the cargo, so they had to be extricated. Noon was approaching, and the party still hadn’t shoved off.
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