Chapter 14
The Indians advanced. The group held its ground and watched them. One of the Indians picked up Tuesta's body, spat on it, and threw it into the river, swirling, now, higher up the bank. The body floated downstream way in the growing current and then disappeared in a froth of boiling red water and silver flashes. In five minutes, his white bones were rolling along the bottom of the river toward the sea, joining countless others of man and animal fallen victim to the slashing teeth.
One of the Indians spoke. It was a curious sound, almost entirely without consonants. Winston spoke back. The Indians looked at each other, and their faces took on an amused look. They all jabbered at once and made motions with their spears for the group to go into the jungle.
"What the hell'd you say?" Ken asked.
"I demanded to see their chief," he grinned, seeing the Hollywood aspects of it. "I knew some Jivaro a long time ago I learned from a guy who worked for a pharmaceutical company. I flew him upriver in a Catalina. He was looking for the components of curare for medicinal use and some other stuff. I've damn near forgotten it all."
Winston shrugged. "I think they recognized the tongue. If what Tuesta said back on the plane is true, there should be one of them in their village who understands it. These Caymanos have never welcomed outsiders."
"Do you think they shrink heads too?"
"I don't know, friend. I hope not." He spoke to Alva. "For Christ's sake, don't talk Spanish to them. You saw what it got Tuesta."
They were led through the jungle at a rapid pace. They twisted around monstrous trees, climbed a fair-sized hill, then descended into a low area where everything was different. Giant trees towered above them. In places, they could see two and three canopies arching high overhead. There was a shaded gloom in the jungle that was slightly yellow-green in hue and emotionally warm, despite the lack of sunshine.
The walking was fairly easy because of a partial lack of undergrowth. What didn't reach the sun died or didn't grow, and Martha could see that the only direction of struggle was up-ever up-to reach it.
She felt awed by the majesty and timelessness of the jungle. In spite of her immediate fear of the Indians, she could notice the monkeys that followed overhead and chattered at them. Bright macaws flashed by in flight, displaying plumage of strident greens and reds and yellows. A group of toucans flew off with a raucous sound and then stopped to eye their passing from behind monstrous, multicolored bills.
A tapir crashed away from the column in fright and stirred up a fawn-spotted animal, which hid under a huge leaf with magenta veins. A giant butterfly, pale blue and gold and easily seven inches across, dipped and lifted into the cool, verdant heights. When she looked up, Martha saw air plants of breathtaking delicacy spilling their feathery tendrils from the crotches of tree limbs. Orchid vines looped in flowering strands like blossomed webs.
The jungle was quiet and yet full of sound. There were buzzes and rustles and whistles, all punctuated with raucous cries and melodious songs. It seemed stagnant, but she could feel it surging with living power just the way Alva had described it. Even the silent leaves under her feet weren't still. In a short time, they would change to food for the trees and give form to more leaves in the timeless recycling of life. Martha felt the endless power of the jungle suffuse her body with strength and desire, and she remembered other times in the Everglades long ago.
She watched the Indians ahead of them. Their backs and naked buttocks were painted in a way that seemed free and spirited, rather than war-like. She saw the free, healthy swing of genitals between their rippling thighs, and she had an overwhelming desire to strip naked and run through the jungle with Ken the way she had in her dream.
They came to a steep bank and followed along its rocky edge. A crystal stream gurgled beneath them and formed a clear pool at the bottom of a hill. There was a small clearing with a circular group of thatched huts. The Indians led them to the center of the clearing, where the villagers stopped the work they were doing and looked at them.
The first thing Martha noticed was how beautiful the people were. Their faces were round and open, and their eyes sparkled with an inner joy. The men were naked and slender, with good builds and shiny hair styled long. The women were surprisingly narrow-waisted, with smooth hips and high, tilted breasts. They too were naked, and their bodies gleamed with a vibrant, golden hue. They crowded around the group with curiosity, laughing and pointing in a friendly way. Their pubic hair was sparse, concealing their soft labia less than heightening the beauty of their shapely bodies.
One of the warriors motioned for Winston to go into a hut that was decorated with scarlet feathers. While he was gone, one of the young girls brought a bowl of something for the group to drink.
"Everybody take some," Alva said. "To refuse would be bad manners."
The drink had a sweet taste, something like citrus, and there was a mild alcoholic warmth to it. Martha noticed one of the girls eyeing Ken, and she pointed her out to him.
"You have an admirer, darling," she said. "I think I'm jealous."
Ken flustered a little. "She's really pretty, isn't she?"
"Mmmmm," Alva said boldly. "I would suck that gorgeous pussy for her. Look how soft, how tempting it is. I wonder if they do that here."
"You don't need to do any more of that stuff," Groveband said sternly.
Alva laughed in her throat with a challenging sound. "The big man comes of age at last," she taunted. But she looked at him oddly and licked her lips.
"Bobby, what about me?" Wendy asked. "Don't you love me any more?"
He looked at her with total disdain and said nothing.
After some time, Winston came out of the hut. He was accompanied by an extremely handsome Indian who wore nothing but a string of cayman teeth around his neck, centered by a marble-sized emerald. Even uncut, the gem caught the sunlight and fired it back at them in a dazzling display of soft color.
"Look at that hunk of rock!" Wendy exclaimed, her eyes glittering.
"To hell with the rock," Alva said. "Look at the man wearing it. Mmmmm, I would like to take him home to my father. He makes my pussy swell."
"What's up, Skipper?" Ken asked. "Do we go into the pot for dinner?"
"Not a bit. It seems they're in the midst of a celebration. It took a while to get over the language problem, but from what I can tell, the Indians Tuesta's buddies were trying: to indoctrinate got fed up and butchered the whole lot of them. The tribes went back into the jungle feeling humbled for not having listened to their witches."
"Their what?"
"Medicine men. The old boy's in there now having visions. The chief here, his name is Yambiki, said Umpati saw us coming through the sky on silver wings-in his mind, I mean. But he was confused. We were good and bad at the same time. So he sent some of his men out to find us and kill the bad spirit. That was ' Tuesta. I assured him that Tuesta was a very bad spirit, and that we were glad he was dead. I told Yambiki we wanted to leave them in peace, and he promised us a canoe tomorrow." He shuffled his boots. "I might have overdone the good spirit a little, Martha, and gotten you in a bind. Sorry about it."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Sharp hedged around a minute and then came out with it. "Well, I played up your virginity to them to assure them we were all good spirits. Umpati took another drink from the soul vine and hallucinated some more to see what all that meant."
"The what?"
"It's a variety of liana. The juice in it contains a hallucinogen. Lots of witches use it to see things with."
"Winston, tell me," Martha said impatiently.
Sharp sighed heavily. "We're going to have an orgy tonight," he said bluntly, "and you're to be the star attraction. I tried to get out of it, but they started getting hostile. If we came and went without protection from the cayman spirit, we would die on the river and bring death to the village. It's their custom, and we're stuck with it. I'm sorry."
"Oh, God," Martha whispered softly. "What's going to happen to me?"
"The old boy gets the honors. Sorry, Ken."
"Can't we run off somewhere?"
Sharp laughed humorlessly. "Impossible." He turned to Clara. "Honey, I don't want you to fight this, but Yambiki has chosen you." He smiled wanly. "You might as well enjoy it while you have the chance."
Her eyes appraised the handsome, youthful body. "All right, Winston," she said. Her eyes danced. "Would you be angry if I enjoyed myself thoroughly?" She colored slightly. "He is a beautiful man."
"You go right ahead, because the rest of us will be enjoying ourselves, too. Ken, you're already tagged by the bashful one giving you the eye."
"Who do I get?" Alva asked, licking her lips. Winston tipped his hat back. "You get the snake treatment."
"Aiee," she gasped. "The snake! Ah-my God! Yes! My pussy is twitching for it already!" She cupped her hand over her crotch and let her eyes smolder with lust.
"Bob, you get the widow and her daughter over there, and Wendy has to take on two of the warriors." He laughed slightly. "That's because there's so much of you to go around."
A runner came out of the hut and said something to Yambiki. He grinned hugely and spoke to Winston, then to the villagers. They laughed and cheered and went busily back to work getting the celebration ready.
"What's that?" Ken asked.
"Umpati's impatient," Sharp said. He looked at Martha warmly. "I can't say that I blame him."