CHAPTER XXXVI

ADIOS!

Two weeks later, Hal was sitting with his uncle, under the cooling shade of a palm tree. It was early afternoon and most of _Manaos_ was under cover for the siesta period. A light breeze blew and though it was a warm day they felt not uncomfortable.

Hal had just come in on one of the up-river boats that morning. He had shaved, gotten a hair cut, and blossomed forth with his relative in an immaculate suit of flannels. A pair of sport shoes covered his sturdy feet and for the first time in a month he felt clean and utterly at peace with all the world.

“This has been the first chance we’ve had to talk, Hal, do you realize that?” Denis Keen reminded him.

“I’ve been too busy taking off my jungle coat,” Hal laughed. “But what do you want to know that I didn’t write you?”

“Well, for one thing, I’m interested to know what that poor devil Pemberton died of. You just wrote that he was dead when you found him.”

“And that’s all I can tell you, Unk,” Hal said earnestly. “We couldn’t find a mark or scratch on him anywhere, so I guess a doctor would say it was from natural causes. I’d call it a broken heart.”

“No doubt, poor fellow. It’s the saddest thing I ever heard of. Still, those benighted _Pallidas_ didn’t know any better. You say they were almost wiped out?”

“Sure, we had to. They rained poisoned arrows on us like as if it was snowing. Some of the older warriors and the women and the children escaped into the jungle. They won’t be seen for many a year, believe me. But didn’t those rebel boys work! Gosh, they were aces high, Renan included.”

“I’m glad for their sakes. Your friend Rene’s, too. Today’s paper said they were all to be fully pardoned by the government.”

“And by that same token your case is knocked in the head, huh, Unk?”

“Of course. The _Cause_ just simply isn’t any more. Thanks to Renan. He’s quite a hero to Brazil, I guess.”

“He’d be an asset to any country, Unk. The U. S. will be proud to have him back. Felice, also.”

“You mean especially Felice, eh?”

“Aw now, Unk, don’t rub it in. Old Marcellus isn’t to be left out either. He’s like a kid going away to the country for the first time.”

Denis Keen puffed leisurely on his cigarette.

“We’ll have quite a full house on the boat then, eh?”

“I’ll say we will.”

“And despite the tragedies, there’ll be a lot living happily ever after.”

“You tell ’em, Unk.”

“The mists have cleared away and even the worst of your experiences will be softened by the time you get home. Time is something to be thankful for, Hal. At least you have found out everything you wanted to find out, eh? All except Goncalves. It is a mystery where he ever disappeared to.”

Hal shook back a lock of hair and smiled.

“Not a mystery to me, Unk. I wouldn’t be the least surprised to find out that Señor Goncalves turns out to be the Phantom of Death River!”

THE END

HAL KEEN MYSTERY STORIES

By HUGH LLOYD

Boys! Meet Hal Keen, that lanky, nonchalant, red-headed youth whose guiding star is the star that points to adventure, excitement and mystery. Follow him in his hunts for clues and criminals. There are plenty of thrills and shivers in these stories to keep you on your toes.

THE SMUGGLER’S SECRET

Hal Keen sets out to get to the bottom of a mystery that threatens the safety of a whole community.

THE MYSTERIOUS ARAB

Mystery, excitement, murder in a scientist’s camp in the jungles of Africa, where hate, revenge, and suspicion lead to tragedy.

THE HERMIT OF GORDON’S CREEK

The disappearance of two airmail pilots leads to a mystery that centers about an abandoned mine and a strange old man.

KIDNAPPED IN THE JUNGLE

A hint of buried treasure in the ruins of an old French mission leads Hal deep into the Central American jungle.

THE COPPERHEAD TRAIL MYSTERY

Baffling and blood-curdling events center about the ranch where Hal Keen and his friends had gone in search of gold.

THE LONESOME SWAMP MYSTERY

The lonely and mysterious swamp gave up its secret only after a series of terrifying events taxed Hal’s courage and ability.

THE CLUE AT SKELETON ROCKS

In this new thriller Hal Keen finds mystery and adventure in and about a lonely lighthouse on Skeleton Rocks, off the Maine coast.

THE DOOM OF STARK HOUSE

Mystery and terror in an old house in the wilderness above Quebec where Hal Keen is the guest of a strange family.

_The_ AIR COMBAT STORIES _for_ BOYS

By THOMSON BURTIS _Author of_ The Rex Lee Stories

Zooming into the war scene comes this new hero of the air, Lieutenant Rudford Riley, who leads The Phantom Five, a group of airmen detailed for special duty in the Royal Flying Corps during the early days of the war when every take-off was an impudent challenge to death. The record of their mad exploits over the front makes breathless reading, and their adventures have the ring of truth in them for the author-flyer takes them from his own rich experience as a war-time aviator.

DAREDEVILS OF THE AIR

Recounts Lieutenant Riley’s adventures as leader of The Phantom Five against the enemy in the air.

FOUR ACES

As commanding officer of Special Flight A, Rud Riley and Jerry Lacey, the Manhattan Madman, are thrown into the thickest and hottest of the air fighting.

WING FOR WING

Continues the record of the daredevil young airman’s adventures as one of the leading aces in the war.

FLYING BLACK BIRDS

Stormy Lake leads a squadron of picked daredevils called the Black Birds against the famous German Red Devils led by Von Baer.

ADVENTURES _in the_ UNKNOWN

By CARL H. CLAUDY

Weird! Mysterious! Incredible! Astounding!

Leap back a million years into the dark prehistoric ages. Speed through the dangers of outer space beyond the stratosphere at a thousand miles a minute. Meet the grotesque machine men of Mars. Break into the bounds of the Fourth Dimension. You will meet in these thrilling, fascinating stories many incredible beings and astounding sights that will stagger your imagination.

THE MYSTERY MEN OF MARS

Seventy million miles from home! Three men—a daring scientist and two adventurous boys—take off from the earth in a steel and aluminum sphere that sails through space at 20 miles a second. On the planet Mars they face destruction at the hands of beings who resemble mechanical bugs more than men!

A THOUSAND YEARS A MINUTE

In the world of a million years ago—whence they have been propelled by an old professor’s invention—Alan and Ted find themselves pitted against the dinosaurs, mammoths and savage ape men of a lost world.

THE LAND OF NO SHADOW

Through a violet coil frame in Professor Arronson’s laboratory Ted and Alan leap into the gray and terrifying land of the Fourth Dimension. There they are shadowed by the ghostly forms of menacing, bodiless shapes!

SKIPPY DARE MYSTERY STORIES

By HUGH LLOYD _Author of the_ Hal Keen Mystery Stories

Skippy is a young “detective” who keeps his head when trouble starts. He learns the trickery of crooked men on his father’s river barge. His experience stands him in good stead when he becomes an office boy in a detective agency and proves an invaluable aide to Conne, the great detective.... Fearless, fast thinking Skippy is a hero well worth knowing!

AMONG THE RIVER PIRATES

Skippy and his best pal—his father—struggle desperately to escape the evil net of the river pirates who ply their illicit traffic on the river that is the only home Skippy has ever known.

PRISONERS IN DEVIL’S BOG

Working in a detective agency, Skippy is sent on his first big “case”. The story of how he brings a criminal to justice, escapes from a house of horrors and wins the praise of the great Conne, makes breathless reading.

HELD FOR RANSOM

Kidnapped, and in the hands of a ruthless gang of crooks, Skippy and the son of a millionaire almost give up hope. A thrilling story with tense drama in every chapter.

WESTERN STORIES FOR BOYS

By JAMES CODY FERRIS

Each Volume Complete in Itself.

Thrilling tales of the great west, told primarily for boys but which will be read by all who love mystery, rapid action, and adventures in the great open spaces.

The Manly boys, Roy and Teddy, are the sons of an old ranchman, the owner of many thousands of heads of cattle. The lads know how to ride, how to shoot, and how to take care of themselves under any and all circumstances.

The cowboys of the X Bar X Ranch are real cowboys, on the job when required, but full of fun and daring—a bunch any reader will be delighted to know.

THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCH THE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYON THE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVER THE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAIL THE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UP THE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMP THE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAP THE X BAR X BOYS AT GRIZZLY PASS THE X BAR X BOYS LOST IN THE ROCKIES THE X BAR X BOYS RIDING FOR LIFE THE X BAR X BOYS IN SMOKY VALLEY THE X BAR X BOYS AT COPPERHEAD GULCH THE X BAR X BOYS BRANDING THE WILD HERD

TED SCOTT FLYING STORIES

By FRANKLIN W. DIXON

Illustrated. Each Volume Complete in Itself.

No subject has so thoroughly caught the imagination of young America as aviation. This series has been inspired by recent daring feats of the air, and is dedicated to Lindbergh, Byrd, Chamberlin and other heroes of the skies.

OVER THE OCEAN TO PARIS; _or, Ted Scott’s Daring Long Distance Flight_. RESCUED IN THE CLOUDS; _or, Ted Scott, Hero of the Air_. OVER THE ROCKIES WITH THE AIR MAIL; _or, Ted Scott Lost in the Wilderness_. FIRST STOP HONOLULU; _or, Ted Scott Over the Pacific_. THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST FLYERS; _or, Ted Scott Over the West Indies_. SOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE; _or, Ted Scott On a Secret Mission_. ACROSS THE PACIFIC; _or, Ted Scott’s Hop to Australia_. THE LONE EAGLE OF THE BORDER; _or, Ted Scott and the Diamond Smugglers_. FLYING AGAINST TIME; _or, Breaking the Ocean to Ocean Record_. OVER THE JUNGLE TRAILS; _or, Ted Scott and the Missing Explorers_. LOST AT THE SOUTH POLE; _or, Ted Scott in Blizzard Land_. THROUGH THE AIR TO ALASKA; _or, Ted Scott’s Search in Nugget Valley_. FLYING TO THE RESCUE; _or, Ted Scott and the Big Dirigible_. DANGER TRAILS OF THE SKY; _or, Ted Scott’s Great Mountain Climb_. FOLLOWING THE SUN SHADOW; _or, Ted Scott and the Great Eclipse_. BATTLING THE WIND; _or, Ted Scott Flying Around Cape Horn_.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK

Transcriber’s Notes

--Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.

--Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.

--Relocated the illustrations (printed on unnumbered pages) to the corresponding paragraph in the text.

--In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)