servants that waited on us--the brown-faced subtle-eyed old Hindu
butler and an almost blue-black young Guiana Negro--to direct
many furtive glances at their master's face. They were
accustomed to see him in a more genial mood when he had a friend
to dine. To me the change in his manner was not surprising: from
the moment of seeing him I had divined that he had determined to
open the shut and clasped volume of which I had spoken--that the
time had now come for him to speak.



CHAPTER I

Now that we are cool, he said, and regret that we hurt each
other, I am not sorry that it happened. I deserved your
reproach: a hundred times I have wished to tell you the whole
story of my travels and adventures among the savages, and one of
the reasons which prevented me was the fear that it would have an
unfortunate effect on our friendship. That was precious, and I
desired above everything to keep it. But I must think no more
about that now. I must think only of how I am to tell you my
story. I will begin at a time when I was twenty-three. It was
early in life to be in the thick of politics, and in trouble to
the extent of having to fly my country to save my liberty,
perhaps my life.

Every nation, someone remarks, has the government it deserves,
and Venezuela certainly has the one it deserves and that suits it
best. We call it a republic, not only because it is not one, but
also because a thing must have a name; and to have a good name,