backs. As they looked closer at the strange object the soldier was tossing into the air, they saw it resembled a small monkey. Then Padilla realized it was the same creature he; had spied looking at him from the bush only moments before. The captain could clearly see the small animal and its remarkable resemblance to their chattering companions that lived in the trees. In his diary Padilla had listed many different varieties of monkey and other strange animal life, but this was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before in his many travels. On this expedition he had become quite knowledgeable on the far-ranging species that inhabited this new continent; thus the animal that Suarez held in his hands so casually was something he knew to be very special.
'Captain, we have a captive, this little clown tried to steal my satchel with the last of our bread,' Rondo Cordoba, the quartermaster, said while gesturing toward the small creature Suarez was toying with.
Padilla and Torrez joined the men, and both were amazed to see the small creature up close. It was a monkey, or what a monkey would look like without so much as a hair on its body. The facial features were close to that of a man, except for the lips. They framed many sharp teeth and were thick, with the upper lip much larger than the bottom and the ears were but small holes in the sides of its head. The tail was slick as a taskmaster's whip, and it swung back and forth quickly as, Padilla surmised, it was agitated at being thrown into the air by Suarez. He saw small protrusions of skin, like a spiny sail, as it flared outward down its back every time it was tossed upwards.
'Stop tormenting that creature, you ignorant fool!' Torrez commanded loudly.
Suarez stopped, looked angrily for a moment at his captain and then at Torrez, and without removing his eyes from the two men, arrogantly tossed the small animal in the air again. He caught it and then concentrated his look on the captain in a silent challenge. Padilla drew his sword and pointed it at the larger man's throat, pressing the blade enough so that blood was soon collecting on the steel blade. His eyes were locked on Suarez and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. He would enjoy sliding his sharp blade into the throat of the very reason for their current predicament, no matter if they needed all the men they could get at that moment.
'As you can see, you fatherless child, our captain is of ill humor today,' Torrez said smiling, as he watched his captain and a seemingly unshaken Suarez.
Suarez only ignored the sword and the neck wound and was still holding the animal tightly. He quickly changed his grip, now holding the choking animal by its throat. Its tail was now jittering in small movements that were more of a spasm.
Padilla pressed the blade further into the man's throat, and the arrogance that had been there a moment ago was quickly replaced by a worried frown. Suarez just then noticed there was no laughter from the men around him. He saw there were only looks of anticipation at his seemingly imminent death.
All this time the animal's eyes never left Padilla. It was as if the small creature knew it was the subject of the standoff and was awaiting the captain's next move. Suarez slowly lowered the creature to the white sand that made up the small beach, and the monkey-like animal scurried not towards the jungle or the water, but behind the captain. The beast jumped up and down and spat at Suarez and jabbered as if cursing the large soldier. As Suarez straightened, Padilla pushed the gleaming sword forward, bringing a more satisfying flow of blood to the blade, where it rolled slowly down the shiny surface and dripped onto the few feet of pure white sand.
'We may need this fool, Captain,' Ivan Torrez said loudly so all could hear. 'We may still have him up on charges upon our return, but we need his strength to fight, or to flee from this place, and God willing, he may even redeem himself at some point in this nightmare.' He placed his hand on the captain's arm, but gave Suarez a withering look.
Padilla, without dropping his gaze, slowly lowered the sword and just as slowly wiped the blood from its tip onto the red sleeve of the big man, then he slowly slid the weapon back into the ornate scabbard at his side.
The small creature was still holding onto the captain's leg and hissing at Suarez as if cursing its antagonist. Padilla reached down and, using both hands, gently picked the animal up and looked it over. It was breathing through its small nostrils and open mouth, but it also had what looked like the gills of a fish right where the small neck joined the head, three rows of soft skin arranged along its jawline, flaring and then closing, as they too sought life-sustaining air. There were fin-like features along its forearms and a small spiny dorsal fin, again like a fish, on its back traveling the length of the animal's spine. It had sharp clear claws arranged on its fingers, and the toes were like equipped. The tail wasn't as smooth as he had first thought. It had small fish-type scales all the way to its tip where it suddenly flared and tapered to a paddle-like feature resembling a shark's tailfin, and as Padilla watched, it swished through the air in what seemed a contented arc. The beast was as foul-smelling as a fish that had washed up on the shore.
'This is the most amazing animal I have ever seen in all of our travels,' Padilla said softly, as the large black eyes of the creature blinked, not with eyelids like his own, but a set of clear membranes.
'I think it looks like my mother-in-law,' Torrez shouted to the staring company as he slapped the captain on the back in an attempt to lighten the darkened mood.
The men laughed, even Padilla smiled as he chanced a wary eye toward Suarez.
'Captain, look!' one of the men shouted.
Padilla lowered the small creature and looked to where his men were pointing toward the calm waters of the lagoon, as another of the small animals stood holding a struggling fish in both its clawed hands. The first animal scurried up to the newcomer, waddling bowlegged on its paddle-like feet, and started jabbering loudly. The animal looked on and then tossed the fish underarm toward the group of Spaniards. It landed on the sand and flopped around, then lay still, the small claw marks evident on the smooth skin of the large catfish.
As they watched in amazement, another and then another of the animals exited the water, stepping up tentatively and tossing more flopping fish onto the small shoreline as the soldiers looked at each other and nervously laughed.
'Maybe it's an offering?' Rondo ventured to no one in particular.
'Gather the fish, men, we will not waste this gift brought by our new friends,' Padilla ordered. 'Collect them all so we can also feed the men who are guarding the perimeter.'
As the men moved forward to collect the offered bounty, they failed to notice as large bubbles appeared in the middle of the lagoon and slowly circled under the sunlight, then vanished after a moment. Nor did they hear the sudden silence that filled the trees around them as the birds grew momentarily still in their high nests and roosts, but they did see the small creatures look at one another as they jabbered back and forth and then slowly headed back toward the water. The first one, the one Padilla had saved from the murderous Suarez, was looking back at the newcomers to its beautiful world. To the men who were watching the strange exodus, it looked as if the animal were saddened at leaving.
Padilla looked away from the lagoon and was amazed at the horde of fish as he counted over ten species of varying types. But just one caught his eye, and he bent over to examine it. He called Torrez over to see this wonder. The fish had huge scales and very strange fins on its lower belly toward the thick and powerful-looking tail. These most unusual fins looked as if they had small feet-like appendages on the very tips. The mouth was huge and filled with lethal-looking teeth, the jaw jutted far forward, unlike any fish he had ever seen, almost like a barracuda's, only far more pronounced. As the two officers examined the strange fish, its eye seemed to roll and look at them, and as it did, the mouth snapped open and closed. They quickly straightened up and looked at the men who were starting to build fires for cooking and to guard against the coming night. Padilla once again bent down toward the large fish. He was looking at something on its blackened scales; he reached down and lightly rubbed the strange, coarse scales. The fish moved momentarily and then lay still. Padilla held his fingers close to his face and rubbed them together; small gold flakes gently fell to the tips of his worn boots.
Padilla lay under one of the many ancient and beautiful trees that permeated the area with their massive roots projecting from the earth like a giant's arms ripping through the fabric of a blouse. He had his booted feet close to their small fire, drying the thick leather as best he could. His diary was in his hands, and he had just finished recording the observations of this eventful day. His last entry written before he closed the small book declared that the battle with the
He had considered not recording evidence of gold found lodged in the scales of the fish. But he had never omitted anything from his observations and would not start now. Pizarro would be startled to read about a source of gold so abundant that it was actually brought to the surface on the backs of fish. The captain shook his head at the thought as he placed the diary back into his tunic.
Torrez lay beside Padilla, playing with one of the strange monkey-like animals that had appeared after the sun had set behind the dense jungle. The other men played with the numerous animals that came and went with
