gain glided out into the stream. The river was in places
very shallow, and more than once we touched the bottom, and the water
began to foam over the stern; but Gale lifted her clear with his paddle,
without our being obliged to jump out, and away we went again as rapidly
as before. Pedro was very silent--he felt confused and astonished at
all that had occurred; neither did Ned Gale nor I exchange many words,
for we could not tell at what moment we might come upon any of the
villages which are to be found on the banks of the river. Now and then
we heard a dog bark, and the crowing of some cocks in the distance gave
signs of the approach of morning; but no habitations were visible, and
no human voices gave us cause for alarm.

Several of the villages on the south bank, Ned Gale had learned, had
been destroyed by the Indians; but they had not attempted to cross to
the north side. After about an hour's paddling, we reached a spot
similar to the one where we had before taken shelter. We paddled along
the shore of the little bay for some way, trying to find a place hard
enough to bear our feet, for the bank was generally soft and muddy
fringed by a broad belt of reeds, which the alligators must have found
convenient for tickling their snouts with.

"Step out," said Gale, "and learn if we are likely to make our way
inland from this. I will wait for you and look after the canoe."

Doing as he desired, Pedro and I felt our way along with cautious steps,
for under the trees it was so dark that we could scarcely see our hands
held up before us. We found that the ground rose a little way beyond,
and appeared quite hard. Satisfied with our discovery, after about a
quarter of an hour's absence, we commenced our return to the boat. We
walked on slowly, every instant expecting to fall into some hole; and at
last we agreed that we ought to have reached the canoe. We hunted about
to the right and to the left, but we could not even see the river. We
called out as loud as we dared, but Gale did not answer.

"There is the river; I see it shining through the trees," said Pedro.

Very soon we got up to it; and Pedro, who was a little in advance, was
very nearly falling in. I dragged him back, and we began to hunt for
the canoe. It was nowhere to be seen. Again we shouted louder than
before, but Ned Gale did not answer. Could he have deserted us? Such a
thing seemed impossible, yet we began almost to despair.

"Could an a