then there would be a resounding slap, as
if one of the great reptiles that haunted the river had struck the
surface a tremendous blow with its tail.

"What's that?" asked Rodd, directly after, as a low, deep, mournful
sound came from amongst the trees upon the shore, sounding like a
piteous cry for help from some woman in distress.

This was succeeded by a painful silence, and then Rodd raised his
voice--

"Captain! Captain Chubb! Do you hear that? Are you there?"

"Oh yes, here I am, my lad," came from out of the darkness. "And I
should be precious deaf if I hadn't heard it."

"Well, ought we to take the boat and try and save her?" cried the boy
passionately.

"How do you know it's a _her_, my lad? I should say it was a _him_.
It's the cock birds and not the hens that shout like that."

"Bird!" cried Morny. "It was a human being."

"Ah, it do sound something like it, my lad, but that aren't a human.
It's one of them great long-legged storky chaps with the big bills,
calling to his wife to say he's found frogs, or something of that kind.
You wait a minute, and if she don't come you will hear him call
`Quanko!'--There, what did I say?" said the skipper, with a chuckle, as
in trumpet tones came the cry of the great long-legged creature in a
sonorous _Quang, quang, quang, quang_!

"Why, the captain seems to know everything," said Morny admiringly. "I
say, how did you know that, sir?"

"Oh," said the skipper modestly, "one just picks up these sort of things
a little bit at a time. Now then, do you hear that?"

The two lads did hear it--a peculiar musical (?) wailing cry which was
repeated again and again and then died out, half-smothered by a chorus
of croaking from the swampy river banks.

"Oh yes, we can hear," cried Rodd. "We can do nothing else but listen.
But what was it made that cry?"

"Ah! That's one of the things I don't know," said the skipper,
chuckling. "What should you think it was?"

"Oh, I don't want to be laughed at again," cried Rodd, "for making
another mistake. Perhaps it's some other kind of stork."

"Nay, you don't think it is," said the skipper. "You think different to
that. Come, have a guess."

"Well," said Rodd, "I should say it was some kind of great cat."

"Right, my lad; not much doubt about that. I don't know what sort it
is, but it's one of them spotted gentlemen. I should say there'd be
plenty of them here. Well, I have had about enough of it for to-day.