up into a kind of rope, while the rest of the Indians cut the reeds. It
was necessary for them to get into the water to do this; but luckily,
the reeds first attacked grew in shallow water, only up to the men's
knees, and while they all worked together, shouting and splashing
vigorously the while, Dick and Earle, armed with repeating rifles,
mounted guard on the bank, holding themselves ready to open fire upon
any marauding alligator or other creature that might threaten to
interrupt the work. No interruption occurred, however, and in less than
an hour the reeds were all cut and the construction of the first _balsa_
was begun. Huanami proved himself an adept in the art of _balsa_
construction, and when noon arrived, and with it the hour for the
mid-day meal, the first _balsa_ was complete and ready for service,
including a pair of paddles, also ingeniously made of reeds.

When at the conclusion of the meal the _balsa_ came to be tried, it was
found to possess buoyancy enough to carry two men safely and
comfortably; the return march along the bank to the spot where the
remainder of the fleet was to be built was therefore immediately
commenced, the builder and his load of impedimenta proceeding by water
at the same time. The _balsa_, it may here be explained, was a very
simple affair indeed, consisting merely of a flat bundle of reeds,
firmly bound together in such a way as to form a sort of raft. The one
already built was about ten feet long and about five feet broad, by
about a foot in depth; but while strong enough for its purpose, it was,
after all, very light, and quite capable of being capsized should an
enterprising alligator take it into his head to attack it; during the
short march to the big reed bed, therefore, Dick and Earle decided that
the next _balsa_ should be constructed of a capacity to accommodate the
entire party, and therefore be heavy and bulky enough to resist anything
short of a concerted attack by a herd of alligators. The construction
of such a craft was of course a somewhat formidable undertaking, though
the other Indians showed themselves apt pupils of Huanami, and the task
was only completed when the sun had already disappeared and darkness was
closing down upon the scene.

On the following morning the voyage across the lagoon was begun
immediately after breakfast, and accomplished not only without mishap
but without adventure of any kind; for, strangely enough, not one of the
creatur