nium. They were completely decked from stem to stern with a
light covering of the same material, rendering them absolutely
watertight; but by an ingenious arrangement of wing nuts these decks
could be removed in a few minutes; while, by a similar arrangement, the
hulls could almost as quickly be taken apart.

No sooner was the _Mohawk's_ anchor down and the craft riding stem-on to
the current than the crew proceeded to launch the two canoes overboard,
when proof of their extreme lightness became manifest in the fact that
it needed the strength of only ten men to lift each of them and heave
them bodily over the rail, after which they were passed astern and
secured by a painter. A number of beams and planks, all carefully cut,
fitted and marked, were then brought on deck, after which half a dozen
men descended to the two canoes; the beams and planks were passed down
to them as required, and within an hour the whole was fitted together in
the form of a double canoe, twenty feet broad, with a space of eight
feet between the two hulls--with a plank deck of twenty feet width in
the middle and twenty feet long. This curious looking craft was next
fitted with two masts and a bowsprit, arranged to carry two standing
lugs and a jib, and by the time that this was done the tropical night
was descending upon the workers, and their labours for the day came to
an end.

Meanwhile, an official visit had been paid to the yacht by the Inspector
of Customs of Conceicao, who inquired into the reasons for the visit of
the yacht, inspected her papers, and--upon learning that hunting and
exploration were the objects of the expedition--levied a substantial
amount in the shape of duty upon the guns, ammunition and general
equipment of the party, notwithstanding the fact that the Tecuachy
flowed through Brazilian territory; after which he dropped his official
attitude and offered his services--for a consideration--in furthering
the objects of the expedition. All that Earle needed at the moment,
however, was to engage the services of a dozen natives possessing some
knowledge of the country to be traversed--and also a knowledge of the
Spanish language, of which the American was a fluent linguist--and these
the inspector faithfully promised to produce on the morrow.

It was past the hour of noon on the following day when the inspector
turned up aboard the _Mohawk_ with his dozen recruits. Earle and Dick
were sitting down to luncheon on the af