lared, an antidote against the malarial poisons breathed out by the
foul mud and rotting vegetation that surrounded them. The old sailor
had enjoyed marvellously good health throughout the river voyage, and,
forgetting his previous travels, and the natural toughness of his
constitution, put his happy condition down to his daily pipes of the
fragrant Indian weed. But his two companions were too languid for
indulgence in smoking. Their heads were giddy, their hearts throbbing,
and their stomachs at war with all solid food. The tropical marsh
fever had them in its grip, and the grasp was tightening every moment.
The trees swayed dismally in the breeze, and the birds chattered
querulously at being disturbed. The waters "lap, lapped" monotonously
against the piles, and horny-backed alligators nosed amongst them,
seeking for scraps and offal or any stray eatables that came their way.
Moths and fireflies flitted about in such numbers that the air seemed
alive with them. All around was a vast, shallow, fresh-water
sea--rolling, heaving, sucking, lapping, shimmering under the tropical
moon. A night full of majesty, beauty, mystery, and death.

Dan curled himself comfortably against a pillar, closed his eyes, and
smoked with keen enjoyment. Morgan and Jeffreys gazed for a while with
aching eyes at the weird scene around; then the heavy lids dropped, and
they fell a-dreaming.

Johnnie was back in the cool forest by Severn side; the oaks and the
beeches swayed above him, and the bracken rustled as a rabbit scuttled
through. The nightingale was singing his love song to his mate and the
moon, and the dull, far-off roar of the rushing tide sounded a low
accompaniment to the song. Gone were the white, warm, mud-laden
waters, the floating trunks, the screaming parrots, the croaking frogs,
the howling beasts; the glare of the sun no longer hurt his eyes, and
its fierce heat no longer sent his brain throbbing and burning. The
air was cool, the bracken sweet, and the bird trilled out its
passionate music. Why should he sit uncomfortably propped against a
tree? He would lie down, and let the fresh, green fronds curl above
him. He sighed, his limbs relaxed, he swayed--he fell with a heavy
splash into the warm, lapping waters!

A nosing alligator swished his tail against a pile and darted off in
sudden alarm; but he came round again speedily, just as the
half-fainting man roused sufficiently to be conscious that he was in
the