e of exploration eastward in her; and
this they did, arriving, after a beat to windward of some five and a
half miles, off the mouth of a river which seemed to be discharging down
a long and very tempting-looking valley. There were no natives to be
seen, or any signs of them; therefore, tempted by the possibilities
which the exploration of the river held out to them, they entered and
sailed up it until it shoaled so much and its bed became so obstructed
with rocks that the boat could proceed no farther. Then it became a
question whether they should adopt the dictates of prudence and return
to the ship, or whether they should risk something by landing and pursue
the further exploration of the river on foot. Eventually they decided
that as the afternoon was still young, and nothing had been seen that
was in the slightest degree alarming or suggestive of possible danger,
they would take such small amount of risk as was involved in landing and
investigate the course of the river a little farther, the beauties of
the place very strongly appealing to them. Accordingly they landed,
concealing the boat beneath the foliage of a remarkable tree that
conveniently overhung the stream.

Having cunningly hid the boat and looked carefully to the priming of
their firearms, the adventurous trio stepped ashore, George, with drawn
sword, leading, while Chichester, the surgeon, brought up the rear.
They were compelled to closely follow the course of the stream, since
the woods on either hand were so dense and impenetrable that it would
have been impossible to pass through them, save by hewing their way, and
this was of course not to be thought of. Besides, it was the river that
they desired to explore, since only by following its banks could
anything be seen of the many strange and beautiful things that
surrounded them; therefore they pressed forward, now on the solid ground
close by the river margin, and now scrambling, ankle and sometimes knee
deep, along the boulder-strewn bed of the stream itself, pausing at
frequent intervals to admire some forest giant dressed in vivid scarlet
blossoms instead of leaves, or another thickly festooned with trailing
creepers gorgeous with blooms of marvellous form and most extravagant
hue, or a graceful clump of bamboo, soaring like gigantic plumes of
feathers a hundred feet into the heat-palpitating air. Frequently, too,
they halted to watch the motions of some tiny humming-bird hovering like
a l