the birds, which came
skimming round and swooping through the dark smoke, small birds with
bright wings, and large-headed owls with soft silent pinions; these
latter every now and then adding their mournful cries to the harsh
screeching, whirring, drumming, throbbing, and piping of bird, insect,
and reptile which mingled with the fine, thin, humming _ping_ of the
mosquitoes and the mournful fluting of the frogs.

No one spoke for a time, the attention of three of the party being taken
up by the novelty of their position and the noises of the forest, for
though they had passed many nights on the river and listened to the
cries on the farther shore, this was their first experience of being
right in among these musicians of the night as they kept up their
incessant din.

"Can you tell what every sound is that we hear, Shaddy?" whispered Rob
at last.

"Nay, hardly; some on 'em of course," said their guide. "You know many
of them too already, though they get so mixed up it's hard to pick out
one from the other."

"But that?" whispered Rob, as if he dared not raise his voice, and he
started violently, for there was a splash close at hand.

"Didn't mean that fish, did you, sir? That won't hurt you here so long
as you don't walk overboard in your sleep."

"No, no, I didn't mean that; I meant that bellowing noise. You heard
it, didn't you, Mr Brazier?"

There was no reply.

"Sleep," said Shaddy gruffly.

"Joe, you heard that bellowing down the river there?" whispered Rob.

Again there was no reply.

"Sleep too," growled Shaddy. "Well, don't you know what that was?"

"No."

"'Gator. Don't suppose he thinks it's bellowing. Dessay he'd call it a
song. There it goes again. Comes along the river as if it was close to
us. But there, don't you think you've done enough for one day, and had
better do as the rest are doing? We're the only two awake."

"But what about keeping watch?" said Rob, rather excitedly.

"Oh, I don't know as there's any need to keep watch here, my lad," said
Shaddy coolly.

"What, not with all kinds of wild and savage beasts about us, and
monstrous reptiles and fishes in the very water where we float! Why, it
seems madness to go to sleep among such dangers."

"Nay, not it, my lad. Why, if you come to that, the world's full of
dangers wherever you are. No more danger here than on board a big ship
sailing or steaming over water miles deep."

"But the wild beasts--lions and tigers