en. I've had a skin of one
fellow six-and-twenty foot long, and as opened out nearly nine foot laid
flat. I dessay it stretched a bit in the skinning, but it shrunk a bit
in the drying, so that was about its size, and I've seen more than one
that must have been longer, though it's hard to measure a twisting,
twirling thing with your eye when it's worming its way through mud and
water and long grass."

"Water-snakes, eh?" said Rob, who was beginning to be impressed by the
man's truth.

"Ay, water-snakes. They're anti-bilious sort of things, as some folks
calls 'em--can't live out of the water and dies in."

He laughed merrily as he said this.

"That's true enough, my lad, for they wants both land and water. I've
seen 'em crawl into a pool and curl themselves up quite comfortable at
the bottom and lie for hours together. You could see 'em with the water
clear as cryschial. Other times they seem to like to be in the sun.
But wait a bit, and I'll show 'em to you, ugly beggars, although they're
not so very dangerous after all. Always seemed as scared of me as I was
of--hist! don't move. Just cast your eye round a bit to starboard and
look along the shore."

Rob turned his eye quickly, and saw a couple of almost naked Indians
standing on an open patch beneath the trees, each holding a long, thin
lance in his hand. They were watching the water beneath the bank very
attentively, as if in search of something, just where quite a field of
lilies covered the river, leaving only a narrow band clear, close to the
bank.

"Don't take no notice of 'em," said Shaddy; "they're going fishing."

"Wish them better luck than I've had," said Rob. "Fishing! Those are
their rods, then; I thought they were spears."

"So they are, my lad," whispered Shaddy. "They're off. No fish there."

As he spoke the two living-bronze figures disappeared among the trees as
silently as they had come.

"Of course there are no fish," said Rob wearily as he drew in his
baitless line, the strong gimp hook being quite bare. "Hullo, here
comes Joe!"

CHAPTER TWO.

CATCHING A DORADO.

For at that minute a slight sound from the schooner made him cast his
eyes in that direction and see a lithe-looking lad of about his own age
sliding down a rope into a little boat alongside, and then, casting off
the painter, the boat drifted with the current to that in which Rob was
seated.

"Had your nap?" said Rob.

"Yes," replied the lad in good