heavy eyes, and at last, in spite of all,
he too slept heavily, and dreamed of the young Italian coming to him
holding out his hand frankly and then in foreign fashion leaning toward
him and kissing him on the cheek.

At the touch Rob leaped back into wakefulness, rose to his elbow, and
looked sharply round, perfectly convinced that his cheek had been
touched, and that, though in his sleep, he had felt warm breath across
his face.

But there was nothing to see save the blazing fire, whose snapping and
crackling mingled with the croaking, hissing, and strange cries from the
forest. Fire-flies glided here and there, and scintillated about the
bushes; Brazier and Shaddy both slept hard; and the peculiar cry of a
jaguar or other cat-like animal came softly from somewhere at a
distance.

"Fancy!" said Rob softly as he sank down, thinking of Shaddy's last
words that night. The troubles of the day died away, and he dropped off
fast asleep again, to begin once more dreaming of Joe, and that they
were together in the cabin of the boat side by side.

And it all seemed so real, that dream; he could feel the warmth from the
young Italian's body in the narrow space, and it appeared to him that
Joe moved uneasily when there was a louder cry than usual in the forest
and crept closer to him for protection, even going so far as to lay an
arm across his chest, inconveniencing him and feeling hot and heavy, but
he refrained from stirring, for fear of waking him up.

Then the dream passed away, and he was awake, wondering whether he
really was in the cabin again, with Joe beside him. No; he was lying on
the boughs beside the fire, but so real had that dream seemed that the
fancy was on him still that he could feel the warmth of Joe's body and
the boy's arm across his chest.

"And it was all a dream," thought Rob, with the bitter tears rising to
his eyes, as he gazed upward at the trees, "a dream--a dream!"

No, it was no dream. He was awake now, and there was a heavy arm across
his chest and a head by his side.

"Joe! Oh, Joe!" cried Rob aloud; and he grasped at the arm, touched it,
felt its pressure for an instant, and then it was gone, while at his cry
both Shaddy and Brazier sprang up.

"What is it?"

"I--I--think I must have been dreaming," said Rob excitedly. "I woke
with a start, fancying Joe had come back, and that he was lying down
beside me."

"A dream, Rob, my lad!" said Brazier, with a sigh. "Lie down again