drifting down with the current;
still we thought that another puff of wind would come and send us along
again, and that it would be a pity to risk lowering the sail and
exhibiting ourselves to the birds.

They appeared to have recovered from their former fright at the loss of
their companions, though we saw their leader every now and then turning
round his head to take a look at the suspicious object the canoe must
have presented to them floating in the middle of the stream.

Again the wind blew softly, and we once more stemmed the current.

"We are gaining on them," whispered Robin. "We must try to get up
before they reach yonder point. If they double it, we may lose sight of
them."

The swans were all this time within range of our shot, but had we fired
it would not have penetrated their thick feathers, and Alick charged us
on no account to pull a trigger. We were thus long tantalised by seeing
the swans majestically gliding over the water ahead of us.

"They will get round the point, after all, before we are up to them,"
said Robin.

"Never mind if they do," answered Alick. "We'll then use our paddles,
as they will not see us, and we shall very likely soon overtake them on
the other side. There seems to be more breeze on the water out there.
Be ready to hoist the sail again the moment we get off the point."

Though we were still making way, Robin's anticipations were fulfilled,
and the swans, one after another, disappeared behind the point. The
instant they did so we lowered the sail and began paddling away with
might and main, as we hoped to find ourselves much nearer to them than
we had hitherto been. Bouncer had sat very quietly in the boat watching
all our proceedings. He was too well-trained a dog to bark or show any
signs of impatience; he probably knew from experience that had he,
indeed, attempted to swim out and attack the swans, he might receive a
blow from their wings which would make him repent his temerity, for such
power does the swan possess that it has been known by a single blow of
one of its wings to break a man's leg.

We soon got up to the point, and immediately taking in our paddles and
hoisting our sail, glided noiselessly round it.

Great was our disappointment, however, to see only one swan still in the
water. What had become of the others we could not tell. Possibly they
had plunged into some tall reeds which in dense masses lined the right
bank of the river. That bird, h