I should have run away, and dreamed about it for nights
afterwards!" she exclaimed. "It was very brave, Harry, of you and
Arthur to face it; and as for True, he is worthy to take rank with Saint
George, for it must have appeared a perfect dragon to him."

"Barring the want of tail, my sister," observed John with a laugh.
"True will find many more formidable antagonists than the matamata in
these regions, and he must be taught to restrain his ardour, or he may
some day, I fear, `catch a Tartar.'"

Maria meantime stood behind us, lifting up her hands and uttering
exclamations of astonishment, as she surveyed the creature at a
respectful distance.

The next evening we again accompanied the Indians. It was very calm,
and the water in a narrow channel through which we went smooth and
clear, so that we could look down to a great depth and see the fish
swimming about in vast numbers. Presently I caught sight of a huge
black monster gliding silently up the channel just below the surface.
It was, however, too far off for the harpoons of the Indians to reach
it. We followed, they intimating that we should very likely come up
with it. We had not gone far, when they ceased rowing and pointed
ahead. There I saw, on the other side of a clump of bamboos which grew
on a point projecting into the stream, a creature with a savage
countenance and huge paws resting on the trunk of a tree overhanging the
water. It was of a brownish-yellow colour, the upper parts of the body
variegated with irregular oblong spots of black. It was so intently
watching the stream that it did not appear to observe us. Had it not
indeed been pointed out to me, I might not have discovered it, so much
had it the appearance of the trunk on which it was resting. Presently
we saw a huge black head projecting out of the stream. In an instant
the jaguar, for such was the animal on the watch, sprang forward and
seized its prey. The creature which had thus ventured within the grasp
of the jaguar was a _manatee_, or sea-cow, the _peixe boi_ of the
Portuguese. A fearful struggle ensued, the manatee to escape, the
jaguar to hold it fast. I lifted my gun to fire, but the Indians made a
sign to me to desist. If I should kill the jaguar the manatee would
escape, and their object was to allow the latter to be too exhausted to
do so, and then to shoot the jaguar. Now it appeared as if the jaguar
would drag the water-monster out of its native element, now that