lake. We had had no food all day. We should be certain to find
wild-fowl on its banks, whether it was a lake or a stream. On reaching
it, we were still uncertain what it was. Trees and shrubs grew thickly
on the bank, beyond which were reeds, and on its surface floated
water-lilies and other aquatic plants. I had my gun in my hand, when a
large bird of beautiful plumage rose directly before me. I could not
resist the temptation to fire. The bird did not drop immediately,
though I saw that it was badly wounded. After fluttering, however, for
a short time, it fell into the water. My faithful Caesar immediately
plunged in and swam towards it. Forgetting for a moment the savage
monsters which inhabited the streams and lakes of Florida, and eager to
obtain the bird, I did not call him back. On he swam, and was just
about to seize the duck, when he gave a loud cry, resembling a shriek
rather than a bark, while he struggled desperately to return. The next
instant, to my horror, my faithful animal disappeared beneath the
surface. As he sank I caught sight, through the water, of a monstrous
alligator, which was dragging him down. Had I possessed another charge
of powder, I might have rescued him, or, at all events, have avenged his
death; but my flask was empty.

I stood in vain expecting to see him reappear, but the monster had got
him firmly in his grip. I watched and watched, and--I am not ashamed to
say it--when all hope was gone, I burst into tears.

"We'll never see him again," said Tim, who now came up. "Those brutes
keep their prey down at the bottom of the water, until they become
rotten enough to suit their taste. It's no use looking afther him any
longer. If we only had a store of powder an' bullets, we'd pay the
villain off. Come along now, master dear; it's time to be lookin' out
for some other food."

"But we must try and get the duck," I said, recovering myself.

"Sure you'd not be afther venturing into the water?" observed Tim.

"No; but perhaps the bird may float near the bank, and we may draw it in
with a large stick."

It appeared to me that the duck was already floating in towards the
shore, when a black snout was seen above the surface, and the next
instant the bird was snapped up and carried off by another alligator.

Whether the water was a stream or pool we could not ascertain,--there
was no perceptible current; but still we hoped that by keeping along its
bank it might lead do