they crowded
hastily around the Greek, who was bending over the rude structure.

It lay half way up the beach, and over the lower extremities of the logs
a thick layer of sand had been washed. Close by were half a dozen coarse
sacks, which proved on inspection to contain skins of leopards and
tigers, bright colored feathers, coffee, and aromatic gums. All were in
fairly good condition.

"Here is something else," cried Forbes. "Arms, by Jove! Spears and axes,
torches and paddles. Well, by gracious, what does this mean?"

An inkling of the truth flashed upon them simultaneously, and they
stared at each other in frightened silence.

"This was the last load of natives to go down the river," said Canaris
quietly. "Here is their raft, their trading goods. Yonder lie their
bones. Their journey ended here."

"And why did it end here?" demanded the colonel.

"Yes, why?" echoed Chutney, and then no one spoke for a full minute.

"What was to prevent them from continuing on their way?" resumed the
colonel finally. "They had a raft and paddles; the water was all around
them. What caused their death?"

"Starvation," suggested the Greek.

"It was not starvation that killed them," exclaimed Guy, who had turned
back to the center of the island. "Here is a bag of dates and dried meat
all shriveled and moldy. They met their death in some horribly sudden
fashion, that is certain. How do you account for their skeletons being
torn apart and the bones flung together? Could starvation do that?"

"It was serpents," said the Greek; and that brief sentence made their
blood run cold.

"Yes," continued Canaris, observing the doubt in their faces; "they must
have been surprised in the night and crushed to death. That alone can
account for their broken bones. But, remember, all this was thirty years
ago or more."

"Yes, you are right, Canaris," said Chutney. "I believe, upon my word,
what you say is true. The monstrous serpents of the cavern devoured
them."

Sir Arthur beat a rapid retreat to the canoe, and the rest were not slow
in following his example.

"Let us get away from this horrible spot as quickly as possible," said
the colonel; "and, besides, we are losing precious time on this lake. We
must seek the outlet at once and resume the journey."

They paddled gladly away from the Isle of Skeletons, as the colonel
insisted on naming it, and steered as straight a course as possible.

Under the pressure of four paddles the cano