d the impropriety of
exhibiting strong feeling in thus grasping Manuela's hand; the
unmanliness of doing or saying anything to her that had the remotest
approach to love-making while in circumstances where the poor girl could
not get out of his way, however much she might wish to do so, and the
meanness, not to say absurdity, of showing anything like a lover's
affection for a spirit which could only make itself known through the
medium of a brown visage. Hence Lawrence, who was the soul of honour
and gallantry, got out of the dilemma by suddenly conceiving and
expressing the above intense wish to be Manuela's brother!

It did not occur to him that the gratification of his wish might have
involved war-paint and feathers, a semi-nude body, a wild unlettered
life, and a predilection for raw meat and murder. No, rapid though
thought is, it did not convey these ideas to his mind. His one desire--
after the first unguarded "exclamation" and impulsive grasp of the hand,
was to escape from his false position without committing himself, and
without giving pain or annoyance to the unprotected girl. And his
success was in proportion to his boldness, for Manuela burst into a
hearty laugh, and said--

"Why you wants be my brudder?"

"Brother, Manuela, not brudder," replied Lawrence, joining in the laugh,
and much relieved in mind. "The word is spelt with t-h, not with two
d's. The reason is that I should then have the right to order you to
sit at my feet and sing me these pretty songs whenever I liked. And I
fear I should be a very tyrannical brother to you, for I would make you
sing all day."

"What--is--t'rannical?" asked the girl, whose tendency to laugh was
evidently not yet quite subdued.

"Hallo! hi! Quashy!" came the guide's strong voice at that moment,
ringing through the arches of the forest, and preventing the
explanation, that might have been, of "t'rannical."

But Quashy replied not. It was the end of the noontide siesta. While
Lawrence, as we have seen, had taken to sketching and Manuela to
singing, the negro had gone off on his own account, and Pedro was now
anxious to have his assistance in getting ready to start.

As Lawrence hurriedly collected his pencils the Indian girl stood
admiring his work--poor ignorant thing! Just then there arose in the
forest a sound which filled them both with mingled surprise and alarm.

It was a peculiar, dull sound, almost indescribable, but something like
what one