n Bay, eight
miles down the coast. The first Panama railroad also chose Limon Bay
as one terminus; so that the town of Chagres soon lost its business.)

Mr. Adams spoke Spanish, because he had been a soldier in Mexico; and
right speedily he bought bread and bananas and eggs and some dried
meat. There was a hut bearing a sign in English: "Crescent Hotel"; but
one look into it and at its mob of panting customers decided Charley
and his father to eat in their canoe.

"Good! There's Francisco!" exclaimed Mr. Adams, as they returned.

"Yes; and there's that Jacobs again!" cried Charley. "He's after our
canoe!"

"He won't get it," said his father. "We've paid for it, and we keep
it."

VII

A RACE UP THE RIVER

The river landing was still the same scene of wild bustle, with the
white people running up and down, darting hither-thither, all
determined to set out at once. The dark-skinned natives were the cool
ones amidst the flurry; and the boatmen were the coolest. Every canoe
was constantly being pounced upon by fresh seekers who were yet without
a craft, but the majority of the canoes seemed to have been engaged.
However, a few boatmen evidently were holding out for higher pay.

Sure enough, the long-nosed man and one of his partners were hotly
arguing with Maria at the bows, and offering him money; whereat Maria
only shook his head, under its wide-brimmed braided straw hat, and
scarcely paused in his work of thatching the canopy. Francisco stood
looking on and listening. He was a strapping big fellow, not very
black, wearing loose cotton pantaloons. In his ears were brass rings,
for earrings. Just as Charley and his father arrived, the long-nosed
man roughly seized Maria by the shoulder, as if to jerk him from his
work and force him to take the money. At that, Francisco sprang
forward like a panther, grabbed the long-nosed man by the collar, and
flung him head over heels, along the mud.

Well plastered, the long-nosed man picked himself up, and glared at
Francisco. By-standers laughed. Mr. Jacobs make a step forward, as if
to leap while Francisco waited, panting and ready. But Mr. Jacobs's
partner said, shortly: "Come along. We can't waste time here," and
with a parting scowl the long-nosed man turned away with him.

Neither of them seemed to have noticed whose boat it was. All they
wanted now was anybody's boat, of any kind. Charley was glad to see
them go.

Francisco grinned at Mr. Ad