lit up with a pleased smile, as he
replied--

"We got him all right, if rope no break."

When, a moment later, the manatee, having recovered from the first
shock of the wound, set off through the water at a rapid pace, towing
the well-laden canoe as though it was a trifle, Donalblane began to
wonder if the rope, which was only a thin one, would stand the strain.
But Raymon did not appear at all anxious about it.

Straight out towards the deep water went the manatee, and as the canoe
ploughed through the water in its wake, Donalblane thought that this
must be something like the whale-hunting about which some of his sailor
friends at Leith had told him such thrilling tales.

For a full half-mile the powerful creature kept on, rising every now
and then to the surface for breath, and sinking again as soon as
relieved. But presently its speed began to slacken, and Raymon was
able to get a pull upon the rope, which brought the canoe nearer.

"Now, senor, you fire when I call," he said to Donalblane, who nodded
back at him joyfully, for he was burning to take part in the hunt,
instead of sitting idle.

Little by little the rope came back, until soon there were not more
than ten yards of it separating the canoe and the manatee.

"Next time he come up, you fire," was Raymon's next order; and
Donalblane, every nerve thrilling with excitement, braced himself in
the stern of the canoe for a careful shot.

With a swirl and splash the manatee appeared, and as Raymon excitedly
shouted, "Now, senor--now!" Donalblane pulled the trigger. But alas,
for the pride of youth! The prized musket, hitherto so trusty, played
him false. It flashed in the pan. There was no report, and its
intended victim sank out of sight unharmed.

Just how it happened Donalblane never understood. Perhaps either he or
Raymon, in their chagrin at the failure of the shot, made some sudden
movement; but, however it was, the next instant the canoe overturned,
and all the four of its occupants were tumbled into the water,
Donalblane holding on to his gun, although the additional weight helped
to deepen his involuntary dive into the turbid current.

Up he came, gasping and angry, to find that the Indians had happily
been quick enough to secure the canoe and to cut the harpoon line,
which otherwise would have torn it away from them. Still grasping his
gun, which he was determined to save if possible, Donalblane struck out
for the others, and when he n