t the small fish
attracted by the floating object.

Once there was a great matted-together patch of earth fully thirty yards
long and half as wide, a veritable island with bushes still in their
places, floating steadily seaward, and helping to explain the muddiness
of the water and the shallowness of the ocean far out and to right and
left of where the great river debouched.

Several consultations took place between the captain and Sir Humphrey as
to the course to be taken, and the latter politely asked Briscoe to join
in the discussion and give his opinion.

"No," he said; "I shan't say anything. I've only one idea about it, and
that is to sail up one of the big rivers that run out of this, one that
has not been explored before, so as to get amongst what's new."

"Well, that's what we want, isn't it, Free?" said Brace.

"Exactly."

"Then I needn't interfere in any way, gentlemen," said Briscoe. "I only
say choose your river, and let's get to work: only pick one that has
banks to it where we can land and do something."

"Then you don't want us to go as far as we can up one of the explored
rivers?" said the captain, smiling.

"Certainly not," cried Brace.

"I understand, gentlemen. Give me time, and I'll take you to just the
place you want. I know the river, but I never heard its name. It runs,
as far as I could make out, due nor'-west: that is, as far as I went up.
After that it went no one knows where."

"That's the place," cried Brace. "Is it very big?"

"Tidy, squire," said the captain. "It's very deep, and there's plenty
of room for the brig; and, what's better, the current's sluggish, so
that we can make our way."

"What about the forest? Is it far back from the waterside?"

"Hangs over it, so that one can send a boat ashore every night with a
cable to make fast to one of the great trees, and save letting down and
getting up the anchor."

"But about the river itself: can you take the brig up far--no rocks,
shoals, or waterfalls?"

"Nothing of the kind, sir," said the captain. "It's all deep, muddy,
sluggish water running through a great forest, and I should say it
carries off the drainage of hundreds of miles of country. It must come
from the mountains right away yonder, and sometimes there must be
tremendous rains to flood the stream, for I remember seeing marks of
sand and weeds and dry slime thirty or forty feet up some of the trunks,
and I should say that at times the whole country'