"Yes, that's right," said Dellow, chuckling; "but hit the poor fellows
soft the first time so as not to hurt 'em much. If they get saucy
afterwards, why then you must hit hard."

"All right; I'll mind," said Lynton, looking at Brace and smiling; "but
this ought to be stopped, for the niggers are wonderfully clever at
hitting the brig. They shoot right up into the air and guess at their
aim, so that the arrows seem to come down out of the sky."

"Yes," said Brace, who was now gradually beginning to take an excited
interest in the encounter with the natives; "it's the way they shoot the
floating turtles, so that their arrows pierce the shell instead of
glancing off."

"There's another," said Dellow. "Well, I wish they'd keep to their
turtles. I don't like them practising on me. What's that one like, Mr
Brace? Is the point broken?"

"No," said Brace, who had crept sidewise along the deck so as to reach
the last arrow that had come on board, and carefully drawn it out, to
sit examining the head.

"Poisoned?" asked the mate.

"I'm afraid so," replied Brace. "Look at this stuff lying in the
groove," and he pointed to what appeared to be some kind of gum,
adhering to the roughly-made head.

"Ah! looks nasty," said Briscoe; "but it isn't obliged to be dangerous
to human beings. You see, they use their arrows principally for small
game. I don't believe, mind you, that your brother's going to be much
the worse for his trouble."

"I sincerely hope not," said Brace, with a sigh.

"So does everybody, sir," said the mate. "But come: it's our turn now.
Let's see if we can't stop this game before some of us are hit."

"Yes," said Briscoe, who had taken up, examined, and then smelt the
arrow-head, ending by moistening a paper which he drew from his pocket
and rubbing the arrow-point thereon, with the result that the paper
received a brownish smear and the soft iron became clear.

After a few moments he said:

"There is no doubt about the arrows having been dipped in something, and
we must not run any more risks."

Brace experienced a chilly feeling as he thought of his brother, but he
made an effort to master the nervous dread by devoting himself to the
task they had in hand.

"The arrows seem to come from the foot of that great tree," he said,
pointing to where a giant rose high above the heads of its neighbours
and sent forth huge boughs, the lowermost of which swept the surface of
the river.

"I fancy t