eat rivers spring."

"Unexplored?"

"Certainly. Travellers have been pretty well everywhere in other
countries, but there are vast tracts here in Central South America that
have never been tapped as yet by explorers. Who knows what we may
find?"

"Ah, who knows? Well, we shall see."

"If only our health holds out and the winds favour us till we have
sailed up into the higher regions. What would help us most are floods
to give us plenty of deep water."

"Are we likely to get floods?"

"Plenty. Every storm in the mountains swells these rivers, and if the
wind will blow well from the sea we can get up a tremendous distance,
for we shall have plenty of deep water."

"But you want, like us, to try and collect plenty of fresh
natural-history objects, don't you?"

"Of course."

"You don't dream of discovering any old golden city, as you call it?"

"Not in the least; but if we do come upon traces of any old civilisation
during our voyage we shall not pass it by without examining it as far as
we can. What's the matter?"

Brace had suddenly gripped his companion's arm whilst he was speaking,
and in response to Briscoe's question he thrust his right hand over the
side of the brig and pointed up the river.

Briscoe shaded his eyes and gazed in the indicated direction for some
moments.

"I see nothing," he whispered at last.

"Look again, a little way out from the point."

There was another pause in the darkness, and then the American spoke.

"Your eyes are better than mine. Yes, I see it now. What do you make
of it?"

"Three canoes following one another and coming slowly with the stream."

"Full of men?" said Briscoe.

"It is too dark to see."

"Pst! Captain!" whispered Briscoe, and that gentleman crossed to where
they stood.

"See anything?"

For answer Brace pointed up stream, and after a sharp glance the captain
sent one of the men below, and the whole party were upon the _qui vive_,
with hardly a word being uttered, for every man was prepared for the
alarm. That which had been fully expected had occurred, and, rifles in
hand, officers, passengers, and crew took the places to which they had
been appointed.

Brace's heart beat fast as he stood gazing at the long low shadowy
objects gliding slowly nearer and nearer to the brig, thinking the while
that if he were captain he would give the order at once for fire to be
opened with buckshot, so that it might scatter and wound as many of the
I