d I could not
resist having a shot at one of those loathsome old alligators if I saw
one."

"There you are then," said Briscoe softly, as he pointed to what seemed
to be a trunk of an old tree floating along not very far away from the
brig between the verdant bank of the river and the side of the vessel.

Brace looked at it hard before he fully grasped what the object was, and
then cocked the left-hand barrel of his gun.

"Don't shoot," said Briscoe. "It is only waste of powder and bullet."

"I could hit the brute without any trouble," said Brace.

"I don't doubt that," said the American; "but the bullet will most
likely glance off, while if it gets home the reptile will only sink."

"So I suppose; but it will be one fewer of the savage beasts."

"One out of millions," said Briscoe. "Besides, you'll scare away that
water-elephant, and we may as well watch it for a bit."

"Gone--both of them," said Brace, laughing, as he lowered the hammer of
his piece, for the sea-cow suddenly gave a wallow and went down with a
loud splash as if it had been alarmed by the sight of something
approaching, while its disturbance of the water acted upon the great
alligator, which sank at once, startling another, of whose presence the
watchers were not aware till they caught a glimpse of the reptile's tail
as it disappeared.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE ENEMIES IN THE STREAM.

In the days which followed Captain Banes navigated his brig so skilfully
that the adventurers progressed far up into what seemed to be perfectly
virgin country. Before a week had passed Sir Humphrey was able to be up
on deck, looking a good deal pulled down, but mending fast.

A good-sized awning had been stretched aft for his benefit, and here he
sat back during the greater part of the day with a glass to his eye,
watching the many changes of the river as the brig tacked to and fro in
some reaches or ran blithely before the wind in others, for the river
wound about and sometimes even completely reversed its course.

And now, as the distance between the shores gradually became narrower,
the travellers saw the value of the long tapering spars the captain ran
up, to bear each a couple of square-sails--sky-scrapers he called them.
These were spread so high above the deck that they caught the breeze
when the lower pieces of canvas were either quite becalmed or shivered
slightly and refused to urge the vessel against the steadily-flowing
stream.

The rive