crowded down closer to the water's edge.

Brace and his naturalist companion had withdrawn their gaze from the
silvery sheen of the descending fall a mile ahead, to gloat over the
beautifully-coloured birds, insects, and flowers which revelled in
myriads in the light, heat, and moisture of the glorious bank of the
stream.

Fresh beauties rose to the view at every glide of the boat, and Brace
felt that what they ought to do was to check its way and stop to drink
in the glories of the scene.

Chance after chance offered itself, but neither of the gun-bearers felt
disposed to shoot, and their pieces rested in the hollows of their arms
till suddenly, as they passed round a point, they came upon a scene in a
nook some fifty yards away which made each seize and cock his weapon.

There, right down by the edge of the water, squatted a curious and most
uncouth-looking form totally unclothed save by its natural hairy growth,
and apparently quite unconscious of their approach as it bent over and
lapped the water it raised in its shaggy hand.

But the clicking of the gun-locks aroused it to its danger, and,
springing upright, it stood peering at them for some moments from
beneath a pair of great hairy overhanging brows, before giving vent to a
hoarse, long-continued yell.

The result of this was soon perceived, for three more such figures
suddenly bounded from amongst a clump of bushes and made for the dense
forest close at hand.

The first seen stretched itself up a little higher for the moment, until
it looked like a big savage man, and it stood still glaring at the
strangers fiercely and displaying its teeth.

Directly afterwards it uttered another deep-toned yell, and its human
aspect was gone, for it went down on all-fours and seemed to turn itself
into a rear-guard for the other three till they disappeared amongst the
undergrowth.

The first seen then again raised itself to gaze over the bushes at the
boat, and, after uttering a hoarse half-bark, half-human cry, it plunged
in after the rest and was gone.

"Here, why didn't one of you have a shot?" cried Lynton.

"What at?" said Brace quietly.

"Those monkeys. It was an old man and his wife and two youngsters. Why
didn't you fire? You had a good chance."

"That was why I didn't fire at them. I didn't want to hit the old man
nor his wife nor youngsters. I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"That's just how I felt," said Briscoe. "Hang me if I could make ou