ican?" cried the captain.

"Yes."

"Then that makes worse of it."

"There, I don't know: bad or worse," said the mate. "All I know is that
I went to sleep after dinner, and when I woke up he was gone and I
couldn't find my hat."

The first mate exchanged glances with the captain, who spoke out at
once.

"Then how did your hat come on board, sir?"

"I don't know, I tell you, captain," cried Lynton. "All I know is that
as soon as I woke up I went half-mad, and ran down to the river, to find
you'd sailed without me; and then I got that black fellow to paddle me
down after you in his canoe."

"And a deal of good that would have been if I hadn't anchored," growled
the captain. "There, sir, get to your duties, and let's have no more of
it."

"But I want to clear my character, captain, before the crew and these
two gentlemen."

"You hold your tongue, my lad, or you'll be making worse of it."

"But there's some mystery about it," said the mate warmly. "Yes, I can
see you nodding and winking, Dellow, and making signs to the men. Here
you, Tom Jinks, you said I came on board last night?"

"Yes, me and my mate here rowed you aboard; didn't we, mate?"

"Ay, ay, lad," was the reply, and their questioner banged his right fist
down into his left palm as if to get rid of some of his rage.

"There," he cried, "have it your own way, all of you; but you don't
catch me going ashore to dine with a gentleman again."

"No," said the captain sharply, "I shan't. Now then, look alive there."

The anchor was soon after swinging from the bows, the sails filled, and
the brig began to glide down with the stream, and by the time the cabin
breakfast was at an end the banks of the muddy river were growing
distant, and various signs pointed to the fact that they were
approaching the open sea. That evening, with a gentle breeze from the
north sending them swiftly along, the low coast-line looked dim and
distant across the muddy waters, the mighty rivers discolouring the sea
far away from land, and, glass in hand, Brace was seated in a deck chair
trying to make out some salient point of the South American coast.

Then all at once something dark eclipsed the picture formed by the
glass, and Brace Leigh lowered it suddenly from his eye to try and make
out what it was. He found that it was the second mate's head.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

SOMETHING STARTLING.

"Evening, sir," said Lynton. "Growing too dark to see much with a
glas