grown common to him," replied Morny quietly; "but
don't look only at the trees on the banks. Cast your eyes down
sometimes into the clear water."

"Don't say there are any of those great reptiles here," said Rodd
hurriedly.

"No, I have not seen one to-day; but look at the fish we disturb. They
go gliding away to right and left like so many flashes of silver and
gold."

"Now, boys, there's something," said the doctor. "Right across the
river." For there was a rush and a splash as some animal that had
evidently been wading close in under the bank sprang out of the water
with a rush, and disappeared amongst the low growth.

"What's that, captain?" cried Rodd, making a snatch at his gun.

"Hog," said the Spaniard quietly. "Did you see it?" asked Rodd. "No; I
know the noise they make. Plenty here." And then it was birds, anon
flowers, and some two or three miles farther on Joe Cross, who sat just
behind the boys, tiller in hand, glanced at the doctor and asked--"Which
way?"

For the river forked into two of equal size, and at his question the
Spaniard raised his eyelids a little and made a sign with his left hand.

This branch proved to be if anything more rich in its objects of beauty
than the winding stream they had left, for there was enough to sate even
the most exacting lover of nature, while there always seemed to be
something fresh. One minute a sailor would be pointing out a
brilliantly-scaled thin green serpent gliding along the surface of the
water, eel-like in motion, but with its back quite exposed to the
sunshine, giving it the look of frosted silver, while before long
another man made his discovery, the whole party being eagerly on the
watch for fresh objects of interest, and at this, without waiting for
orders, the rowers ceased dipping their oars, to let the boat drift
slowly by a lovely curtain of fine strands and leaves dotted with
flowers which hung down from some fifty feet up, till the tips of the
twigs touched the water.

In amongst these vine-like branches a vividly-coloured serpent that
appeared to be some six or eight feet long, and but little thicker than
a man's thumb, was deliberately climbing and twining, its eyes having
first attracted attention by sparkling in the sunshine.

"Don't seem afraid of tumbling into the water," suggested Joe.

"Wouldn't matter if it did," said Rodd. "You saw that one a little
while ago, how it could swim."

"So, I did, sir; so I did," replie