"here's fresh fish enough to feed
us all round. I suppose that young cat-a-mountain left it behind her
in her hurry. I wish she had left her golden chains and ouches into the
bargain."

"Well," said another, "we'll take it as fair payment, for having made
us drop down the current again to let her ladyship pass."

"Leave that fish alone," said Amyas; "it is none of yours."

"Why, sir!" quoth the finder in a tone of sulky deprecation.

"If we are to make good friends with the heathens, we had better not
begin by stealing their goods. There are plenty more fish in the river;
go and catch them, and let the Indians have their own."

The men were accustomed enough to strict and stern justice in their
dealings with the savages: but they could not help looking slyly at
each other, and hinting, when out of sight, that the captain seemed in a
mighty fuss about his new acquaintance.

However, they were expert by this time in all the Indian's fishing
methods; and so abundant was the animal life which swarmed around every
rock, that in an hour fish enough lay on the beach to feed them all;
whose forms and colors, names and families, I must leave the reader to
guess from the wondrous pages of Sir Richard Schomburgk, for I know too
little of them to speak without the fear of making mistakes.

A full hour passed before they saw anything more of their Indian
neighbors; and then from under the bushes shot out a canoe, on which all
eyes were fixed in expectation.

Amyas, who expected to find there some remnant of a higher race, was
disappointed enough at seeing on board only the usual half-dozen of
low-browed, dirty Orsons, painted red with arnotto: but a gray-headed
elder at the stern seemed, by his feathers and gold ornaments, to be
some man of note in the little woodland community.

The canoe came close up to the island; Amyas saw that they were unarmed,
and, laying down his weapons, advanced alone to the bank, making all
signs of amity. They were returned with interest by the old man, and
Amyas's next care was to bring forward the fish which the fair nymph
had left behind, and, through the medium of the Indian lad, to give the
cacique (for so he seemed to be) to understand that he wished to render
every one his own. This offer was received, as Amyas expected, with
great applause, and the canoe came alongside; but the crew still seemed
afraid to land. Amyas bade his men throw the fish one by one into the
boat; and then procla