and cracked, and Martin and the old trader had
just time to spring to their feet when the mud floor of the hut burst
upwards and a huge dried-up looking alligator crawled forth, as if from
the bowels of the earth! It glanced up at Barney; opened its tremendous
jaws, and made as if it would run at the terrified old trader; then,
observing the doorway, it waddled out, and, trundling down the bank,
plunged into the river and disappeared.

Barney could find no words to express his feelings, but continued to
gaze, with an unbelieving expression, down into the hole, out of which
the monster had come, and in which it had buried itself many weeks
before, when the whole country was covered with soft mud. At that time
it had probably regarded the shelter of the inundated hut as of some
advantage, and had lain down to repose. The water retiring had left it
there buried, and--as we have already mentioned in reference to
alligators--when the first shower of the rainy season fell, it was led
by instinct to burst its earthy prison, and seek its native element.

Before Barney or his companions could recover from their surprise, they
had other and more urgent matters to think about. The dark clouds burst
overhead, and the rain descended like a continued water-spout--not in
drops but in heavy sheets and masses; the roof of the hut gave way in
several places, driving them into a corner for shelter; the river began
to rise rapidly, soon flooding the hut; and, when darkness overspread
the land, they found themselves drenched to the skin and suspended in
their hammocks over a running stream of water!

This event brought about an entire change in the aspect of nature, and
was the cause of a sad and momentous era in the adventures of Martin
Rattler and his companion.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE GAPO--INTERRUPTIONS--GRAMPUS AND MARMOSET--CANOEING IN THE WOODS--A
NIGHT ON A FLOATING ISLAND.

There is a peculiar and very striking feature in the character of the
great Amazon, which affects the distinctive appearance of that river,
and materially alters the manners and customs of those who dwell beside
it. This peculiarity is the periodical overflow of its low banks; and
the part thus overflowed is called the _Gapo_. It extends from a little
above the town of Santarem up to the confines of Peru, a distance of
about seventeen hundred miles; and varies in width from one to twenty
miles: so that the country when inundated, assumes in man