id so, and pulled till
it was dark, and were within two miles of the brig, where the flood-tide
again made strong, when we turned the boat's head up the river, and
pulled with the oars to get up as far as we could before we landed.
This we did, suffering much from hunger and thirst, as well as being
confined so long in one position. As my knee was quite well, I now took
off the bandage, and hung my diamond round my neck as before. I could
not help feeling a satisfaction, when I thought that the thief of a
captain little imagined what a mine of wealth he was losing when he
turned me adrift. It was about midnight when the tide ceased to flow,
and we then agreed to land, and the question then was, whether we should
separate or keep together. After some discussion, we agreed to separate
in twos, and the Portuguese captain and I agreed to keep each other
company. We first pushed the boat into the stream, that she might drift
away, and then, shaking each other by the hand and bidding adieu, we all
started in different directions. For some time the captain and I
threaded the woods in silence, when we were stopped by a stream of deep
water, with such high banks, that in the dark we did not know how to
cross it. We walked by the side of it for some time to discover a
passage, and in so doing we at last found ourselves again on the banks
of the river, and our boat lying close to us, having grounded not far
from where we had shoved her off. We tasted the water in the creek, and
found it quite fresh: we had several times tried it on the river, and
found it quite salt from the tide running in. We drank plentifully, and
sat down to recover ourselves, for although we had not walked more than
half an hour, the pushing through the brush-wood was very fatiguing.

"I think," said I, "that this boat will certainly betray us, and would
it not be better to take possession of it again? It will hold two
comfortably, and I think we shall get on as well, if not better, in a
boat than in the woods without compass and without guide."

"I agree with you," said the captain; "but what shall we do?"

"Let us retrace our steps; let us pull again, with the ebb-tide, for the
mouth of the river, and then coast it along shore; we may arrive at some
settlement, if we do not starve by the way."

"I agree with you," he said, "it will be the best plan; we must conceal
ourselves in the day, and coast along at night."

We waded into the river, got