Onward we rushed
through masses of logs, branches, the remains of houses, and such like
wreck, having to be very careful that our frail vessel did not get upset
or crushed. Twice we made for the tops of hills that showed themselves
above water, but on approaching them we found that they had been taken
possession of by wild animals.

Here a tiger crouched on a branch of a tree, seemingly too much alarmed
at his perilous position to molest the half-dozen deer that crowded
timidly together right underneath his perch. Up above him the smaller
branches were stocked with monkeys, who looked very disconsolate at
their enforced imprisonment. As we swept past, the tiger raised his
head, gave a deep growl and showed his teeth, then crouched down again
as if fully aware of his helplessness, and we had too much to think of
ourselves to interfere with him.

Gaining the open country, the scene was one of desolation; but the
current was not so strong, so we turned round, seeing the flood was
going down, and by nightfall we had got back to where the house had
stood. Every vestige of the once pretty homestead had disappeared, with
sheep and cattle, though the fowls had managed to find a roost on the
topmost branches of some orange trees, which alone remained to mark the
spot.

As the moon rose, the mountaineers came down from the villages, and,
embarking on rafts and in canoes, went round the different hills,
shooting and spearing the animals that had swum there; and truly the
sight of such a hunting scene was an exciting one. Here a stout stag,
defending himself with his antlers as best he might against the
spearsmen, kept up a gallant fight till death.

The tiger we had seen in the morning took to swimming, and on being
wounded with a spear turned on the nearest canoe, upsetting the hunters
into the water, where a desperate encounter took place; but he was
eventually dispatched by a blow from an ax--not, however, before he had
clawed some of his pursuers most severely.

At daylight the water had entirely gone down, and a thick, muddy deposit
covered all the lowland, while an immense number of snakes, scorpions,
and other unpleasant creatures lay dead in all directions, upon which
and the drowned animals vultures, crows and kites were feeding.

=Queen Margaret and the Robbers.=

There were once two kings of England at the same time. One was Henry VI.
He was the rightful king, but a very weak and feeble man, and quite
u