is
tail. Apparently he considered this an attack made upon him by the
boat, for he wheeled round in a rage, and swam violently towards it.
The negro and Glynn sprang to their feet on the instant, and the former
raised his paddle to deal the creature a blow on the head. Before he
could do so, Glynn leaped lightly over Ailie, who had just awakened,
caught the savage by the ankles, and tossed him overboard. He fell with
a heavy splash just in front of the cavernous jaws of the hippopotamus!
In fact, he had narrowly escaped falling head-first into the creature's
open throat.

The nearness of the animal at the time was probably the means of saving
the negro's life, for it did not observe where he had vanished to, as he
sank under its chin, and was pushed by its forelegs right under its
body. In its effort to lay hold of the negro, the hippopotamus made a
partial dive, and thus passed the small canoe. When it again rose to
the surface the large canoe met its eye. At this it rushed, drove its
hammer-like skull through the light material of which it was made, and
then seizing the broken ends in its strong jaws upset the canoe, and
began to rend it to pieces in its fury.

Before this occurred, the crew had leaped into the water, and were now
swimming madly to the shore. At the same moment Glynn cut the line that
fastened the two canoes together, and seizing his paddle, urged his
craft up the river as fast as possible. But his single arm could not
drive it with much speed against the stream, and before he had advanced
a dozen yards, one of the natives overtook him and several more followed
close behind. Glynn allowed the first one to come near, and then gave
him a tremendous blow on the head with the edge of the paddle.

The young sailor was not in a gentle frame of mind at that time, by any
means. The blow was given with a will, and would probably have
fractured the skull of a white man; but that of a negro is proverbially
thick. The fellow was only stunned, and fell back among his comrades,
who judiciously considering that such treatment was not agreeable and
ought not to be courted, put about, and made for the shore.

Glynn now kept his canoe well over to the left side of the stream while
the savages ran along the right bank, yelling ferociously and
occasionally attempting to swim towards him, but without success. He
was somewhat relieved, and sent them a shout of defiance, which was
returned, of course with in