and deluging the intrepid
voyagers. The banks of the stream were almost lost; hundreds of square
miles of forest-clad plain were under water, the tree-tops alone
showing the navigators the true course of the river. The flood flowing
sea-wards became thicker, deeper, and mightier than ever. The humid
heat of the stormy summer became well-nigh unbearable. Men sickened,
and in a few cases died. Camping ground at night was almost
unobtainable, and thick, poisonous mists enwreathed the boats during
the hours of darkness, fevering the men's blood, cramping and
stiffening their limbs. It became imperative to call a halt for a
while; the enfeebled rowers made scant progress against the
strengthening current, and the success achieved was not worth the
effort that was made. A pile-supported village was sighted, and the
Indian guides turned their boat thither, the others following.

The village stood on some rising ground on the western bank of the
stream, and in the dry season must have been at least half a mile from
the margin of the waters. Now the floods rolled between the piles,
submerging at least ten feet of them. Native canoes were tethered to
the supports, and the house platforms were soon covered with knots of
brown-skinned fellows full of anxiety and apprehension concerning the
oncoming fleet. They knew the ship's boats for those used by the white
men who came trading or raiding along the river, and wondered to find
them attempting a voyage at such a time. The friendly Indians went
forward and explained who the white men were, and what they wanted, and
the villagers proved kind and confiding, as indeed had all the natives
dwelling along the river. They gave up room in their huts to the
fevered men, sleeping out on the platforms themselves, and for a few
days the expedition rested and recuperated.

The sun had set, the moon was above the tree-tops, steadily making for
its zenith. A group of three--Johnnie Morgan, Timothy Jeffreys, and
Dan Pengelly--sat on the platform of one of the huts, their legs
dangling over the edge within a couple of feet of the water. The day
had been fiercely hot, and the water around had steamed like a smoking
cauldron. With the moon had come a brisk breeze, that swept the
stagnant, mouldy vapours away, and left a clear landscape and cool air.
Dan was stuffing tobacco into a pipe of bamboo, and urging the two
gentlemen to follow his example, the smoke of the weed being, he
dec