we lay was exposed to the view of any one
coming up or down the river. To our left, rising directly out of the
river, were some high cliffs, but we were concealed by the overhanging
bushes from any one standing on their summit; while on our right, down
the river beyond the mouth of the valley, the ground was broken, and
covered with trees and shrubs. We could see no plantations or cottages,
or any sign that the country was inhabited. We had, therefore, hopes
that we should be able to conceal ourselves till we could get on board
some passing vessel, provided we could, in the meantime, obtain food,
but on that score we were not much troubled. Having hung up our shoes
and trousers to dry in the sun, we had a bathe, which was very
refreshing, and then sat down and breakfasted on the dried meat and
biscuit we brought with us. The next most important thing we had to do
was to find a secure hiding-place. After hunting about we found a
regular cave, large enough to conceal half a dozen persons. The mouth
was very narrow, which was all the better; it was formed partly by the
roots of a large tree, the earth from beneath which had been washed
away. There was a hole between the roots which would serve as a
chimney, and we agreed, that though it might be dangerous to light a
fire in the daytime, when the smoke would betray us, we might venture to
do so at night. To hide the light we tore off a number of branches
which we stuck into the ground in front of our cave. Having swept out
and, levelled the ground, we considered that we had got a very
comfortable abode. We did not forget the old capybara and the young
ones. We had fitted nooses at the end of our wands, and armed with
these we crept close to the tree I had marked. The squeaking was still
going on within, so we knew that Dame Capybara and her family were at
home. Before long, however, out she came, followed by five or six young
ones in line. We should have liked to try and noose her, but she would
have broken away from us, so we waited for the last small one of her
progeny. I threw my noose over its head, and whipped it up in a moment,
when Gerald, seizing hold of it, quickly stopped its cries. The old
capybara turned round, but we having got behind a tree, she did not see
us, and she, being unacquainted with arithmetic, did not discover that
one of her young ones was missing. Feeling pretty sure that we should
be able to capture the others in the same way, a