hing seemed to be quiet and
motionless around them, with the exception of the river, yet they were
given precious little time for wonderment or speculation.

The first amazing sight on which their eyes rested was their own large
canoe drifting down stream. They stood a moment, not knowing what to
make of it, but speedily reached the right conclusion: Ziffak had set
it free for their special benefit.

It was floating sideways near the middle of the Xingu, and showed there
was no one on board.

It was too invaluable to be allowed to get away from them, or to run
the risk of a passage through the rapids below. Long decided to swim
out to it, but, before he could enter the water, the Professor showed
him that some one had anticipated them. A short distance up the bank,
a native was in the act of entering the Xingu, while his companion
stood on the bank, evidently about to follow him.

The clear moonlight enabled the explorers to identify them as Bippo and
Pedros, the former being the one already in the water.

"Let them go," whispered the Professor, "they may as well do it for us."

Pedros was but a few strokes behind his friend, and the two were seen
to clamber over the side of the craft at the moment it came opposite
where the delighted white men were standing.

At this juncture, the Professor called to them in a guarded voice.
Their expressions of amazement were ludicrous, and it was only after
they had stared for several minutes and the call was repeated that they
comprehended that their friends were near.

Then the two showed their extravagant delight by leaping up and down
like a couple of children, and uttering cries that, to say the least,
were imprudent.

The Professor sternly ordered them to hold their peace and paddle the
boat to shore. They set to work with a will and brought the craft to
land, only a short distance below, where the white men had reached the
river. Instantly, they stepped on board, and with the exception of the
single absent member, our friends stood in the same situation as a
short time before.

It was Jared Long that in his flight from the beleaguered building took
the extra Winchester with him, so that the little party could not have
been better armed. Luckily, too, there was an abundant supply of
ammunition on board, so that the old feeling of confidence came back to
the party when they once more felt they were masters of the boat and
all it contained.

Their desire now w