clear, however, as far as my eye could reach. I was about
to descend, when, looking to the south-west, I caught sight of a number
of objects moving across the prairie. I pointed them out to Jup.

"Injins!" he exclaimed. "Dey comin' dis way; better git off, or maybe
dey take our scalps."

As I agreed with him, we hurriedly descended, and rejoined our
companions, who were already beginning to launch the raft. It was no
easy matter to do so, and we had to cut some stout sticks for handspikes
before we could manage to get it into the water. While thus engaged,
several alligators poked their noses above the surface to look at us,
but the shouts we raised quickly made them disappear. Scarcely was the
raft in the water, when, happening to look round, I caught sight of
thirty or forty Indians, bedecked in war-paint and feathers, fully
armed, emerging from the brushwood, and not a hundred yards away.

"Shove off! shove off!" I cried. "Their bows carry far, and we must
put a wide distance between them and us."

Springing on board, we each seized a pole and began impelling the raft
from the shore. The Indians, seeing that we were about to escape, ran
forward, uttering loud shouts and calling on us to come back.

"Very likely we'll be afther doin' that," observed Tim.

No one else spoke; we were labouring for our lives, for it was evident,
from the savage shrieks of the Indians, that they intended mischief.

"Let us fire and bring down some of those fellows," cried Carlos.

"Very little satisfaction in doing that," observed Lejoillie. "Shove
away, my friends, shove away; the farther we can get from them the
better, for, packed together as we are, they may shoot us down at once.
Shove away, shove away, I say."

We followed Lejoillie's advice. We had got to a considerable distance
from the bank before the Indians reached it. The moment they did so,
they drew their bows and let fly a flight of arrows, which plunged into
the water close behind our raft; but happily we were just beyond their
range, or not one of us would have escaped. The water by this time was
deepening, and we had to take to our paddles, and endeavour still
farther to increase our distance; for the savages, intent on capturing
us, had begun to wade off, with fresh arrows in their bows, ready to
send another flight, at the same time uttering loud cries and shouting
out to us to return. They were possibly not aware that we had provided
ourselves