sly coloured orchids;
colibris that flashed like living gems darted hither and thither; flocks
of gaily plumaged parrots winged their way, screaming discordantly,
across the stream; brilliantly painted kingfishers darted like streams
of living fire from bough to bough, or perched staring intently down
into the water from some overhanging branch; enormous butterflies of
exquisite colours, and dragon-flies with transparent rose-tinted wings
flitted inconsequently over the surface of the water and were leaped at
by fish as brilliantly tinted as themselves--and it was day in the South
American forest. Half an hour later, as the boat rounded a low bluff, a
break in the forest appeared ahead, beyond which a wide expanse of water
was seen sparkling in the rays of the early morning sun; and presently
the boat shot out of the stream which she had been traversing all night,
and the wanderers found themselves floating upon the bosom of a
magnificent river about a mile wide, flowing as nearly as might be due
north.

For a few seconds the young Englishmen were silent, lost in admiration
at the spaciousness, the grandeur, and the tropical luxuriance and
beauty of the scene upon which their gaze rested entranced; then Dick
broke the silence by murmuring:

"Now, what river is this, I wonder? Surely it cannot be the Magdalena,
of which we have heard so many wonderful stories? And yet, if it is
not, I know not what river it can be. The Magdalena lies somewhere in
this direction, I believe, and--but what matters the name? It is a
superb waterway, however it may be called, the current is not so strong
but that we can easily stem it with the help of our sail, and it comes
from the direction in which we want to go. What say you, Phil? Which
is it to be, north or south?"

"South, of course," answered Stukely; "why ask such a totally
unnecessary question?" He spoke with so much irritation of manner that
Dick looked at him anxiously, fearing that he might be suffering from a
slight touch of fever. But no, there was nothing in Stukely's
appearance to suggest that he was suffering either from fever or any
other malady; but he was glancing about him keenly, eagerly, yet with a
puzzled expression, as though he recognised what he was looking at, but
could not understand why he recognised it. And his next words conveyed
precisely the same impression, for he murmured, as though speaking to
himself:

"Now, this is most extraordinary! Th