estroyed, their labour of a year brought to nothing in the space of a
single night. This is no uncommon occurrence to the merchant or the
colonist of tropical America.

They had made a narrow escape, but a fortunate one. They were not
without their troubles, however. No open ground could be found for miles
below; and, as it was growing dark, they approached the thickly-wooded
bank; and, after a good deal of scratching among the branches, at length
succeeded in making the cable fast to a tree. The balza then swung
round, and floated at the end of the cable, half of it being buried
under the long hanging branches.

They spent their night on board, for it was no use attempting to get
on shore through the underwood; and even if they had, they could not
have encamped very comfortably in a thicket. On the other hand, the
balza did not afford the best accommodation for sleeping. The little
"toldo," or cabin, was not large enough to swing a hammock in. It would
only contain a few persons seated close together; and it had been built
more for the purpose of keeping the sun off during the hot hours of the
day than for sleeping in. The rest of the balza was occupied with the
freight; and this was so arranged with sloping sides, thatched with the
bussu-leaves, that there was no level place where one could repose upon
it. The night, therefore, was passed without very much sleep having been
obtained by any one of the party. Of course, the moment the first
streaks of day began to appear along the Eastern sky, they were all
awake and ready to leave their disagreeable anchorage.

As they were making preparations to untie the cable, they noticed that
just below where the balza lay, a horizontal limb stretched far out over
the river. It was the lowermost limb of a large zamang-tree, that stood
on the bank close to the edge of the water. It was not near the surface,
but a good many feet above. Still it was not certain that it was high
enough for the roof of the toldo to clear it. That was an important
question; for although the current was not very rapid just there, it was
sufficiently so to carry the balza under this branch before they could
push it out into the stream. Once the cable was let go, they must
inevitably pass under the limb of the zamang; and if that caught the
toldo, it would sweep off the frail roof like so much spider's-web. This
would be a serious damage; and one to be avoided, if possible.

Don Pablo and Guapo went to