these were the
only creatures he feared; but he had scarcely turned himself when he
perceived a pair of eyes glancing at him from the other side of the
fire. Close to them another pair, then another and another, until having
looked on every side, he saw himself surrounded by a complete circle of
glancing eyes! It is true they were small ones, and some of the heads
which he could see by the blaze, were small--they were not jaguars, but
they had an ugly look--they looked like the heads of serpents! Was it
possible that an hundred serpents could have surrounded the camp?

Brought suddenly to his feet, Leon stood for some moments uncertain how
to act. He fully believed they were snakes--anacondas, or water-snakes
no doubt--that had just crept out of the river; and he felt that a
movement on his part would bring on their united and simultaneous attack
upon the sleeping party. Partly influenced by this fear, and again
exhibiting that coolness and prudence which we have already noticed as a
trait of his character, he remained for some moments silent and
motionless.

Having already risen to his feet, his eyes were now above the level of
the blaze, and, as they got the sleep well scared out of them, he could
see things more distinctly. He now saw that the snake-like heads were
attached to large oval-shaped bodies, and that, besides the half
hundred or so that had gathered around the fires, there were whole
droves of the same upon the sandy beach beyond. The white surface was
literally covered as far as he could see on all sides of him with black
moving masses; and where the rays of the moon fell upon the beach, there
was a broad belt that glistened and sparkled as though she shone upon
pieces of glass kept constantly in motion!

A singular sight it was; and to Leon, who had never heard of such
before, a most fearful one. For the life of him he could not make out
what it all meant, or by what sort of odd creatures they were
surrounded. He had but an indistinct view of them, but he could see that
their bodies were not larger than those of a small sheep, and from the
way in which they glistened under the moon he was sure they were
water-animals, and had come out of the river!

He did not stay to speculate any longer upon them. He resolved to wake
Guapo; but in doing so the whole party were aroused, and started to
their feet in some alarm and confusion. The noise and movement had its
effect on the nocturnal visitors; for before