explained my object, and showed that my visit
was one of peace. They would have let me go if an enemy had not been in
the camp. You see, Senhor Armstrong, I have many enemies as well as
friends everywhere."

"That is always the case with men who hold decided principles, and try
to act up to them with vigour," returned Lawrence.

"So I have found it," rejoined Pedro, looking earnestly at his young
friend. "You have had a more varied experience of life than I. Has
that been your experience too?"

"It has. But I suspect that my experience of life has not been so much
varied as yours, Pedro, for it has been chiefly among civilised
communities until now. Still, I have observed that it is only those who
swim with the current of public opinion, and jostle nobody, who manage
to keep friends with everybody. When a man ventures to think for
himself,--as he ought to do,--and take action, he is sure to have
enemies as well as friends,--supposing, of course, that he is a man of
any power or influence."

"Well, I suppose it is because I _try_ to have influence," rejoined
Pedro, "that I manage to have plenty of friends and foes,--the last
being sometimes unreasonably bitter."

"That proves your influence to be powerful," said Lawrence.

"H'm! it may be so. I know not. Time will show. At all events, this
enemy of mine stirred up a number of men like himself in the camp to
such an extent that they seized me, and carried me to the banks of their
river, with the purpose of throwing me to the alligators. Some of those
who were in my favour ran along with them, and among them I observed one
man who I knew would be willing to risk his life for me. This gave me
hope; but my enemy did not approve of the mode of my execution; he
thought--rightly--that a chance of escape was involved in it; so, to
make sure, I suppose, he came close up, and when they were on the point
of throwing me into the river, he drew his knife and made a plunge at my
heart. My friend must have suspected something of the sort, for he had
also pushed close to me, and I saw him give the would-be murderer the
jostle that turned his knife aside.

"Next moment I was in the river. I knew that it swarmed with
alligators, and felt an uncomfortable thrill as I went in head foremost;
but I knew also that I was a strong and swift swimmer, so I struck out
for my life to the opposite bank, which was not more than forty yards
off. I splashed as much as I could, for