e of its inhabitants;
for, as the boat was being steered past a moss-covered, rotting stump,
the gnarled wood suddenly seemed to become animated, a portion of it
rising a little and then gliding away with a heavy splash into the
water.

Before he could realise what it was, there was another movement just
beyond, and this time he made out plainly enough the gaping mouth,
prominent eyes, and rugged back of a great alligator, followed by its
waving tail, as it dived down from a cluster of tree-roots out of sight.

After this the reptiles became common enough, for the swamp swarmed with
them, and Nic realised that it might be a strangely-perilous task to
make his way through the forest unless provided with a boat.

The men whispered to themselves as the reptiles scuttled about in their
eagerness to escape, and shook their heads; and as Nic turned from
observing them to gaze aft he became conscious of the fact that the
overseer was watching them with a grim smile upon his lips, reading
their thoughts respecting the dangers of an attempt to escape.

The dogs were evidently familiar with the sight of the reptiles, rarely
paying any heed to them save when the boat approached quietly and
aroused a sleeper, which in its surprise raised its great jaws
menacingly, when one of the dogs would set up the hair about its neck,
growl, and make a savage snap at the reptile; and after a while the
prisoners grew in turn accustomed to the loathsome-looking creatures.

"But we might seize the boat," thought Nic, "in the case of no help
coming;" and he sat there more and more grasping the fact that after all
he might be forced to depend upon the aid and companionship of those
around him, and be compelled to master the dislike and repulsion which
they inspired.

Another stoppage at a woodland farm for the night, and then on again for
a fresh day's toil as monotonous as the last.

At the different changes made, the rowers left their oars dripping with
perspiration, for the swamp seemed breathless and the heat intense; but
towards evening a faint breeze sprang up, and instead of its growing
darker there was a lightening in the appearance of the place; the
setting sun sent a red glow among the trees, and then they passed out of
the forest into a lovely, dreamy, open country, stretching for miles and
miles towards where a range of hills ran right across their course,
beyond which, pale orange by the fading light, another range of greater
he