hich swarmed upon
the banks. Every now and then there was a rush or a splash, or the
heavy beating of the water, as some noisome creature sought its prey;
and Nic sat there watching and listening, wakeful enough, and always on
the alert to catch the breathing of his companion, who for hours had not
stirred.

"Beat out," said Nic to himself; "utterly exhausted, poor fellow! If I
could only feel that it was a natural sleep."

He was thoroughly done-up himself, and in spite of his efforts to keep
awake, and the dread inspired by the movements of the strange creatures
splashing about in the water, and often enough apparently close at hand,
he could not keep from dozing off time after time, but only to start up
in an agony of fear. He hardly lost consciousness, and at such times
the startling noises and movements around him in the darkness seemed to
be continued in the wild dreams which instantly commenced.

Now in imagination he saw through the transparent darkness some huge
alligator making for the boat, where it reared itself up, curved over,
and seemed about to seize upon Pete, when he raised the oar with which
he was keeping the boat's head straight and struck at the monster with
all his might, and in the act awoke.

Another time Nic dropped off, to imagine that they were slowly gliding
beneath the far-spreading boughs of a gigantic forest tree; and, as they
swept on, something soft and heavy suddenly hung down into the boat,
began crawling about, and at last stopped its progress by coiling itself
round one of the thwarts, and then raising its head high in the air and
beginning to dart its tongue, now at Nic, now at the motionless body of
Pete, who still lay sleeping soundly.

Nic felt powerless, and lay watching the approach of the huge boa,
seeing it plainly in spite of the darkness and suffering an agony of
horror as he felt that he could not move, but must lie there, quite at
the mercy of the powerful reptile, which drew the boat over so much on
one side that the water, as it rippled by, rose apparently higher and
higher till it was about to pour in.

Ripple, ripple, ripple, against the sides, while the boughs of a tree
swept over his face, the touch awakening the dreamer, who uttered a low
gasp of relief as he realised how much the water and the brushing of the
leaves over his face had had to do with the dream from which he had just
been roused.

Morning at last, with the east all aglow, and the beauties