ynton had done his work well, steering so that he drove the boat's
iron-protected cut-water right upon the centre canoe's bows diagonally
some six feet from the front, when for a few brief moments their
progress seemed to be stopped. Directly afterwards the occupants of the
stoutly-built boat felt her gliding right over the canoe, which rolled
like a log of wood, and then the men were cheering as they looked back
at the glistening bottom of the long vessel and six or eight black heads
bobbing about in the water.

Crash, grind, and there was another canoe capsized, literally rolled
over by the second boat, which seemed to those in the first to rise and
glide over the crank dug-out, now beginning to float broadside on with
her crew swimming to her side.

A hearty cheer rose now from Dellow and his men, which was echoed from
the first boat, as the distance between the party and their fierce
enemies rapidly increased.

"You did that splendidly, captain!" cried Brace excitedly.

"Tidy, sir, tidy," was the reply; "but these boats weren't built for
steeplechasing in South American rivers. Let's see what damage is done.
I don't suppose we're much hurt."

The captain stepped from thwart to thwart as he spoke, and, getting
right forward, he leaned over the bows and carefully examined as far as
he could reach, before raising his face again and turning to Brace, who
had followed him, to now meet his eyes with an enquiring look.

"Right as a trivet," he said. "Took off some of the varnish; that's all
that I can see. Ahoy! what damage, Dellow?" he roared to the mate in
the boat astern.

There was no reply for a minute or so whilst the first mate examined his
boat.

Then came a shout, in Dellow's familiar tones:

"Twopenn'orth o' paint gone, and a bit of a splintery crack in the top
plank."

"Any leakage?"

"Not a doo-drop, sir," was the reply.

"Well done. Keep close up abreast," shouted the captain; and, now that
the safety of the boats was assured, attention was directed to the
canoes, which were being rapidly left astern.

"They seem to be trying to right their craft," said Sir Humphrey, who,
like Briscoe, was making observations with his pocket glass.

"Yes," added Briscoe, "and they turned them over quite easily, but their
sides are down flush with the water."

"The men have got in again, and they appear to be splashing out the
water with their paddles," said Sir Humphrey.

"That's right," said Briscoe,