. It was
precious hard, though. I kep' 'specting one of 'em would pull me back,
till I was up yonder; and it arn't safe there."

"Why not?" I said.

"There's great monkeys yonder, and the biggest snake I ever see, Master
Nat."

"But did you not see the boat? Didn't you see us hunting for you?" said
my uncle angrily.

"No, sir; I had all I could do to swim to one of the trees, diving down
so as the 'gators shouldn't see me; and when I did get up into the tree,
you'd gone back down the river, so that I couldn't see nothing of you."

"But why didn't you shout, Pete?" said the carpenter. "Everyone's been
afraid you was drowned."

"Who was going to shout when there was a great snake curled up in knots
like a ship's fender right over your head? Think I wanted to wake him
up? Then there was two great monkeys."

"Great monkeys!" said my uncle. "Pray, how big were they?"

"Dunno, sir, but they looked a tidy size, and whenever I moved they
begun to make faces and call me names."

"What did they call you, Pete?" I said.

"I dunno, Master Nat. You see, it was all furren, and I couldn't
understand it; but one of 'em was horrid howdacious: he ran along a
bough till he was right over my head, and then he took hold with his
tail and swung himself to and fro and chattered, and said he'd drop on
my head if I dared to move."

"Are you sure he said that, Pete?" said my uncle drily.

"Well, sir, I can't be quite sure, because I couldn't understand him;
but it seemed something like that."

"Yes, but I'm afraid there was a good deal of imagination in it, Pete,
and that you have bad eyes."

"Oh, no, sir," said Pete; "my eyes are all right."

"They cannot be," said my uncle; "they must magnify terribly. Now then,
take off your wet clothes, wring them out, and hang them up in the sun,
while we look after this huge serpent and the gigantic monkeys. Draw
the boat along by the boughs, Cross, till we can look through that
opening. Be ready with your gun, Nat. Put in a couple of those
swanshot cartridges. You shall do the shooting."

I hurriedly changed the charges in my double gun and sat in my place,
looking up eagerly, trying to pierce the green twilight and tangle of
crossing boughs, while Pete slowly slipped off his dripping shirt and
trousers, watching me the while.

"See anything yet?" said my uncle, as he helped Cross to push the boat
along, pulling the boughs aside, which forced him to lower the sail and