uggle
in order to keep themselves afloat. I gave a sigh of relief that the two
men--already a long distance from us--were, by a great stroke of luck,
the only two who could swim. I urged them to have courage and we would
come to their rescue, although for a moment I could not think how we
should do it, as we had only one paddle left and the steering gear had
got torn away from its socket, although Alcides with great courage had
managed to save it. I ordered my men to paddle with their hands and with
the large oar which was used for steering. We were tossed about in a
terrific manner, the men and canoe going round and round the whirlpool in
an absolutely helpless fashion.

[Illustration: Author's Men shooting a Crocodile.]

What distressed me more than anything was when I saw the two men getting
nearer and nearer the centre, although they made a desperate struggle to
swim away from it. In our effort to get to them by using the steering
oar, the canoe, for some reason or other, swung round upon herself two or
three times, and I saw with gladness the men gradually getting nearer. It
was a moment of joy when I saw Antonio, who was a powerful swimmer,
within only a few feet of the canoe. His face was ghastly, with an
expression of terror upon it. He was quite exhausted, and was shouting
pitifully for help. The man X was a few yards farther off.

The canoe suddenly swung round, going right against Antonio, who grasped
the side of the boat and proceeded in such haste to climb on board that
he came within an ace of capsizing her. A few moments later we were
alongside of X, but he was so exhausted that he had not the strength to
climb up. We seized him and with great difficulty lifted him inside the
canoe.

We continued to go round and round the vortex in a helpless fashion,
endeavouring with the steering oar to get out of that perilous position.
As I gazed around I saw my camp bed and bedding, which were enclosed in a
water-tight canvas bag, still floating close to the centre of the
whirlpool. Alas! a moment later they were sucked down. Most of our
cooking utensils which were loose in the canoe had been washed overboard.
Two of our casseroles were floating gracefully in a circle round the
whirlpool.

It is curious how people's mentality will work on such occasions. After
we had been some minutes endeavouring to get away from the centre of the
whirlpool, one of my men, who had recovered from the fright, saw the
cooking pan