Old Gold Part 20

"There must be a lake on the other side of the bank," said Brace eagerly.

"No," replied the captain; "only one of the creeks that run inland among the trees. Come, do you know what that is?"

"It sounds like an alligator splas.h.i.+ng about in shallow water," replied Brace.

"You've hit it first time, squire. It's a big one las.h.i.+ng about with its tail to stun the fish so that they float up ready for his meal.

That's right, isn't it, Mr Briscoe?"

"Quite," said the American. "I've seen them doing it in the Mississippi swamps; but they were only small ones, five or six feet long. This one sounds as if it were a thumper."

"Yes," said Sir Humphrey, "I suppose there are monsters in these waters.

Ah!" he continued, as the splas.h.i.+ng grew louder; "that sounds like a warning to us not to think of bathing while we are up the river."

"Bathing!" cried the captain. "I should think not. You can't do it here, sir, for, besides alligators and different kinds of pike, these waters swarm with small fish that are always savagely hungry. The big ones are plentiful enough, but the little ones go in shoals and are as ready to attack as the others, and they have teeth like lancets, so take care."

The splas.h.i.+ng ceased, and this seemed to be the signal for fresh sounds to arise both up and down the river and from the forest depths on either bank, till the night seemed to be alive with a strange chorus, which, as Brace and his companions listened, culminated in a tremendous crash, followed by a dead silence.

"Whatever is that?" whispered Brace.

"Big tree tumbled," said Briscoe carelessly.

"But there is no wind--there was no lightning."

"No," said the American, "but it had to tumble some time. You often hear that in the woods: they go on growing and growing for hundreds of years, and then they stop from old age and overgrowth, and begin to rot and rot, till all at once, night or day, the top's too heavy for the bottom, and down they come. We'll go and have a look at that one in the morning."

CHAPTER TEN.

IN THE BLACK FOREST.

There was a fascination about that night scene which kept Brace and his brother on deck for hours trying to pierce the black darkness, and whenever they made up their minds that it was time to go down to their berths something was sure to happen in the mysterious forest depths or near at hand in the river.

One time it was a piercing cry as of someone in agony; at another a sneering, chuckling laugh taken up in a chorus as if by a mocking party of strange watchers, who, accustomed to the darkness, could see everything going on aboard the brig; whisperings; sounds of crawling creatures pa.s.sing over sticky mud and wallowing impatiently in their efforts to get along; peculiar angry barkings uttered by the alligators; and a dreadful rustling in the trees, which Brace felt certain must be caused by huge serpents winding in and out amongst the branches.

He suggested this to the captains who uttered a grunt.

"Very likely," he said. "They do creep about in that way after the monkeys. 'Tis their nature to. This is the sort of country for those gentlemen, both the dry ones and the wet ones."

"I don't understand you," said Brace. "Oh, you mean the boas and the anacondas."

"That's right, squire, and I daresay we shall see some tidy big ones.

Yes, that sounds like one working about. Ah! he struck at it and missed, I should say. Bit disappointing, for snakes like their suppers as well as other people, and I'm going down to have mine. Are you coming?"

"No," said Brace decisively; "I'm going to stay up here and listen."

Sir Humphrey and Briscoe elected to do the same, and for another hour they listened, and watched the display made by the fireflies; while every now and then, as the muddy water trickled and seemed to whisper against the sides of the brig, the listeners were startled by some strange splash close by, which sounded to them as if the river swarmed with huge creatures which kept on swimming around and beneath the vessel, partly attracted by curiosity as to the new visitor to their habitat, partly resenting its presence by splas.h.i.+ng and beating the surface as they rose or dived.

"It's all very interesting," said Briscoe at last, "and I could stop here all night watching and listening; but we must have sleep, or we shall be no good to-morrow, so I'll say good night, gentlemen. If anything happens, my gun and rifle are both loaded, and I'll come on deck directly."

"That's right," said Brace sharply. "But what can happen?"

"Who can say?" replied the American. "We know we're in a wild country, perhaps the very first of all people who have come so far into the forest, and we don't know what enemies may come. I'm pretty sure of two: stinging insects and fever; but there's no telling what may come out of the dark jungles. We're pretty safe from wild beasts, but for aught we know we may have been watched by savages ever since the morning. Savages generally have canoes, bows, spears, and clubs. I don't say it's likely, but some of them might come creeping aboard in the night, and if I was captain I should arm the watch. Ugh! what's that?" he cried, in a horrified tone.

"Barrel of my rifle, Mr Briscoe," said Lynton quietly, from out of the darkness.

"Why did you do that?" said the American sharply.

"Only to show you that the watch is armed, sir; and if there is anything unpleasant in the night we shan't be long in letting you know."

Another hour pa.s.sed before Sir Humphrey and his brother went below, and then their first act was to thrust cartridges into their guns and rifles, and to lay them with their ammunition-belts ready to hand; but even after that precaution sleep was slow in coming to Brace's pillow, for he lay listening to the rush, gurgle, and splash of the river till the strange sounds grew confused and died out, all but a peculiar rustling that seemed to be made by a huge serpent creeping among the branches of the trees: and this puzzled the listener, for it was impossible that trees and a huge reptile could be out in the middle of the great muddy river.

Then it seemed that the anchor which held them fast out in mid-stream must have dragged and the brig have been carried by an eddy close in sh.o.r.e, to run aground, so that the masts were tangled with the overhanging boughs.

Thoughts came fast after this, but more and more confused, till they were so mixed that the listener could pick out nothing clear from what had become a mental tangle in which he grew so weary that nothing seemed to matter in the least, and he did not trouble about anything more till a voice said:

"Come, Brace, isn't it time you roused up?"

The reply was a dull thump on the floor caused by the young man rolling out of his berth, to find his brother half-dressed, and that the troubles of the night had been merely dreams, for a glance out of the cabin window showed that the brig's stern was in mid-stream, with the muddy water turned to ruddy gold by the rising sun, in whose rays the current flashed and looked glorious beyond the power of words to paint.

The banks of trees which dipped their boughs right into the stream, instead of looking mysteriously black, were also glowing with colour, and in several parts full of moving life, as birds of brilliant hues flitted from bough to bough, and an excited company of active monkeys swung themselves here and there in their eagerness to get a view of the strange object which had invaded their forest home.

It was settled at once over breakfast that a boat should be manned directly after the meal, so that a landing might be effected on one or the other sh.o.r.e, the forest promising endless attractions for the naturalists.

"All right, gentlemen," said Captain Banes; "the boat shall be ready, for there isn't a breath of air this morning."

"Why do you speak like that?" said Sir Humphrey, noting the captain's manner. "What has the wind to do with it?"

"Only that if there was a breeze I should advise you to take advantage of it and go on up the river, for you'll do no good here except by shooting from the boat."

"Oh, but we must land and go up country a bit," cried Brace.

"It isn't to be done, squire," said the captain. "Take your gla.s.s when you go on deck, and you'll see that the forest is all one tangle, through which you'd have to cut your way, unless you can find a creek and pole the boat along among the trees."

"There must be a creek in yonder," said Briscoe, "where we heard that great alligator splas.h.i.+ng."

"Well, try, gentlemen," said the captain, smiling; "there's nothing done without: only don't go and overdo it, for you'll find it terribly hot and steamy under the trees."

"I'll see to that," said Sir Humphrey quietly; and soon after, well provided with arms and ammunition, the party stepped into the boat, the men dropped their oars into the water with a splash, and in an instant there was a tremendous eddy and a little wave arose, showing the course made by some startled inhabitant of the river--fish or reptile, probably the latter, disturbed from where it had lain in the shadow of the brig.

"Might have had a shot if the water had been clear," said Brace excitedly. "I've got ball in one barrel."

"Good plan," said Briscoe, "for you never know what you may see next.

I'd keep an eye upward amongst the low boughs of the trees. Use yours, too, Dan."

Brace was already carrying out that plan, attracted as he was by the sight of parrots and the glimpses of green and scarlet he kept seeing-- brilliant tints that evidently formed part of the gorgeous livery worn by the macaws which made a home high up amongst the top branches of the huge trees.

Brace glanced back at the brig swinging in midstream by her chain, with her square sails hanging motionless in the hot air; and then as the men dipped their oars gently, the boat glided close in towards the overhanging boughs, which displayed every tint of rich tropical green.

One was literally covered from the water's edge to its summit with a gorgeous sheet of brilliant scarlet blossoms, over which flitted b.u.t.terfly and beetle, a very living museum of the most beautiful insects the travellers had ever seen.