In the days which followed Captain Banes navigated his brig so skilfully that the adventurers progressed far up into what seemed to be perfectly virgin country. Before a week had passed Sir Humphrey was able to be up on deck, looking a good deal pulled down, but mending fast.
A good-sized awning had been stretched aft for his benefit, and here he sat back during the greater part of the day with a glass to his eye, watching the many changes of the river as the brig tacked to and fro in some reaches or ran blithely before the wind in others, for the river wound about and sometimes even completely reversed its course.
And now, as the distance between the shores gradually became narrower, the travellers saw the value of the long tapering spars the captain ran up, to bear each a couple of square-sails—sky-scrapers he called them. These were spread so high above the deck that they caught the breeze when the lower pieces of canvas were either quite becalmed or shivered slightly and refused to urge the vessel against the steadily-flowing stream.
The river was still a goodly stream, and its muddy waters ran deep and showed no sign of rock on either shore.
Day after day the same kind of thickly-wooded forest was seen on both shores, until it became almost monotonous.
Now and then they saw a bare trunk, high up whose jagged, splintered branches were marks—dried, muddy weeds and seeds—which still clung and showed to what a marvellous height the river must rise at times, turning the surrounding country for miles into one vast marsh.
“Fine river this, mister,” said the captain one day, as they were gliding slowly on, the pressure of the wind being just sufficient to make the brig master the stream. “Plenty of water; no rocks. I think it would be a bit different if it was up yonder where you come from.”
“Yes,” said Briscoe, smiling. “There’d be plenty of towns on the banks, well-cultivated farms everywhere, and all kinds of plantations; and instead of crawling along like this we should be travelling up in a steamer.”
“With plenty of niggers along the banks to cut down the forests for burning in the engine fires, eh?” the captain asked.
“Yes; these forests would soon be put to some purpose, captain.”