The conversation took place at the end of the lake, just where the river issued in a narrow stream, walled in on either side by the trees as before, and the intention was to cross this exit and go back by the other side, round to the wide clearing where they had passed the previous night.
Plans in unknown waters are more easily made than carried out.
They had halted for a short time at the foot of a majestic tree, one evidently of great age, and draped from where its lower boughs almost touched the water right to the crown with parasitic growth, much of which consisted of the particular family of flowers Brazier had made his expedition to collect.
Here several splendid specimens were cut from a huge drooping bough which was held down by the men while the collector operated with a handy little axe, bringing down as well insects innumerable, many of which were of a stinging nature, and, to the dismay of both boys, first one and then another brilliantly marked snake of some three feet long and exceedingly slender.
These active little tree-climbers set to at once to find a hiding-place, and at once it became the task of all the band to prevent this unsatisfactory proceeding, no one present looking forward with satisfaction to the prospect of having snakes as fellow-travellers, especially poisonous ones. But they were soon hunted out and thrown by means of a stick right away into the water, but not to drown, for they took to it, swimming as actively and well as an eel.
“Why, that last fellow will reach one of those boughs and get back into a tree again,” cried Joe.
“If a fish does not treat him like a worm,” said Rob; and he did not feel at all hopeful about the little reptile’s fate.
But the next minute he had to think of his own.
One minute the boat was being propelled gently through the still waters amongst the great lily leaves; the next they were in sight of the exit, and something appeared to give the boat a sudden jerk.
“Alligator?” asked Rob excitedly.