For the river forked into two of equal size, and at his question the Spaniard raised his eyelids a little and made a sign with his left hand.
This branch proved to be if anything more rich in its objects of beauty than the winding stream they had left, for there was enough to sate even the most exacting lover of nature, while there always seemed to be something fresh. One minute a sailor would be pointing out a brilliantly-scaled thin green serpent gliding along the surface of the water, eel-like in motion, but with its back quite exposed to the sunshine, giving it the look of frosted silver, while before long another man made his discovery, the whole party being eagerly on the watch for fresh objects of interest, and at this, without waiting for orders, the rowers ceased dipping their oars, to let the boat drift slowly by a lovely curtain of fine strands and leaves dotted with flowers which hung down from some fifty feet up, till the tips of the twigs touched the water.
In amongst these vine-like branches a vividly-coloured serpent that appeared to be some six or eight feet long, and but little thicker than a man’s thumb, was deliberately climbing and twining, its eyes having first attracted attention by sparkling in the sunshine.
“Don’t seem afraid of tumbling into the water,” suggested Joe.
“Wouldn’t matter if it did,” said Rodd. “You saw that one a little while ago, how it could swim.”
“So, I did, sir; so I did,” replied the man, who was as much interested as the naturalists of the party. “But there are such a lot of good things to see that one seems to shove the other out of your head. Now, what will that chap be doing there, slithering about over the water? Out for a walk?”
“Trying to catch one of those bright little sunbirds, I suppose,” said Rodd.
“No,” said the doctor, who was watching the serpent through his glass. “I should say that one is after birds’ nests.”
“Think of that!” cried Joe. “But he wouldn’t blow the eggs, sir, would he, and make a string?”
“No, my man,” said the doctor, smiling, “but swallow them, I should say, or the young birds that he might find in the nest. Why, Rodd, my boy, one wants three or four lives here, and then one wouldn’t see half the wonders of this paradise. Here’s world within world of wonder and beauty.”