Tired though the boys were it was literally impossible to close their eyes in slumber now, and they remained very wide awake watching the coming of a new day.
When the sun had risen they could get some slight idea of the country through which they were passing; but of what might be a few yards beyond no one could say.
The shores of this particular water-way through the swamp were flat, covered with reeds and long grass, with here and there dense tangles of trees and vines, and the channel was so narrow that only at rare intervals could the paddles be used. The Indian and the white man pushed the boat from one bend to another, oftentimes finding it difficult to pass the sharp curves, and the boys confidently expected this labor would be continued during the entire day, therefore their surprise was great when, about an hour after sunrise, the little craft was forced under a clump of overhanging foliage as if the journey was at an end.
"What is the matter?" Neal asked in a whisper, and Cummings replied in the same cautious tone:
"Nothing. It would be in the highest degree dangerous to travel very far now that it is light."
"How long are we to stay here?"
"Until the darkness comes again."
"Wouldn't it be safe to go on the bank where we can stretch our legs?"
"We must not leave the boat. It will be only for a few hours, and then we shall have plenty of exercise paddling."
Immediately the canoe had been made fast under the mass of vines and shrubbery Poyor stretched himself out in the bow as if the task of remaining perfectly quiet during an entire day was a very agreeable one, and Cummings followed his example.