"I don't know," said Briscoe thoughtfully. "They had it, I suppose, from native reports, and they never found it." "Of course not. It _was_ only a travellers' tale." "Perhaps so, but the wealth of Mexico and of Peru did not turn out to be a travellers' tale." "Well, no," said Brace slowly. "And there is plenty of room out here in the mountains or beyond the forest for such a golden city." "Oh, yes, plenty of room," said Brace. "There is gold in the upper waters of the rivers, for I have found it. We shall find some in this, I'll be bound--some day when we've sailed up as far as we can, and then pushed on up the shallows in a boat right away towards the mountains." "What mountains?" asked Brace. "The unexplored mountains from which these great rivers spring." "Unexplored?" "Certainly. Travellers have been pretty well everywhere in other countries, but there are vast tracts here in Central South America that have never been tapped as yet by explorers. Who knows what we may find?" "Ah, who knows? Well, we shall see." "If only our health holds out and the winds favour us till we have sailed up into the higher regions. What would help us most are floods to give us plenty of deep water." "Are we likely to get floods?" "Plenty. Every storm in the mountains swells these rivers, and if the wind will blow well from the sea we can get up a tremendous distance, for we shall have plenty of deep water." "But you want, like us, to try and collect plenty of fresh natural-history objects, don't you?" "Of course." "You don't dream of discovering any old golden city, as you call it?" "Not in the least; but if we do come upon traces of any old civilisation during our voyage we shall not pass it by without examining it as far as we can. What's the matter?" Brace had suddenly gripped his companion's arm whilst he was speaking, and in response to Briscoe's question he thrust his right hand over the side of the brig and pointed up the river. Briscoe shaded his eyes and gazed in the indicated direction for some moments. "I see nothing," he whispered at last. "Look again, a little way out from the point." There was another pause in the darkness, and then the American spoke. "Your eyes are better than mine. Yes, I see it now. What do you make of it?" "Three canoes following one another and coming slowly with the stream." "Full of men?" said Briscoe. "It is too dark to see." "Pst! Captain!" whispered Briscoe, and that gentleman crossed to where they stood. "See anything?" For answer Brace pointed up stream, and after a sharp glance the captain sent one of the men below, and the whole party were upon the _qui vive_, with hardly a word being uttered, for every man was prepared for the alarm. That which had been fully expected had occurred, and, rifles in hand, officers, passengers, and crew took the places to which they had been appointed.