"No," said the captain shortly. "You go and try. Another time I should like to go with you and be a boy again." "Well, you know your own business best; so we must put off the pleasure of having you with us till another day," said Brace. "Yes," the captain replied; "but I warn you to take care, my lad. No going overboard. I wouldn't give much for your chance of getting out of the water again." "But there are not likely to be any alligators or crocodiles there." "I dunno," said the captain. "I shouldn't like to risk it. There's likely to be plenty of all kinds of dangerous fish or reptiles up yonder, and size don't count. A thousand of the little tiny sticklebacks of fish in these rivers are more dangerous than one big fellow ten foot long." A quarter of an hour after the meal was finished, Lynton, Dan, and four of the sailors, with their faces full of sunshine, had taken their seats in a boat which had been lowered, while the men left on board looked down at them as if through clouds. "I hope you will be careful, my lad," said Sir Humphrey. "You may trust me, Free; I shall not do anything rash," said Brace, laughing. "I shall look forward to a pleasant evening over your specimens, Briscoe," said Sir Humphrey, speaking more warmly to the American than had been his custom. "I hope I shan't disappoint you, sir," was the reply. "Got all your guns and ammunition, squire?" cried the captain. "Yes, quite right." "And fishing-tackle and bait and everything else you will need?" "Yes; I believe we have taken everything aboard," was the reply. "I'll tell the cook to have a good fire made up in the galley for roasting the ducks you are going to shoot and the frying-pan ready for the fish you are going to catch." "All right," cried Brace merrily. "Ready, Mr Lynton?" "Ay, ay, sir." "Then push off." The man holding on with the boat-hook gave a good thrust, and the boat glided away from the brig's side with the swift stream, which rolled over the sandbank, caught the boat, and whirled her away. But the little mast was already up forward and the rudder hooked on, so that when the lug-sail had been hoisted and had bellied out, the boat, answering quickly to a touch of the tiller, glided through the water, soon recovering the ground she had lost, and, careening over, swept by the motionless brig, whose sails were now furled. "Hah!" cried Brace, as they began to race before the breeze, "this is the sort of river I like. Look, Briscoe, how clear it is. You can see the bottom now and then." "And the fish," said the American. "Brace Leigh, I begin to think we're going to have plenty of sport up here." CHAPTER TWENTY. BRACE LEIGH'S SPORT. "So we're to think of the pot and pan as well as of our specimens," said Briscoe, loading both barrels of his gun. "I fancy we shall have plenty of chances for doing both," said Brace, following suit. "How well the boat sails! Why, we have got quite a long distance from the brig already."