"All the better, my lad. Holds more music and sings all the longer."
"Caught anything?" asked Joe from the boat, for both lines had been cast now, and the lads were patiently holding the ends.
"No; haven"t had a bite," replied Rob; and the words had hardly left his lips when Brazier"s gun raised an echo across the river, which ran to and fro, reflected by the wall of trees in zigzag course till it died out.
But no one listened to the echo, for all attention was taken by a large duck, one of about a dozen which had come skimming along over the surface of the water till its course had been stopped by Brazier"s accurate shot, when it fell flapping heavily and raising quite a spray around it as it began to float rapidly down-stream.
"Come, we mustn"t lose that," cried Shaddy, running to unfasten the rope which moored the boat. "We"ll go together. Mr Joe, sir, haul in your line."
But before the boy could obey there was a cry of annoyance from Brazier as, with a slight splash, something seized the duck and drew it under.
""Nother supper gone!" growled Shaddy.
"What was it?" cried Brazier.
"Didn"t see, sir. Either a "gator or a big fish. Look sharp, Mr Joe, sir. Now, if you could catch that there fish with the duck in his jaws too, it would be something like."
But Joe did not have the chance to catch a fish with the duck or without, and Rob fervently hoped that he might not catch the captor of the duck, for he felt certain that he had seen the jaws of a small alligator close upon the unfortunate bird as he held the end of his line tightly and waited for the bite which would not come.
But in the midst of that lovely solitude there was no room for disappointment. Though they could not obtain exactly what they sought, Rob felt that nature was offering them endless treasures, and his eye was being constantly attracted by the flowers high up on the trees across the river and the still more beautiful b.u.t.terflies and birds constantly pa.s.sing here and there. Now it was some lovely object whose large flat wings flashed with steely or purply blue, according to the angle in which it was viewed, then b.u.t.terflies of velvety black dashed with orange and vermilion. Parrots of vivid green with scarlet heads flew to and fro across the stream; and twice over a great _ara_ or macaw, with its large, hooked beak and scarlet-and-blue feathering, a very soldier in uniform among birds, flew over them, watching them keenly as it uttered its harsh, discordant cry. Then, too, there were the humming-birds darting here and there with bee-like flight, emitting a flash every now and then as their metallic, scale-like feathers caught the sun on their burnished surface.
"No," said Rob to himself, "one can"t feel disappointed here," and soon after, as he drew a long, deep breath full of satisfaction, "Oh, how gloriously beautiful it all is! What would they say at home?"
Now he gazed down into the deep, clear, swiftly flowing water, where, brilliantly illuminated by the sun, just beyond where he sat shaded by a tree, he could see fish of all sizes floating motionless, apparently at different depths, while farther out there were more and more, larger it seemed, and as the depth and density of the water increased looking more shadowy and strange.
"There are plenty of them, even if they don"t bite," thought Rob; "and if it were not that we must have them to eat, I don"t know that I want to catch them. Ugh!"
He involuntarily shrank away, but resumed his position at the edge of the river, gazing down at where, with its four legs outstretched and its tail waving softly, an alligator swam by some five feet below the surface. It was only a small one, between three and four feet in length, but showing all the ugly configuration of its kind; and it fascinated Rob as he gazed at it till it slowly grew more shadowy and shortened in length and disappeared.
"Wonder how Joe"s getting on!" he thought; and then his mind dwelt again upon their surroundings, and as his eyes wandered from spot to spot he felt that they ought to go no farther, but make a temporary stay there.
Just then he looked to his right, to find that Mr Brazier had given up his task of watching for birds and was busy with Shaddy arranging the bunch of orchids on a branch in the full sunshine, to dry as much as was possible before being transferred to their destination--the bottom of one of the tubs.
"Slow work!" muttered Rob, drawing in his line now, to find the biscuit softened, but still held tightly enough to the hook. Then, dropping it in again, he watched it as it was carried out by the eddy, and ended by tying the line fast to one of the overhanging branches and walking to where the boat was moored.
"How are you getting on, Joe?" he said; but there was no answer. "Not here?" he muttered as he stepped on board, to find the young Italian lying back fast asleep, while the end of the line was secured to one of the thwarts.
"Oh, I say!" muttered Rob, "you lazy beggar!" Then stooping down, so that his lips were near the sleeper"s ear, he said loudly, "Ready for supper?"
Joe leaped up in confusion.
"Have I been asleep?" he said hastily.
"Looks like it. Where"s the dorado?"
"I--that is--I grew so drowsy, I--yes, I fastened the end of the line for fear it should go overboard, and--here, look out!" he cried sharply, "I have him!"
"Not you," said Rob; "the hook caught it."
For the line had been drawn tight while Joe slept, and as he took hold of it he found that it was fast in something heavy, which now sent a quiver along the line, as if it were shaking its head angrily at being disturbed.
"Why, it"s a big one," said Rob excitedly.
"It"s a monster," panted Joe. "Oh, I wish I had not been asleep."
"Caught anything?" came from behind them, and Brazier and Shaddy drew near.
"Yes; Joe has hooked a very big one," cried Rob eagerly. "Get your hook ready, Shaddy."
"All right, sir," said the guide grimly, "but you won"t want it just yet. You"ll have to play that chap before you get him up to the boat."
So it seemed, for the captive lay sulky for a few moments, resenting the strain on the line, till Joe gave it a jerk, when there was a rush away to the left, the line suddenly slackened, and Rob exclaimed in a tone of disappointment,--
"Gone!"
"No," growled Shaddy. "Pull in a bit, my lad. Steady!"
Joe began to haul in the line, drawing in yard after yard, which fell in rings to the bottom of the boat, till half the fishing cord must have been recovered.
"He has gone, Shaddy," said Joe.
"Beginning to think you"re right, my lad. Fancied at first he"d swum up to the side, for there"s no telling what a fish may do when--Look out; he"s on still," roared Shaddy. "Hold the line, my lad. Don"t let him haul it quite out, or he"ll snap it when he gets to the end."
Joe seized the line and let it slip through his fingers, but the friction was so painful that he would have let go again had not Shaddy stepped to his help and taken hold behind him.
"Won"t hurt my fingers," he growled; "they"re a deal too hard," and he kept hold so that he did not interfere with Joe"s work in playing the fish, but relieved him of the strain and friction as the line cut the water here and there.
Brazier looked on with plenty of interest in the proceedings, for the capture of a fish of goodly size was a matter of some consequence to the leader of an expedition with eight hungry people to cater for day after day.
"Think it"s a dorado, Shaddy?" asked Rob.
"Ought to be, my lad, from its taking an orange, and if it is it"s "bout the heaviest one I"ve knowed. My word, but he does pull! Can"t say as ever I felt one shake his head like that before. Shall I play him now, my lad?"
"No," cried Joe through his set teeth as he held on, "not yet. I will ask you if I want help. No: Rob will help me."
The struggle went on so fiercely that it increased Brazier"s interest, and but for the clever way in which the two lads in turn played the fish, the cord, strong as it was, must have been broken. But they were fortunate enough to get a good deal of the long line in hand, and were thus enabled to let their captive run from time to time, merely keeping up a steady strain till the rush was over and then hauling in again.
"Why, boys," said Brazier at last as he stood on the bank resting upon his double gun, "it will be supper-time before you catch your prize, and in this climate fish will be bad to-morrow. Better let him go."
"What!" cried Rob, whose face was streaming with perspiration. "Let him go? Do you hear, Joe?"
Joe nodded and tightened his lips, his face seeming to say,--
"Let him go? Not while I can hold him."
So the fight went on till the fish grew less fierce in its rushes, but none the weaker, keeping on as it did a heavy, stubborn drag, and though frequently brought pretty near to the boat, keeping down close to the bottom, so that they never once obtained a glimpse of it.
"It ain"t a dorado," said Shaddy at last. "I never see one fight like that."