"All right," replied Martin; "I can swim like a cork in such warm water
as this. Just go a little slower and I'll do famously."

Thus encouraging each other, and keeping close together, lest they should
get separated in the thick darkness of the night, the two friends struck
out bravely for the shore.




CHAPTER VII

MARTIN AND BARNEY GET LOST IN A GREAT FOREST, WHERE THEY SEE STRANGE AND
TERRIBLE THINGS


On gaining the beach, the first thing that Barney did, after shaking
himself like a huge Newfoundland dog, was to ascertain that his pistol
and cutlass were safe; for, although the former could be of no use in its
present condition, still, as he sagaciously remarked, "it was a good
thing to have, for they might chance to git powder wan day or other, and
the flint would make fire, anyhow." Fortunately the weather was extremely
warm; so they were enabled to take off and wring their clothes without
much inconvenience, except that in a short time a few adventurous
mosquitoes--probably sea-faring ones--came down out of the woods and
attacked their bare bodies so vigorously that they were fain to hurry on
their clothes again before they were quite dry.

The clouds began to clear away soon after they landed, and the brilliant