"We'll hide here till we see who it is coming," he said.

CHAPTER VII.

ADRIFT ON A FLOATING ISLAND.

The voices grew nearer and suddenly to his amazement Frank heard his own name mentioned. The next moment both lads broke into a loud exclamation of surprise.

Those approaching their place of concealment were Billy Barnes and Ben Stubbs.

It would be difficult to say which pair of adventurers were more astonished as they met on the beach.

"Shiver my timbers!" exclaimed Ben, "whar did you boys come from? Did you turn back?"

"Turn back?" echoed Frank, "no, we've been keeping right on."

"Wall," drawled Ben, "then what I was afeard of at first is true."

"What's that, Ben?"

"Why, that we are on an island."

"On an island!"

"Yes, a floating island."

For a moment they were all dumb with amazement. Then Ben went on:

"I've heard old sailors tell of such things off of this yer coast.

These islands--as they are called--are nothing more or less than huge sections of forest torn from the banks of the Amazon when it is in flood and floated out ter sea on its current."

"But how can they keep afloat?" asked Harry.

"Why the tangled roots and tree limbs keep 'em up for a long time,"

rejoined Ben, "and then they sink."

"I hope our island isn't sinking," exclaimed Frank, anxiously looking about him.

"Not much fear of that; but it's moving, all right," replied the old sailor, "just fix your eyes on that cloud for a minute."

The boys did as directed, and, sure enough, the island, as they now knew it, was moving slowly along, doubtless urged by some current of the ocean.

"Suppose the ship never finds us," gasped Billy.

"Now, just put thoughts like that out of your head, youngster,"

exclaimed Ben sharply. "I've been in worse fixes than this and got out of them. What we had best do now is to gather up some of those big cocoanuts that's scattered about there and make waterholders out of them."

"But there's plenty of water flowing from the springs. We pa.s.sed several of them," objected Harry.

"That's just the water that has soaked into the ground after the rain," said Ben. "It will soon dry up as the day goes on."

The adventurers at once set to work gathering up cocoanuts and with their knives scooping out their sh.e.l.ls so as to form sort of pots out of them. These were filled with water at the nearest of the little springs and placed in the shade.

"Now to gather some more oysters and we'll have dinner," said Ben, when the boys had filled what he p.r.o.nounced to be a sufficient number of the improvised pots.

The boys set to work at the task at once, stripping from the low hanging branches the oysters that clung to them. These were roasted in the same manner as the previous night and washed down with water and cocoanut milk.

"Well, we shan't starve for a while, anyhow," said Ben, as they concluded their meal. "If the worst comes to the worst I guess we can live on cocoanuts for a while."

After some talk about their situation and the prospects of their being rescued from it Ben announced that he was going to explore the interior of the island and see if he could find some tree up which it would be possible to swarm and attach a sort of signal or at any rate obtain an extended view of the sea.

The boys, who felt tired and dispirited, said that they would remain in the camp--if camp it could be called.

Ben had been gone perhaps half an hour, when they were aroused by a sudden shout. At the sound they all sprang to their feet from the restful postures they had a.s.sumed.

There was a note of terror in the cry.

"Help, boys, help!"

The sound rang through the forest and then died away, as if the shouter had been suddenly silenced.

"It's Ben," shouted Frank.

"What can have happened?" gasped Harry.

"He is in trouble of some kind," shouted Billy Barnes.

"Come on, boys," exclaimed Frank, drawing his revolver, "get your knives ready, we may need all the weapons we have."

They plunged into the forest in the direction from which they judged the cries had proceeded and after a few minutes pushing through the dense brush, which greatly hampered their progress, they heard a tremendous noise of breaking tree limbs and a violent threshing about as if some huge body was rushing through the woods.

"What can it be?" gasped Frank, his face pale at the sound of the struggle.

In almost the same breath his question was answered. Pushing aside some brush the boys saw before them a small glade or clearing.

In the midst of this stood Ben, his face transfixed with horror and brandishing a seaman's knife.

Facing him, and seemingly about to dart forward, was the largest serpent they had ever seen; the sunlight checkered its bright colored folds. Its red tongue darted wickedly in and out as it faced the brave seaman.

"Shoot, Frank. Shoot and kill it," implored Harry.

With a white, tense face the elder boy leveled his revolver. He pulled the trigger and, before the sharp report that followed had died away, the monstrous, snake was threshing its huge body about in agony.

But as they started to cheer the effect of the shot a cry of horror broke from the boys. In its struggles the monster had convulsed its folds till Frank, who was caught off his guard, was within their reach.

In a second he was wrapped in the giant reptile's grip without having time to utter even an outcry.