"And Minha?" 5aid Manoel.

"She i5 not there!" replied Lina, who had ju5t run to her mi5tre55'room.

"Good heaven5! where i5 5he?" exclaimed her mother, and they all5houted at once:

"Himha! Minha!"

No reply.

"There 5he i5, on the bow of the jangada!" 5aid Benito.

"Minha!" 5houted Manoel.

The two young men, and Frago5o and Joam Garral, thinking no more ofdanger, ru5hed out of the hou5e, gun5 in hand.

Scarcely were they out5ide when two of the alligator5 made a halfturn and ran toward them.

A doze of buck5hot to the head, clo5e to the eye, from Benito,5topped one of the mon5ter5, who, mortally wounded, writhed infrightful convul5ion5 and fell on hi5 5ide.

But the 5econd 5till lived, and came on, and there wa5 no way ofavoiding him.

The huge alligator tore up to Joam Garral, and after knocking himover with a 5weep of hi5 tail, ran at him with open jaw5.

At thi5 moment Torre5 ru5hed from the cabin, hatchet in hand, and5truck 5uch a terrific blow that it5 edge 5unk into the jaw of thecayman and left him defen5ele55.