It was done in an instant. The Garral family took refuge in the
house, where the two young men joined them. The Indians and the
negroes ran into their huts and cabins. As they were shutting the
door:
"And Minha?" said Manoel.
"She is not there!" replied Lina, who had just run to her mistress'
room.
"Good heavens! where is she?" exclaimed her mother, and they all
shouted at once:
"Himha! Minha!"
No reply.
"There she is, on the bow of the jangada!" said Benito.
"Minha!" shouted Manoel.
The two young men, and Fragoso and Joam Garral, thinking no more of
danger, rushed out of the house, guns in hand.
Scarcely were they outside when two of the alligators made a half
turn and ran toward them.
A dose of buckshot to the head, close to the eye, from Benito,
stopped one of the monsters, who, mortally wounded, writhed in
frightful convulsions and fell on his side.
But the second still lived, and came on, and there was no way of
avoiding him.
The huge alligator tore up to Joam Garral, and after knocking him
over with a sweep of his tail, ran at him with open jaws.
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