Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/396

 the Tchad," said Joe to himself. "Mr. Kennedy would have done the same if he had thought of it, for it is only natural that one man should sacrifice himself to save two others. That is mathematical.—Q. E. D.!"

Reassured upon this point, Joe began to consider his position; he was in the midst of an immense lake, surrounded by unknown, and probably savage, tribes. All the more reason then for him to get out of the scrape, and to trust no one but himself; he was then no longer afraid.

Before the attack by the birds of prey, which, according to him, had conducted themselves like true condors, he had noticed an island on the horizon. He now resolved to make for it, and determined to put in practice all his knowledge of swimming, after he had got rid of part of his clothing. He did not trouble himself about a little swim of five or six miles; so, while he was in the open lake, he thought of nothing but of swimming straight and vigorously.

At the end of an hour and a half the distance between him and the island was much less. But as he approached the land, a thought at first fugitive, and then more definite, weighed upon his mind. He knew that the banks were frequented by enormous alligators, and he was aware of their voracity. So ready was the brave lad to believe everything in the world was "natural," that he did not feel very much moved; he feared that white flesh was particularly tasteful to crocodiles, and he advanced with extreme caution, with eyes strained to watch.

He was not more than 100 yards from the shadowy bank, when a smell of musk pervaded the air around him.

"Ha!" he muttered; "as I feared, the alligator is not far off."

He dived at once, but not sufficiently to avoid the contact of an immense body, whose scaly skin scraped him as it passed. He gave himself up for lost, and began to swim with desperate energy. He came to the surface, took breath, and again dived. He endured a quarter of an hour of poignant agony which all his philosophy was unable to overcome, and fancied he heard behind him the noise of the immense jaws ready to snap him up. He was swimming then as quietly as possible to land, when he was seized by one arm, and then around the waist.