Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/399

 "Rather a bad sort of country for the owners," said Joe, as he again set out swimming vigorously. One of those phenomena by no means unfrequent in Lake Tchad had released the brave lad. More than one island has completely disappeared which had seemed to possess the solidity of rock, and the tribes on the banks of the lake are obliged to rescue the unfortunate inhabitants who have escaped.

Joe was not aware of this peculiarity, but he did not fail to profit by it. He perceived a boat drifting about, and rapidly secured it. It appeared hollowed out from the trunk of a tree. A pair of paddles were fortunately in it, and Joe, profiting by a rapid current, let himself drift.

"Let me see where I am," he said. "The polar star, which is honestly doing his duty in pointing out the route to the north, will assist me."

He remembered with satisfaction that the current was bearing him towards the north end of Lake Tchad, and he let it do so. About two in the morning he landed upon a promontory, covered with reeds, which were very troublesome, even to his philosophy, but a tree seemed to be growing for the express purpose of offering him a bed amid its leaves. Joe twined himself in the branches, and, without daring to sleep, awaited the first rays of morning.

The day broke with the suddenness usual in equatorial regions. Joe threw a comprehensive view around and over the tree in which he had passed the night. The branches were literally covered with serpents and chameleons—the leaves were hidden beneath their folds—a tree of quite a new species to produce such reptiles. Under the influence of the sun's rays they began to crawl about and twist in all directions. Joe experienced a sharp terror, mingled with disgust, and jumped from the tree amid the hissings of the snakes.

"That is a thing that no one would credit," thought he.

He did not know that the last letters of Doctor Vogel had announced this peculiarity of the banks of the Tchad, where the reptiles are more numerous than in any other country. After this experience, Joe determined to travel with more circumspection for the future, and turning towards the sun, he then struck out to the northeast. He took good care to avoid cabins, huts, or caves, and, in a