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.
At this moment Torres rushed from the cabin, hatchet in hand, and struck such a terrific blow that its edge sunk into the jaw of the cayman and left him defenseless.
Blinded by the blood, the animal flew to the side, and, designedly or not, fell over and was lost in the stream.
"Minha! Minha!" shouted Manoel in distraction, when he got to the bow of the jangada.
Suddenly she came into view.

She had taken refuge in the cabin of Araujo, and the cabin had just been upset by a powerful blow from the third alligator.

Minha was flying aft, pursued by the monster, who was not six feet away from her.
Minha fell.
A second shot from Benito failed to stop the cayman.