Part 37 (1/2)
The Dona Isidora sat upon a fallen trunk, and, conversing with her husband, watched the proceedings with interest A new and happy future seereat distance off Little Leona stood beside Guapo, watching the yellow chips as they flew, and listening to so her Guapo loved little Leona He would have risked his life for her, would Guapo, and Leona knew it
Leon was not particularly engaged on that day When the bark was ready for peeling he intended to take a hand with the rest He could then e it, or could lead theit to the storehouse Leon did not intend to be idle, but there happened to be no work for hi the bark-cutters for awhile, he sauntered back along the path, in order to have a little fun with the as Leon had no very great confidence that he would find them in the place where they had been left, and yet he believed in Guapo But it was hard to understand that two anis and feet, should not be able to make their way for a distance of twenty paces, and escape! After the rough handling they had had, too! He would have a peep at the on So back he went
On getting near the glade their voices reached him They were there, after all! He could hear theht, in a louder andtone than ever What could be the matter? They had been silent for some time, he was sure, for such cries as they now uttered could have been heard easily where the rest were What could be theof this fresh outburst? Had soh
Leon stole forward, and peeped into the glade No--there was nothing near them! But as thequietly, as they had done when left behind, they were now rolling and tu first on their feet and then on their heads, and cutting all sorts of strange capers! Could it be for their own amusement? No; their lamentable cries precluded that supposition; besides, their odd attitudes and contortions bespoke terror and pain!
”Carrambo!” muttered Leon ”What's the matter with them?”
They see a few lengths, they would fall to the ground, tuain, head in the opposite direction!
Leon was puzzled,--no wonder He looked around for a solution of this queer conduct on the part of the as No explanation appeared At length he bethought hiht learn what set the
”Ha!” he ejaculated, struck with soht ”I kno; there's a snake at them”
This conjecture--for it was only a conjecture--caused hiht he The grass was not long, and he could have seen a very large snake; but still a sht have been there He fancied he saw soet a better view he passed slowly around the edge of the glade, until he was nearly on the opposite side to that where he had entered He still kept at a good distance froreat surprise, the as now lay stretched along the grass, their struggles appeared each row less violent, and their melancholy cries becath came to an end A feeble effort to raise themselves alone could be perceived,--then a spas crooked limbs,--their cries became indistinct; and, after a while, both lay ht Leon
He stood gazing at them for some minutes Not a motion of their bodies could be perceived Surely they had no longer lived! But, then, what could have killed them? There was no snake to be seen; no animal of any kind except themselves! Had they been taken with some sudden disease,--some kind of convulsions that had ended fatally? This see from the odd manner in which they had acted Maybe they had eaten some sort of plant that had poisoned theh the mind of Leon Of course, he resolved to satisfy himself as to the cause of their death, if dead they actually were He began to draw nearer,his advances with stealth and caution--as he was still apprehensive about the snake
After he had an to perceive so around the bodies of the animals Snakes? No
What then? A few paces nearer See! the whole ground is in h dead, are covered with living,objects!
Ha! _it is a ”chacu” of the white ants_
Leon now coround was literally alive with the terrible _termites_ They had hbouring cones; they had attacked the helpless as, and put thes!
Already they were tearing the them off to their dark caves! So thick were they on the bodies of the anied their colour, and now appeared to be nothinginsects!
It was a hideous sight to behold, and Leon felt his flesh creep as he looked upon it Still he felt a curiosity to witness the result, and he stood watching the busy crowd that had gathered about the as He had heard strange accounts of these white ants; how that, in a few e animals to pieces, and carry them away to their dens; and he was detero any nearer, for he was not without so to find himself beside a small tree, with low horizontal branches, he cli his feet upon another He was inclined to take the thing as easily as possible
His perch commanded a full view of the operations of the ter them with interest He could see that it was not the same set that were always on the carcasses of the as On the contrary, one host were always leaving the spot, while another took their places, and froreat conical houses fresh bands appeared to issue In fact, two great parallel belts of theoing in opposite directions
Those which travelled towards the cells presented a very different appearance to the others These were loaded with pieces of torn flesh, or skin with tufts of hair adhering to it; and each ant carried a piece by far larger than its own body Their bodies, in fact, were quite hidden under their disproportionate burdens The others--those which were co from the conical hills--were empty-handed, and presented the appearance of a whittish strearound!
It was athe creatures until his head was giddy, and he felt as though the ground itself was in motion
CHAPTER XXV
THE PUMA AND THE GREAT ANT-BEAR
All at once the attention of the boy was called away fro soe of the glade, not far from the ant-hills The branches of the underere seen to move, and the next moment a slender cylindrical object, about a foot and a half in length, was protruded out from the leaves Had there not been a pair of small eyes and ears near the farther end of this cylindrical object, no one would have taken it for the head and snout of an ani black eyes, and he therefore conjectured that it was some such creature