Part 45 (1/2)

Besides the water-birds which were noticed by our travellers,a the trees There were parrots in flocks, and o in twos--there were trogons, and great billed toucans, and their kindred the aracaris; and there, too, were ”umbrella-chatterers,” of which there is a species quite white; and upon a fruit-covered tree, not far off, they saw a flock of the snohite ”bell-birds” (_Case as blackbirds, with broad bills, fros down to the length of nearly three inches, like that of the turkey-cock The naiven to the of their note, which they utter about the middle of the day, when most other creatures of the tropical world are in silence or asleep

Of course Don Pablo as a naturalist was interested in all those birds, and observed their habits and movements with attention There was none of thee story to tell, and in this way he was beguiling the after-supper hour It was too early for theo to rest--indeed it was not quite sunset; and Guapo for one had not yet had his supper, although thatcharred and black, and would soon be ready forup the cinders with a long pole which he held in his hand, while his eyes from time to time rested on the marimonda that was directly in front of hith the monkey appeared to him to be ”done to a turn,” and with his _machete_ in one hand, and a forked stick in the other, he was just bending forward to lift it off the fire, when, to his horror, the ground was felt tohim froain heaved up, and a loud report was heard, like the explosion of soine Then another upheaval--another report--the ground opened into a long fissure--the staging of palms, and the half-burned cinders, and the charredin all directions, and Guapo hi upon his back!

Was it an earthquake? So thought the others, ere now on their feet running about in great consternation--the feht Guapo for thean earthquake, however, was of short duration

The shocks continued; the dried e pieces, and the burnt wood and splinters were showered in the air The smoke of these covered the spot, and prevented a clear view; but through the se body was infor life! In anothera long rift, and there was displayed before their eyes the hideous forh not quite so terrible as an earthquake, it was a fearfulnearly twenty feet in length, with a body thicker than that of a , and its huge tusks, plainly seen, gave it a h it gasped for air, and a loud bellowing proceeded fro of a hog and the lowing of a bull

The air was filled with a strong musky odour, which emanated from the body of the animal; and, ith the noise made by the crocodile itself, the screa of the various birds--for they, too, had taken up the cue--there was for so heard above the rest It was, indeed, a scene of confusion Don Pablo and his co about where he had fallen--and the great lizard rithing and flapping his tail, so that pots, pans, half-burnt faggots, and even Guapo'sknocked about in every direction

Of course such a violent scene could not be of long duration It must end one way or the other Guapo, who soon came to himself, now that he sahat it was that had pitched hi it He ran for his axe, which fortunately lay out of the range of the crocodile's tail, and having laid his hands upon it, he approached in a stealthya blow

He directed himself towards the root of the reptile's tail, for he knew that that was the only place where a blow of the axe would cripple it; but, just as he was getting within reach, the crocodile suddenly shi+fted hi whalebone

Guapo leaped hastily back--as hastily, I will make bold to say, as any Indian of his years could have done, but not quick enough to clear hiht inches; but in this case inches were as good as ht inches of the tip of his tail came ”smack” across Guapo's naked shi+ns, and sent the old Indian head over heels

It was just an accident that Guapo's shanks were not broken like sticks of sealing-wax; and had the blow been directed with the crocodile's full force, such would have been the unhappy result As it was they were only ”scratched,” and Guapo, leaping to his feet, ran to recover his axe, for that weapon had flown several yards out of his hands at the blow

By the tier on dry ground His newly-opened eyes--opened, perhaps, for the first tiht of the water close by, and crawling forward a step or two, he launched his ugly, mud-bedaubed carcass into the welcoht

CHAPTER xxxVIII

THE CROCODILE AND CAPIVARAS

Guapo was in no hu

The crocodile had ”choused” him out of his favourite supper The monkey was literally knocked to ”sether were daubed all over with mud It wasn't fit meat--even for an Indian--and Guapo had to content himself with a dried plantain and a stew of jerked horse-flesh

Of course Don Pablo and the rest exareat hole in themonths of the dry season in a state of torpidity, and would, no doubt, have re fire that Guapo had built over it The irritation produced by this had been the cause of its sudden resurrection, for the crocodiles that thus bury the of the heavy rains

It was a true long-snouted crocodile, as Don Pablo had observed in the short opportunity he had had; and not an alligator--for it must be here remarked, that the true crocodile is found in many parts of Spanish America, and also intiators existed in America, and that the crocodiles were confined to the Eastern Continent It is non that at least one species of crocodile is an Aators are inhabitants of the New World

There is the alligator of the Mississippi--which is the ”caman” or ”cayator, a southern species, so called fro a resemblance to spectacles; and there is a still smaller species called the ”bava,” which is found in Lake Valencia, and in many South American rivers The last kind is h they eat parts of all these creatures, are fonder of the flesh of the bava than of any of the others

They had not intended to keep watch this night, as the naked promontory seemed to be a safe place to sleep upon; but now, after their adventure with the crocodile, they changed their uard as before The ing from the size of his ht have sed one of the sle effort Lest he ht return to use either his teeth or his tail, the watch was set as on other nights--Leon taking the first turn, Guapo the second, and Don Pablo sitting it out till daybreak The night passed through, however, without any unusual disturbance; and although an occasional plunge was heard in the water close by, no

I have said _until_ --for he was seen then Yes! indeed That beauty was not going to let the them another peep at him--not he