Part 33 (2/2)

'Do not the puoats?'

'Strange to say, they do not, incredible as it may seem But come in, and you will see a happy fas?'

'No, boy, one is a wolf, the other two are foxes All three were suckled by one of oats, and are exceedingly fond of the mules They positively prefer the coh when I come here with their foster-dam, the deerhound, they all condescend to leave this coh the woods

'Here come my mules Are they not beauties?'

We readily ad in size and shape to equal theuars Mine are but few; they are also very civil; but I do believe that one of these uar had one kick he would never need another The goats--here they come--herd close to the ive an alare monkey comes near the coe-beaked birds ca down from a tree to the nuainly, albeit their beaks are so wondrously large

'What do they eat?'

'Everything; but fruit is the favourite dish with theainst the cloud yonder, no bigger in appearance than the lark that sings above the cornfields in England? See how it circles and sweeps round and round Do you know that bird is a mile above us?'

'That is wonderful!'

'And what think you it is doing? Why, it is eyeing you and me It is my pet condor The only bird I do not feed; but the creature loves me well for all that He is suspicious of your presence Noatch, and I will bring him down like an arrow'

The here way, and with one fell doard swoop, in a few seconds the hted near us

Well ht, for never before had I seen sous with that bold fierce eye of his, as soazed upon spies that he was about to order away to execution I believed then--and I a akin to pity and scorn in his steadfast looks, as if we had been brought here for his especial delectation and study

'Poor wretched bipeds!' he seemed to say; 'not even possessed of feathers, no clothes of their own, obliged to wrap themselves in the hair and skins of dead quadrupeds No beaks, no talons; not even the wings of a miserable bat Never knehat it was tosun; never floated free as the winds far away in the realms of space; never saw the world spread out beneath the panorareen or purple, its lakes like sheets of shi+ ice, its streams like threads of spiders' webs before the day has drunk the dew, its very deserts dwarfed by distance till the guanacos and the ostriches[15] look likeants Never knehat it was to circle round the loftiest summits of the snow-clad voiceless Andes, while down in the valleys beneath dark clouds rolled fiercely on, and lightnings played across the darkness; nor to perch cool and safe on peak or pinnacle, while below on earth's dull level the hurricane Pa breath of the Zonda eeping over the land, scorching every flower and leaf, drinking every drop of dew, draining even the blood of s till eyes ache and brains reel, till ard, wild, and worn, and the beasts of the forest, hidden in darkling caves, go '

The herreat bats began to circle and wheel around, as butterflies were folding their wings and going to sleep beneath the leaves, and the whole woodland glen began to awake to the screae rowl of beasts of prey

We sat together till far into the night listening to story after story of the wild adventures of our new but nah above us now that the pine-trees no longer cast their shadows across the glade--warned us it was tiht, boys all,' said the herain to-morrow'

He turned and walked away, his _potro_ boots looe being!' said Archie, with a sigh

'And what a lonely life to lead!' said Donald

'Ah!' said Dugald, 'you h as you like, Archie, and say what you please, I think there is no life so jolly, and I've half a len for many weeks No better or more idyllic headquarters could possibly have been found or even iined, while all around us was a hunter's paradise We came at last to look upon the herht There were tiuanaco, the pu on plains at no great distance frolorious treat for all of us to find ourselves on these allop unfettered and free

Under the tuition of Yambo, our _capataz_, and the other Gauchos, we beca the beetling crags and in the deep, gloouanacos as the Swissthe rocks were soh! But here on the plains another kind of tactics was pursued I doubt if we could have ridden near enough to the ostriches to bola them, so our plan was to make _detours_ on the paether puzzled our quarry Then riding in a zigzag fashi+on, gradually we narrowed the ring till near enough to fire When nearer still the battue and sta in the extreuanacos, the hoarse whirr of the flying ostriches, the shouts of the Gauchos, the bark and yell of dogs, the whistling noise of lasso or bolas, the sharp ringing of rifle and revolver--all combined to form a medley, a huntsman's chorus which no one who has once heard it and taken part in it is likely to forget

When too far from the carass and water could be found, and after supping on broiled guanaco steak and ostrich's gizzard--in reality right dainty uanaco robes, and with saddles for pillows go quietly to sleep Ah, I never sleep so soundly now as I used to then beneath the stars, fanned by the night breeze; and although the dews lay heavy on our robes in the , oke as fresh as the daisies and as happy as puma cubs that only wake to play