sun gains sufficient power to raise all the strata to a uniform heat,
the mirage melts away."

"But your shot seemed to disperse it just now."

"So it did. But my shot only disturbed the strata; and if the mirage
had not been nearly on the point of vanishing, from the increasing solar
heat, I doubt whether the same effect would have followed. But it is
time for us to go back to our hut and finish our work. Nick, I suppose
you will join us? We may see pretty plainly for ourselves that there
are no fishermen's huts in this quarter."

Nick assented, and the three, after a short rest under the shade of the
rocks, returned to the spot whence they had set out, and resumed their
work. By two o'clock the two uprights were fixed in the sand, and in
two hours afterwards the tent was complete. All the stores were then
carefully conveyed inside, the keg of gunpowder being buried in the sand
to prevent the possibility of accident. Then the two lads set about
preparations for supper, which was to consist, like that of the morning,
of fish broiled on the embers.

"And a very good supper too," observed Nick; "I don't think I ever ate a
finer fish than this cod here."

"It's first-rate, there's no doubt of that," returned Frank; "but I must
own I should like something besides. I suppose your flamingo there
wouldn't be very good eating?"

"I expect not," replied Lavie. "The flamingo is too gross a feeder to
make very good food itself. One might eat it, I dare say, if there was
nothing else to be had. I have eaten lion steaks once in my life, but I
have no ambition to repeat the experiment. No, I don't propose to make
any further use of my flamingo than to cut off one of his beautiful red
wings to make a fan of, and hand the rest of the bird over to Lion.
What a splendid-looking bird he was; it really seems almost a shame to
kill him!"

They all gathered round to admire him. The colours in which nature had
dressed him, showed that he was one of her favourite children. The long
thin legs--they were two feet and some inches in length--were of the
most delicate shade of pink, and shaped with wonderful grace. The short
thigh, chest, and neck were covered with down, the softest and whitest
that can be imagined. But the great beauty of the creature lay in its
wings, in which the brilliant scarlet and pure white hues were
intermingled with wonderful delicacy and grace, both colours being
bordered and thrown out by the de