seems still sweeter to the taste when taken at five
o'clock in the morning, after passing the night in the open air.

The day broke; it was a magnificent sight to see the forest gradually
lighted up, and the trunks of the trees gilded by slanting sunbeams.
Before starting again, one of our party carefully examined the ground on
which we had camped, so as not to forget any of our effects, which, if
lost, would have been irreparable. I also noticed that l'Encuerado's
basket was decked with the three squirrels' skins, which would thus
gradually dry.

We had walked on for nearly an hour, the only incident being our meeting
with various kinds of birds, when the melancholy cry of the _couroucou_
struck on our ears. The call of this bird is very much like that uttered
by the Mexican ox-drivers when they herd together the animals under
their care; hence its Spanish name of _vaquero_. We gave chase to them,
and in less than half an hour we had obtained a male and female. Lucien
was never tired of admiring these beautiful creatures, with their yellow
beaks, hooked like those of birds of prey. The male bird, in particular,
was magnificent; the feathers on the head and back seemed to be "shot"
with a golden green, while the edges of the wings and the belly were
tinted with the purest crimson, shaded off into two black lines, which
extended as far as the tail.

"Shall we find many of these birds in the forest, M. Sumichrast?" asked
Lucien.

"No, Master 'Sunbeam;' they are rather rare; so we must take great care
of the skins of these we have shot."

"Is their flesh good to eat?" he asked.

"Excellent; and many a gourmand would be glad to make a meal of it.
However, at dinner-time, you shall try for yourself; and you will meet
with very few people who, like you, have partaken of the _trogon
massena_."

"At all events, it isn't another relation of the rat--is it?" asked the
boy, archly.

"No; it belongs to the family of climbers--that is to say, to that
order of birds which have two toes in front of their claws and two
behind, like your great friends the parrots."

After we had dressed the skins of the couroucous, and carefully wrapped
up the game, we again moved on. The ground became stony, and the descent
steeper. At one time I had hoped to find a spring at the bottom of the
ravine; but we very soon discovered, to our great disappointment, that
we should have to begin climbing again, leaving behind us the oaks and
the _c