needn't be frightened; courage is not one of their virtues. Unless
they were starving, they wouldn't venture near us."

All at once we heard a shot. The whole forest seemed in movement; the
cries of the birds resounded through the trees, and the echoes repeated
the noise of the report. Gringalet barked loudly, and was again answered
by the harsh cry of the coyotas. At length the silence, which for a
short time had been disturbed, was once more restored, and the forest
resumed its solemn stillness.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[H] The small tapering leaves of the pine are thus called.

[I] Elytra is derived from a Greek word, [Greek: elytrou], a sheath.

[J] Thanks to the spheroidal condition of water, discovered by M.
Boutigny (of Evreux).

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VII.

THE CATS'-EYES POMADE.--ARMADILLO.--LUCIEN AND THE
CRUEL FERN.-THE FALLEN MOUNTAIN.--THE
WOODPECKER.--THE BASILISK.--L'ENCUERADO'S FRESH
IDEA.

Gringalet, who had been the first to give the alarm, was also the first
to go to sleep again. I could not help waiting with some degree of
anxiety for l'Encuerado's return. In a quarter of an hour, as the Indian
did not arrive, I began to think that, confused by the darkness, he had
missed finding our bivouac. After having called him two or three times,
without receiving any answer, I was just going to fire off my gun, so
that the noise of the report might serve as a guide to him, when I heard
the sound of his guttural cry.

"What on earth has possessed you to chase useless game at this hour of
the night?" I cried, as he came into sight.

"I felt bound to give these screeching animals a lesson, senor; if I
hadn't done so, they would have come back to disturb us every night,"
answered the Indian, gravely.

"Have you killed any of them?"

"I only managed to wound one. I followed it--"

"At the risk of falling into some pit. You can't see at night--at least,
as far as I know."

"Not very well; but that is all your fault," replied l'Encuerado, in a
reproachful tone.

"What! my fault?"

"The _brujos_ (sorcerers) have many a time offered me an ointment made
of cats' eyes and fat; but they wanted too much for it. You knew much
more about it than the sorcerers; and if you would only have told me the
way to make the ointment, and how to use it, I should have been able to
see at night, long enough ago, which would be quite as useful to you as
to me."