about the magpie and the amphisbaena.

"You killed a _maquiz coatl_--a two-headed serpent!" cried the Indian.

"I only wounded it, for it got away; but it had only one head."

"Then you didn't examine it thoroughly; for it would not turn round when
it crawled away."

"I did not notice. I saw it leap up in the air, and that was all."

"Have you searched well under the stones? Let us go back; the skin of
the _maquiz coatl_ enables the blind to see. Why did you let it escape?"

"Oh! we shall be sure to find another."

"You can't find them whenever you like; they are very rare," replied the
Indian, shaking his head.

While the turkey was roasting under our superintendence, l'Encuerado and
Lucien went off to try and find the amphisbaena's hole.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: "It looked like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two
bronze statues."]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIV.

THE METEOR.--GOD ALMIGHTY'S LANTERNS.--THE SKUNK.--THE JALAP-PLANT.--AN
AERIAL JOURNEY.--THE ORCHIDS.--BIVOUAC IN THE MOUTH OF A
CAVE.--GRINGALET AND THE BEETLES.--A WHITE ANTS' NEST.

The sun left us soon afterwards, and we sat talking by the fire. At last
l'Encuerado took away Lucien towards the rocks, and set up one of those
interminable chants with which his memory was stored. Our fire lighted
up with its red gleam the stone on which they were sitting, making it
look like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two bronze statues. Any
traveller suddenly entering the valley would have recoiled in terror
before this fantastic apparition; and if any wild beast had been
prowling near us, our gigantic shadows would certainly have made it keep
its distance.

We were just thinking of calling Lucien to come and lie down under the
hut, when l'Encuerado shouted out to us. Towards the east, a large
luminous disk was shining brilliantly above the mountain peaks. This
luminous globe, lengthening out into the shape of an ellipse, appeared
to move along.

In fact, it was descending slowly over the wooded crests. Lucien and
l'Encuerado kept plying us with questions in reference to it, which we
were unable to answer.

[Illustration]

"What is it?" cried Sumichrast.

"A meteor!" I exclaimed, struck with a sudden idea.

"If I had my gun ready, I would fire at it, at all events."

"You had better not," said I; "the globe may contain electric fluid, and
we might draw it down upon us."

Soon afterwards the meteor passed by us. We threw o