werful jaws?"

"They are horns which you mistake for jaws; but their arrangement quite
excuses your error. Look; the upper part of their body is black and
polished, and their wing-sheaths are a greenish gray, irregularly dotted
with dark spots."

"Here is one which has no horns."

"It is a female."

We were examining with some curiosity all the ways of the insect colony,
which was scarcely disturbed by our presence, when Gringalet, who had
also taken to sneezing, suddenly set up the most plaintive howl.
L'Encuerado had placed on the dog's back three or four beetles, which
had buried their claws in his skin. The Indian, surprised at the result
of his experiment, hurried to relieve the poor animal, which was rolling
on the ground; at last he succeeded in getting hold of him, but he had
much difficulty in freeing him from his vindictive assailants. One
beetle, indeed, seized hold of the hand of the mischievous wag, whose
grimaces much amused us; as fast as he disengaged one of the insect's
claws, the creature--which possessed six--soon found a chance to cling
on with others. Annoyed at having to strive with such a paltry enemy,
l'Encuerado at last tore the beetle roughly away, but the blood flowed
from his bronze-colored skin. Always too ready for revenge, he
threatened to exterminate the whole colony of beetles; but, smiling at
his ill-humor, I forbade his perpetrating such a useless massacre.

"They are nice gentlemen!" he cried; "because they had just heard
themselves called _Hercules_, they think they are strong enough to bite
the hands of every person they meet! Stupid fools, with noses longer
than their bodies, who fly away when Gringalet barks at them! Bite them!
Bite them!" cried he, setting the dog at them.

But the latter, with his ears drooped and his tail between his legs,
refused to obey, and, from this day forward I remarked that the least
buzzing from any insect was sufficient to render him uneasy.

Sumichrast, who had caught one of these large beetles, placed a stone
upon it which any one would have thought sufficient to have crushed it;
but, to Lucien's great admiration, the six-legged Hercules walked off
with its burden, almost without an effort. Ere long the beetles one by
one resumed their flight, and came buzzing around us, so it became
really necessary to beat a retreat, lest we should have our eyes put out
by their immense horns; Gringalet followed our example. Lucien sat down
so as to laugh