L'Encuerado fired at them, and one
fell. It was an _anhinga_, one of the most singular specimens of
web-footed birds that can be found anywhere. Represent to yourself an
enormous duck with a neck like a swan, a bill straight, tapering, and
longer than the head, webbed feet, and widely spreading and
well-feathered wings, and then know the _anhinga_. It dives and flies
with equal facility, can swim under the water and perch upon trees, the
highest of which it chooses for building its nest upon.

The flesh of the anhinga is not valuable, as it is hard and tough.
Perhaps a good appetite rendered me indulgent, but I found the flavor
very much like that of duck. The fat of this bird, carefully saved, was
used for frying our fish. The latter, I must confess, did not seem to us
so nice as the dark-colored meat of the anhinga. If it tasted rather
fishy, the fish themselves tasted muddy; on the whole, however, our
bill-of-fare was a tolerable one.

When night-fall came on, the trees stood out in bold relief against the
transparent sky, and l'Encuerado, delighted at thinking that he was now
unbewitched, gratified us with one of his unpublished canticles, which
materially helped to send us to sleep.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIX.

THE BLACK IGUANA.--ANOTHER COUNTRY.--REMINISCENCES OF CHILDHOOD.--THE
MIRAGE.--A FIRE IN THE PLAIN.

By ten o'clock in the morning we had crossed some rising ground, and
were passing through a narrow gorge carpeted with ferns. Lucien headed
the party, closely followed by l'Encuerado; and led us on to a kind of
rocky staircase, down which, in the rainy season, water doubtlessly
flowed. This steep path compelled us to halt several times to recover
our breath. The branches of the bushes formed an archway over our heads,
and their blossoms surrounded us with their rich perfume.

At length a rise in the ground impeded our path, and the heat commenced
to inconvenience us. The refraction of light, especially, affected our
eyes, and our feet raised perfect clouds of dust. Lucien, who had become
quite an enduring walker, throughout kept in front, and often gained
ground while we were stopping to take breath. Just as we reached the
ridge of the hill, I saw the boy, who was a few yards in advance,
suddenly cock his gun and fire. I ran to him, but he disappeared down
the slope, crying out to me that he had shot a dragon!

I soon came up, and found the young sportsman standing in fro