me. The
young hunter succeeded, however, in catching a green saurian--an
_anolis_--which, being more courageous than lizards generally are, tried
to bite the hand that held it prisoner, and angrily puffed up its crest,
which is variegated like a butterfly's wing.

Suddenly Gringalet barked uneasily; then we heard a shrill whistle, and
immediately afterwards the cry of a cayote. I called in the dog, and,
with my finger on the trigger of my gun, cautiously advanced, telling
Lucien to keep at my side. We walked so noiselessly that we surprised
two or three adders which were coiled up in the sun. The screech of an
owl now struck on our ears. I exchanged a look of surprise with my
companion; this was neither the time nor place for a bird of this kind.
A fresh yelping and barking then resounded; but this time it was so near
to us that we halted. Gringalet dashed on before us, and four children
appeared, repulsing the dog with cactus-leaves in their hands, which
they used as shields.

"Well!" cried Sumichrast, "here we have the cayote, the owl, and the
dog, which have so puzzled us."

My companion was not wrong: the young Indians were carrying provisions
to their elder brother, who was taking care of a flock of goats. In
order to enliven their journey, they amused themselves by imitating the
cries of different animals, and they did it with so much accuracy that
we had been completely duped.

About three o'clock, my friend, who was anxious to prepare the birds he
had shot, left us to return to Coyotepec's dwelling. I continued
walking, accompanied by Lucien, but soon stopped to look at the dead
body of a mouse which grave-digging beetles were burying.

These insects, five in number, were excavating the ground under the
small rodent, in order to bury it. These industrious insects had
undertaken a work which would employ them more than twenty-four hours;
two of the beetles were lifting up one side of the carcass, while the
others scratched away the sand underneath.

"Why are they trying to bury that mouse?" asked Lucien.

"They are providing for their young. They will deposit their eggs
beneath the dead animal, and the larvae, after they are hatched, will
feed on it."

I disturbed the active creatures, which, unfortunately for them,
belonged to a rare species. Their antennae, which are club-shaped,
terminated abruptly in a kind of button, and their elytra, which are a
brilliant black, are crossed by a belt of yellow col