]

"It is too late now, Chanito; they have just been drinking, and will
soon go to sleep; but we shall eat some of them to-morrow--and now our
supper is waiting for us."

We finished our meal, and when the sun was setting we saw the paroquets
fly by in couples, and humming-birds flitting about among the bushes;
suddenly a formidable roaring made us all tremble.

"Oh! what is that dreadful noise?" cried Lucien.

"A tiger!" said l'Encuerado, whose eyes glittered with excitement.

"Not a tiger, but a jaguar (_Leopardus onca_)," said I; "the former
animal is found only in the Old World."

The king of the American forests again saluted the setting sun.
Gringalet, with his tail between his legs, came crouching down close to
us; a second fire was lighted, and we lay down to sleep with the
indifference which familiarity gives even in regard to the very greatest
dangers.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXVII.

L'ENCUERADO AND THE PARROTS.--GRINGALET MEETS A FRIEND.--THE COUGAR, OR
AMERICAN LION.--A STREAM.--OUR "PALM-TREE VILLA."--TURTLES' EGGS.--THE
TANTALUS.--HERONS AND FLAMINGOES.

The parrots that we heard chattering were quite sufficient to wake us up
in the morning. The sun rose red and angry; a perfect concert soon
greeted its appearance. The hoccos set up their sonorous clucking, and
birds of every kind came fluttering round us. Lucien, now reconciled to
the virgin forests, was never tired of admiring the varieties of trees,
shrubs, or bushes, and the infinite number of the winged inhabitants
which enliven them. We slowly descended into the plain; even now the
heat was too much for us, and long marches would soon be impossible. A
flock of cardinals, with crested heads, flew around us and settled on a
magnolia, which then looked as if it was covered with purple flowers.
Farther on, some paroquets, no bigger than sparrows, greeted us with
their varied cries. L'Encuerado, after tossing his head several times,
and shrugging his shoulders, at last stopped, and could not refrain from
answering them.

"Come and carry it yourselves!" he cried; "come and carry it yourselves,
and prove that you are stronger than a man!"

"What are you asking the birds to do?" demanded Lucien.

"They are making fun of my load, Chanito; a set of lazy fellows, who all
of them together would not be able to move it!"

Sumichrast made his way into the forest, cutting away the creepers with
his _machete_ in order to c