ur,
whirred, and buzzed, and darted, or probed the blossoms with their
beaks, but they found that the island, if island it should prove, was
inhabited by endless numbers of gorgeous butterflies.

Great pearly-looking insects, whose wings gleamed with azure
reflections, floated calmly down the glades, their wings fully eight
inches across. Others were specked and splashed with scarlet, or barred
with orange, or dashed with glistening green. Then, as if there was to
be no end to the feast of beauty for their eyes, great quick-flying
insects came darting among the sunny openings, butterflies with
elongated, narrow, and pointed wings similar to those of the sphinx
moths of our own land.

Mark could have sat down and watched the various gorgeously-coloured
beauties for hours, but theirs was a business task, and he plodded on
behind the major, both the monkey and the dog untiringly investigating
everything they saw.

But there was no trace of large animal, no sound that suggested the
neighbourhood of anything likely to be inimical, while the best test was
the fearlessness with which their two companions kept by their sides.

"Ah!" ejaculated the major at last, as a low cooing noise fell upon
their ears. "Now for something for dinner! You go first, Mark, and let
them have both barrels sharply--one after the other."

"Let what have them?"

"The pigeons. Creep on yonder softly, and you will soon come upon
them--a flock of pigeons feeding in one of the trees."

Mark went on as silently as he could, and the major kept back the two
animals and waited a minute--five minutes, ten minutes--and then softly
followed, to find the lad at the edge of a glade watching a flock of
great lavender-hued and feather-crowned pigeons, as big as fowls,
feeding in the most unconcerned manner.

The major did not hesitate for a moment, but fired at the spot where the
birds were thickest, and again as they rose with whirring and flapping
wings in a little flock.

Three went down at his first discharge, two at his second; and Mark
started as if he too had been shot.

"You here, sir?" he said.

"Yes. Why didn't you shoot?"

"I forgot to," said Mark hesitatingly; "and I was admiring them."

"Yes, admirable, my young naturalist!" said the major. "But we are sent
out here to find food for so many hungry people; and these are glorious
eating."

"Yes; I forgot," said Mark, helping to collect the birds, which were
tied by the legs and