,"
said the hermit. "Get out your binoculars, follow me, and hold your
tongue, all of you--that will be the safest plan. Tread lightly."

It was a sight to behold the professor crouching almost double in order
to render himself less conspicuous, with his hat pushed back, and the
blue glasses giving him the appearance of a great-eyed seal. He carried
his butterfly-net in one hand, and the unfailing rifle in the other.

Fortunately the hermit's sharp and practised eye had enabled him to
distinguish the birds in the distance before their advance had alarmed
them, so that they were able to reach a mound topped with low bushes
over which they could easily watch the birds.

"Zat is very koorious an' most interesting," murmured the professor
after a short silence.

He was right. There were two Argus pheasants, a male and female--the
male alone being decorated superbly. The Argus belongs to the same
family as the peacock, but is not so gaudy in colouring, and therefore,
perhaps, somewhat more pleasing. Its tail is formed chiefly by an
enormous elongation of the two tail quills, and of the secondary wing
feathers, no two of which are exactly the same, and the closer they are
examined the greater is seen to be the extreme beauty of their markings,
and the rich varied harmony of their colouring.

When a male Argus wishes to show off his magnificence to his spouse--or
when she asks him to show it off we know not which--he makes a circle in
the forest some ten or twelve feet in diameter, which he clears of every
leaf, twig, and branch. On the margin of this circus there is
invariably a projecting branch, or overarching root a few feet above the
ground, on which the female takes her place to watch the exhibition.
This consists of the male strutting about, pluming his feathers, and
generally displaying his gorgeous beauty.

"Vat ineffable vanity!" exclaimed the professor, after gazing for some
time in silence.

His own folly in thus speaking was instantly proved by the two birds
bringing the exhibition to an abrupt close and hastily taking wing.

Not long after seeing this they came to a small but deep and rapid
river, which for a time checked their progress, for there was no ford,
and the porters who carried Verkimier's packages seemed to know nothing
about a bridge, either natural or artificial. After wandering for an
hour or so along its banks, however, they found a giant tree which had
fallen across the stream, an