"Little dogs have sharp teeth, my lad; and them small "gators can bite like fury. You take my advice, and don"t do it again."
"Hah!" cried Brazier as he leaped ash.o.r.e, "this is glorious. We can make quite a collection here. See that the boat is fast, Naylor."
This was soon done, and the men were about to light a fire, but Brazier checked them, preferring to make a little expedition for exploration purposes all about their new camping place, partly to see if there were noxious beasts at hand, partly to try and secure a few natural history specimens, especially birds, which abounded, before the noise and the fire should drive them away.
"Hand out the guns and cartridge bags," said Brazier; and this being done the men were left in charge of the boat, and the little party started, keeping close up to the trees on their left with the intention of going all round the opening and so returning by the right side to the boat.
The walking was hard, for the earth was tangled with dense growth so that they progressed very slowly, while the heat was intense; but that pa.s.sed unnoticed in the excitement caused by the novel objects which met their eyes at every step--flowers, such as Rob had never before seen, looking up as if asking to be plucked; b.u.t.terflies which flapped about so lazily that they could, he felt, easily be caught, only without net or appliances it seemed wanton destruction to capture and mutilate such gorgeously painted objects. There were others too, resembling the hawk-moths in shape, with thick body and long pointed wing, which were constantly being taken for humming-birds, so rapid was their darting flight. As for these latter, they flashed about them here, there, and everywhere, now glittering in the sunshine, now looking dull and plum-coloured as they hovered on hazy wings before the long trumpet blossoms of some convolvulus-like flower whose twiny stems trailed over or wrapped the lower growth.
Beetles, too, were abundant in every sun-scorched spot or on the bare trunks of the trees, though bare places were rare, for the trees were clothed densely with moss and orchid.
Rob"s fingers itched as bird after bird flew up, and he longed to bring them down for specimens, whose brilliant colours he could gloat over.
Now it was a huge scarlet-and-blue macaw, now one painted by Nature"s hand scarlet, yellow, and green, which flew off with its long tail feathers spread, uttering discordant shrieks, and startling the smaller parrots from the trees which they were stripping of their fruit.
But Brazier had told him not to fire at the smaller birds, as it was a necessity to keep their larder supplied with substantial food, the four boatmen and Shaddy being pretty good trencher-men, and making the deer meat disappear even without the aid of trenchers.
"We ought to find a deer here surely," said Brazier, when they were about half-way round.
"Well, I don"t know, sir," replied their guide; "deer ain"t like human beings, ready to go walking in the hot sunshine in the middle of the day. They like to lie up in the shade all through the sunny time, and feed in the morning and evening."
"Then you think we shall not see a deer?"
"Can"t say, sir; but if a turkey goes up I should make sure of him at once. So I should if we came upon a carpincho, for this is a likely place for one of them."
"But are they good eating?"
"Capital, sir. Now, look at that."
He faced round at a loud, fluttering sound, and guns were raised, but the great bird which had taken flight was far out of shot, and winging its way higher and higher, so as to fly over the tops of the trees and away into the forest.
"Fine great turkey that, sir," said Shaddy.
"Yes: can we follow it?"
Shaddy shook his head.
"Far more sensible for us to walk straight away, sir, through the open where that turkey got up: we might start another or two."
"But the going is so laborious," pleaded Brazier; "some of us would be having sunstroke. No, let"s keep on, we may put up something yet."
"And try for the turkeys toward sundown, sir?"
"Yes. Come on," said Brazier; "we had better get slowly back now to the boat. It is too hot."
He stood wiping the perspiration from his forehead as he spoke, and then, with Shaddy by his side carrying a spare gun, went on along by the edge of the forest, Rob and Joe following some distance behind.
"I might as well have shot some of those beautiful toucans," said Rob; "I could have skinned them, and they would be delightful to bring out at home and show people, and remind one of this place in years to come."
"Yes, we shouldn"t have scared away much game," replied Joe. "What"s that they can see?"
For Shaddy was holding up his hand to stop them, and Brazier, who had forgotten all about being languid and weary in the hot sunshine, was hurrying forward bending down and making for one of several clumps of bushes about half-way between them and the river.
Rob noted that clump particularly, for it was scarlet with the blossoms of a magnificent pa.s.sion-flower, whose steins trailed all over it, tangling it into a ma.s.s of flame colour, looking hot in the sunshine, which made the air quiver as if in motion.
The lads stopped at Shaddy"s signal and looked intently, but they could see no sign of any game, and, rightly concluding that the object of Brazier"s movement must be hidden from them at the edge of the forest, they crouched down and waited for fully five minutes.
"Here, I"m sick of this," whispered Rob at last; and he rose from his uncomfortable position.
"So am I," said Joe, straightening himself. "Hullo! Where"s old Shaddy?"
"Lying down and having a nap, I expect," replied Rob. "I can"t see him nor Mr Brazier neither. Shall we go on."
"No: let"s wait a bit. They may be seeing a chance for something good at supper-time."
They waited another five minutes, ten minutes, and had at last determined to go on, when Brazier"s piece was heard, the sharp report coming from about three hundred yards farther on toward the river.
"There"s Shaddy running," cried Joe; and they saw now where he had been crawling, far beyond the scarlet pa.s.sion-flower, from whose shelter Mr Brazier had evidently made a long stalk till he was close to the object of his search, a bird or animal, which had probably fallen, from the haste being made to reach the spot.
"Let"s make haste," cried Joe, pushing forward.
"No, thank you; I"m too tired," said Rob. "I was not so f.a.gged before, but after lying down there so long I"m as stiff as can be. Oh, bother!
something stung me. It"s one of those ants. Brush them off."
Joe performed the kindly duty, and they were on the way to join the others, when there was a rustling sound just in front, and the young Italian started back.
"A snake--a snake!" he panted, as he caught Rob"s arm. "Shoot!"
"Well, you shoot too," said the latter rather sharply, for Joe seemed to have forgotten that he had a gun in his hand.
But Rob could not boast, for as the dry gra.s.s and scrubby growth in front moved he raised his piece, and drew first one trigger, then the other: there was no result--he had forgotten to c.o.c.k.
Lowering the gun he rapidly performed this necessary operation, and was about to raise it again and wait, for in the hurry and excitement he had been about to obey his companion and deliver a chance shot almost at random amongst the moving gra.s.s--so great was the horror inspired by the very name of one of the reptiles which haunted the moist swamps near the riverside.
But, to the surprise of both, it was no huge anaconda which had been worming its way toward them; for at the sound of the lock--_click_, click--a beautiful warm-grey creature bounded lithely out almost to where they stood, and there paused, watching them and waving its long black tail.
"A lion," whispered Joe, who remained as if paralysed by the sudden bound of the cat-like creature, which stood as high as a mastiff dog, but beautifully soft-looking and rounded in its form, its ears erect, eyes dilated, and motionless, all but that long writhing tail.
In those few moments Rob"s powers of observation seemed as if they were abnormally sharpened, and as he noted the soft hairs toward the end of the tail erected and then laid down, and again erected, making it look thick and soft, he noted too that the muzzle was furnished with long cat-like whiskers, and the head was round, soft, and anything but cruel and fierce of aspect.
"Shoot--shoot!" whispered Joe: "the ball--not the small shot."
But Rob did not stir; he merely stood with the muzzle of the gun presented toward the beast, and did not raise it to his shoulder. Not that he was stupefied by the peril of his position, but held back by the non-menacing aspect of the puma. Had there been a display of its fangs or an attempt to crouch for a spring, the gun would have been at his shoulder in a moment, and, hit or miss, he would have drawn the trigger.
"Why don"t you shoot?" whispered Joe again.
"I can"t," replied Rob. "It must be a tame one."
"Nonsense! You"re mad. We"re right away in the wilds."