224 SPOUTING ADVENTURES 



gun, after taking a look round to see the coast 

 clear. Presently a mass of yellow fur was 

 descried, into which both barrels were dis- 

 charged, and a miserable harmless ant-eater was 

 dragged forth in triumph; the poor creature 

 had bravely refused to desert its young one, 

 which was soon afterwards ignominiously pulled 

 out. I tried to keep this little fellow alive, but 

 he pined away and died in a short time. Some 

 days afterwards I made another expedition, in 

 company with one of our officers, to a country 



house called Limon, belonging to Sefior A , 



some twenty miles distant from Panama. We 

 started during the night, so as to insure landing 

 at high water, and after a pleasant sail of three 

 hours arrived at a small village on the beach, 

 where we procured horses, and reached the 

 house at two a.m. Notwithstanding the un- 

 seasonable hour our host and hostess were 

 awaiting us, and we received a warm welcome 

 from these kind-hearted people . We spent a 

 couple of days most pleasantly at this place, 

 bathing in the river, shooting ducks on the 



