98 THE ADVENTURES OF 



" No ; but it would cause a veiy painful swelling, which it 

 would be best to avoid." 



" I shall be afraid to meddle with the bark of trees, now." 



" Then good-bye to your making a collection of insects. 

 Prudence is a very good quality, but you must not make it 

 an excuse for cowardice." 



Upon examining the insects more closely, I saw that one 

 of the scorpions, a female, was carrying three or four young 

 ones on her back. This sight much amused Lucien, espe- 

 cially when he saw the animal begin to move slowly off 

 with them. 



" Do you know, Chanito," said 1'Encuerado, who had now 

 joined us, which showed that the cooking did not requii-e 

 his undivided attention," that when the mother of the young 

 scorpions does not supply them with food, they set to and 

 devour hei\" 



"Is that'true?" asked Lucien, with surprise. 



" If the little ones do not actually kill their mother, at all 

 events they feed on her dead body," I answered. " You 

 will have plenty of opportunities to verify this fact, for 

 these insects are very plentiful in the Terr e- Temper ee" 



" Ah !" cried Lucien, " I was quite right, then, when I call- 

 ed them horrid creatures." 



L'Encuerado, stripping off another piece of bark, exposed 

 to view a salamander, which awkwardly tried to hide itself. 



" You may catch it if you like ; there is nothing to be 

 afraid of," said I to Lucien, who had drawn back in fright. 



" But it is a scorpion !" he exclaimed. 



" You are too frightened to see clearly ; it is a salaman- 

 der, an amphibious reptile of the frog family. The scor- 

 pion has eight feet, while the salamander, which is much 

 more like a lizard, has only four." 



" Are they venomous ?" asked Lucien of the Indian. 



" No, Chanito ; Indians" (it was well worth while hear- 



