216 THE ADVENTURES OF 



" Its mouth," replied Suniichrast, smiling, " is well adapt- 

 ed to its food. This bird which we have here met with 

 quite by chance, as it usually frequents mountain-tops 

 feeds on roots, buds, and pine-cones. Owing to its two 

 mandibles being so strongly made and so curiously ar- 

 ranged it can cut through, as if with a pair of scissors, 

 branches which a bird with a pointed beak could never 

 penetrate." 



" God is mindful of all His creatures," muttered PEncue- 

 rado, who was helping to skin the bird. " I had always 

 fancied that these poor creatures were deformed." 



Towards midday the chances of our path brought us to 

 the bottom of a narrow valley in the midst of a clump of 

 shrubs; this seemed a fit spot for our bivouac. In the 

 twinkling of an eye, the ground was cleared of brush-wood 

 and our hut constructed. We had scarcely sat down to 

 take breath when a slight rustling in the foliage attracted 

 our attention, and an animal with a bushy tail sprang down 

 from a tree. Gringalet darted at it, but an abominable 

 smell, which almost suffocated us, at once made him retreat. 

 A skunk, which in shape and color somewhat resembles a 

 squirrel, had thus perfectly poisoned our bivouac. 



Nothing was left for us but to decamp as quickly as pos- 

 sible, for the stench rendered the place uninhabitable for 

 several days. L'Encuerado could not find enough bad 

 names for abusing the animal, which, however, had only 

 availed itself of the means of defense with which nature 

 has endowed it. Each of us now resumed his burden, sad- 

 ly enough, I must confess, and not without throwing a dis- 

 appointed glance at our hut. Sumichrast led the way, and 

 did not stop till we found ourselves perfectly exhausted at 

 the entrance to a deep and narrow gorge. We still felt 

 sickened by the horrible stench produced by the skunk, and, 

 as we did not wish to expose ourselves again to a similar 



