408 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



are white, slightly glossy, and of an oval shape; five to eight 

 comprise a set. With the approach of darkness small birds 

 seemed to disappear among the cacti. The secretario kept 

 up a constant fusillade with his sling, but he was a poor 

 shot and did no damage. 



Finally the judge suggested supper, so we sat down on 

 a fallen cactus trunk from which the spines had decayed, 

 and enjoyed the bread, sausage, and tangerines which the 

 boy fished out of the bag containing his pebbles and sun- 

 dry articles; then, in answer to our call, a plump Quechua 

 squaw brought a gourd of water from her near-by hovel; 

 we gave her a cigarette in return, which pleased her so much 

 that she showed us a wonderful vizcacha village not far 

 distant, which, she said, harbored the largest and fattest 

 of the rodents to be found in the district; she also agreed 

 to take charge of our game so that we would not be ham- 

 pered with it the rest of the evening. 



The great silvery moon now began to peep above the 

 cloudless horizon, and in a few minutes the whole country 

 was flooded with light. Not a plant grew on the broad 

 acres the Indian woman had pointed out; there was only 

 the dead stump of a cactus here and there, but these loomed 

 tall and ghostlike in the mellow light. Soon we heard deep, 

 guttural grunts, followed by shrill squeaks, and in a low 

 tone the judge said "vizcachas." Then he dug down into 

 his pockets and produced some beeswax and cotton, so 

 each of us fixed a small fluff on the sight of our guns, and 

 were then ready for business. We had not gone a hundred 

 yards, after this, when the judge pointed to a mound ahead, 

 and there, looming high above the yellow earth, sat some 

 great, restless creature, squeaking and grunting. My com- 

 panion had explained to me the business of stalking, a score 

 of times, so I set out as directed, making a wide detour in 

 order to get behind a cactus stump; but I am afraid the 

 excitement was too great and I went too fast, for the first 

 thing I knew there was a glimpse of a fleeting, shadowy 

 form, a sharp, shrill squeal, and the mound was bare. 



