CHAP. IV] A TROPICAL DELUGE 103 



It is a valiant and truculent little beast, nevertheless, 

 and if given the chance will bite a piece the size of 

 a teacup out of either man or dog. It is found singly 

 or in small parties, feeds on roots, fruits, grass, and 

 delights to make its home in hollow logs. If taken 

 young it makes an affectionate and entertaining pet. 

 When the two were in the hollow log we heard them 

 utter a kind of moaning, or menacing, grunt, long 

 drawn. 



An hour or two afterward we unexpectedly struck 

 the fresh tracks of two jaguars and at once loosed the 

 dogs, who tore off yelling, on the line of the scent. 

 Unfortunately, just at this moment the clouds burst 

 and a deluge of rain drove in our faces. So heavy was 

 the downpour that the dogs lost the trail and we lost 

 the dogs. We found them again only owing to one of 

 our cahoclos ; an Indian with a queer Mongolian face, 

 and no brain at all that I could discover, apart from his 

 special dealings with wild creatures, cattle, and horses. 

 He rode in a huddle of rags ; but nothing escaped his 

 eyes, and he rode anything anywhere. The downpour 

 continued so heavily that we knew the rodeo had been 

 abandoned, and we turned our faces for the long, dripping, 

 splashing ride homeward. Through the gusts of driving 

 rain we could hardly see the way. Once the rain lightened, 

 and half a mile away the sunshine gleamed through a 

 rift in the leaden cloud-mass. Suddenly ia this rift of 

 shimmering brightness there appeared a flock of beautiful 

 white egrets. With strong, graceful wing-beats the birds 

 urged their flight, their plumage flashing in the sun. 

 They then crossed the rift and were swallowed in the 

 grey gloom of the day. 



On the marsh the dogs several times roused capy- 

 baras. Where there were no ponds of sufficient size 



