58 THE ADVENTURES OF 



much like that uttered by the Mexican ox-drivers when they herd 

 together the animals under their care ; hence its Spanish name of 

 vaguero. We gave chase to them, and, in less than half an hour, 

 we had obtained a male and female. Lucien was never tired of 

 admiring these beautiful creatures, with their yellow beaks, 

 hooked like those of birds of prey. The male bird, in particular, 

 was magnificent ; the feathers on the head and back seemed to be 

 " shot " with a golden green, whilst the edges of the wings and 

 the belly were tinted with the purest crimson, shaded off into two 

 black lines, which extended as far as the tail. 



" Shall we find many of these birds in the forest, M. Sumi- 

 chrast 1 " asked Lucien. 



" No, Master ' Sunbeam ; ' they are rather rare ; so we must 

 take great care of the skins of these we have shot.'' 



"Is their flesh good to eat?" he asked. 



" Excellent ; and many a gourmet would be glad to make a meal 

 of it. However, at dinner-time, you shall try for yourself; and 

 you will meet with very few people who, like you, have partaken 

 of the trogon massena." 



" At all events, it isn't another relation of the rat — is it ? " 

 asked the boy, archly. 



" No ; it belongs to the family of climbers— -that is to say, to 

 that order of birds which have two toes in front of their claws, 

 and two behind, hke your great friends the parrots." 



After we had dressed the skins of the couroucous, and carefully 

 wrapped up the game, we again moved on. The ground became 

 stony and the descent steeper. At one time I had hoped to find 

 a spring at the bottom of the ravine ; but we very soon discovered, 

 to our great disappointment, that we should have to begin climbing 

 again, leaving behind us the oaks and the ceibas, and meeting with 

 nothing but gigantic pine-trees. The pine-needles * which literally 

 carpeted the ground, made it so slippery, that for every step for- 

 wards we frequently took two backwards. We fell time after 

 time, but our falls were not in the least degree dangerous. Some- 

 times, as if at a signal, we all four rolled down together, and each 

 laughed at his neighbour's misfortune, thus cheering one another. 

 * The small tapering leaves of the pine are thus called. 



