1 78 THE ADVENTURES OF 



twenty-four hours, rendered our progression very difficult, for we 

 were traversing a ferruginous soil. Such wretched walking put 

 the finishing-stroke to our ill-humour by smearing and soiling 

 our clothes; for my part, I inwardly anathematised travelling in 

 general, more especially in rainy weather. 



Just as we were emerging from this miserable ravine, Grin- 

 galet, who had no doubt scented something, suddenly rolled 

 himself upon the ground, frantically. We had proceeded some 

 distance before he rejoined us, covered with a coating of red clay, 

 which gave him as singular an aspect as can well be imagined. 

 The dog ran up and down, bounded about and barked, as if he 

 was makiiig it a business to amuse us. Nor were his efforts 

 without success. We now reached a small plain, in which the sun 

 flooded us with its warm raj'^s. This had the effect of putting us 

 into better humour ; for our clothes dried, and with the warmth 

 the feelings of discomfort to which we had been a prey departed. 



We were again entering among trees, when I'Encuerado sud- 

 denly stopped. 



" What is that moving down below there % " he said. 



" Some deer," I replied, after looking at them through my 

 glass. 



Each of us hurried to hide behind a bush, in hopes that the 

 beautiful animals would come within gunshot. Several times 

 I'Encuerado exjDressed a wish to move round to the other side of 

 the plain ; but I opposed his idea, as the distance was too great. 

 We spent more than an hour in watching the flock browsing, 

 playing about, and licking themselves ; but not one of them v-en- 

 tured in our direction. Tired with this inaction, Sumichrast 

 emerged from his hiding-place, and the deer scampered off. 

 Upon the whole, however, this delay had not been altogether 

 useless ; for, thanks to the heat of the sun, the ground had 

 become more traversable, and my friend actually hummed a tune 

 as he took the lead. 



The time when we ought to have settled our bivouac had long 

 passed, yet we were still on the road. The path we were tread- 

 iiig was flat and unpromising, and the water from the cave, with 

 which we had filled our gourds, was so unpleasant in taste that 



