A YOUNG NATURALIST. 227 



plain first, and with very little trouble, when he amused himself 

 by laughing disrespectfully at our efforts. 



"You had better take care of your ears,'' cried my friend, 

 addressing Lucien ; " if I could reach you, I would use them to 

 hang on by." 



In vain we tried to find a more accessible path. At last, 

 getting rid of my gun and game-bag, I accomplished the ascent. 



"That's all very well !" exclaimed Sumichrast, fatigued and 

 cramped with his exertions ; " but how am I to reach you, now 

 that I have two guns and two bags to carry % " 



" Wait a bit ! " cried Lucien ; and, running down the slope, 

 he soon disappeared. 



I heard him cutting at something with his machete, soon after 

 he came up again, carrying a long stem of cane. 



" Now, we '11 try and fish up M. Sumichrast," said he. 



Sitting down on the bank, I held out the rod to my companion, 

 who at once seized it, and, thus supported, gradually managed 

 to bring up all our hunting-gear, and ultimately himself, when, 

 instead of pulling " Master Sunbeam's " ears, he gave him a kiss 

 as a reward for his ingenious idea. 



About two hundred paces farther on, the verdant ravine came 

 to an end, and we were surrounded by cactus plants. Lucien 

 employed himself hunting lizards, and Gringalet seemed to 

 think he was proving his intelligence by running in front of the 

 boy, so as to frighten away all the game. The young hunter 

 succeeded, however, in catching a green saurian — an anolis — 

 which, being more courageous than lizards generally are, tried 

 to bite the hand that held it prisoner, and angrily puffed up its 

 crest, which is variegated like a butterfly's wing. 



Suddenly Gringalet barked uneasily ; then we heard a shrill 

 whistle, and immediately afterwards the cry of a cayote. I 

 called in the dog, and, with my finger on the trigger of my gun, 

 cautiously advanced, telling Lucien to keep at my side. We 

 walked so noiselessly that we surprised two or three adders 

 which were coiled up in the sun. The screech of an owl now 

 struck on our ears. I exchanged a look of surprise with my 

 companion ; this was neither the time nor place for a bird of this 



