264 THE ADVENTURES OF 



looked as if it was covered with purple flowers. Farther on, 

 some paroquets, no bigger than sparrows, greeted us with their 

 varied cries. L'Encuerado, after tossing his head several times, 

 and shrugging his shoulders, at last stopped and could not refrain 

 from answering them. 



" Come and carry it yourselves ! " he cried ; " come and carry 

 it yourselves, and prove that you are stronger than a man ! " 



" What are you asking the birds to do ? " demanded Lucien. 



" They are making fun of my load, Chanito ; a set of lazy 

 fellows, who all of them together would not be able to move it ! " 



Sumichrast made his way into the forest, cutting away the 

 creepers with his machete in order to clear a passage. In less 

 than an hour we had crossed five or six glades. Suddenly I 

 noticed that Gringalet had disappeared, I called him, and a 

 distant barking answered me. 



" Can he have met with a stream % " said Sumichrast. 



I advanced in the direction in which I had heard the voice of 

 our four-footed companion, and suddenly came upon him baying 

 furiously at a young cougar, which Sumichrast ran towards, but 

 the animal fled into the wood. 



"Where did you turn out this fellow, Gringalet?" asked 

 I'Encuerado, quite seriously. "Don't trust too much to his 

 friendship, for it might be the worse for you ; lions seldom fondle 

 anything without hurting it." 



" Was it a lion ? " asked Lucien. 



" Yes," I answered, " but an American lion, or cougar, known 

 by savants as the Felis puma." 



" How I should like to have seen it ! Had it a mane ? " 



" No, the puma is without one." 



We were crossing another glade, when Gringalet suddenly 

 rushed between our legs. On looking back I saw the puma slyly 

 following us. 



" Well, upon my word," said Sumichrast ; " does this fellow 

 want to prove that a cougar will attack a man 1 " 



L'Encuerado, who had put down his load, was already aiming 

 at the animal. 



" Don't shoot ! " I cried authoritatively. 



