98 



THE ADVENTURES OF 



" No ; but it would cause a very painful swelling, which it 

 would be best to avoid." 



" I shall be afraid to meddle with the bark of trees, now." 



" Then good-bye to your making a collection of insects. 

 Prudence is a very good quality, but you must not make it 

 an excuse for cowardice." 



Upon examining the insects more closely, I saw that one 

 of the scorpions, a female, was carrying three or four young 

 ones on her back. This sight much amused Lucien, espe- 

 cially when he saw the animal begin to move slowly off 

 with them. 



" Do you know, Chanito," said l'Encuerado, who had now 

 joined us, which showed that the cooking did not require 

 his undivided attention," that when the mother of the young 

 scorpions does not supply them with food, they set to and 

 devour her." 



"Is that true?" asked Lucien, with surprise. 



"If the little ones do not actually kill their mother, at all 

 events they feed on her dead body," I answered. " You 

 will have plenty of opportunities to verify this fact, for 

 these insects are very plentiful in the Terr e- Temper ee? 



" Ah !" cried Lucien, " I was quite right, then, when I call- 

 ed them horrid creatures." 



L'Encuerado, stripping off another piece of bark, exposed 

 to view a salamander, which awkwardly tried to hide itself. 



" You may catch it if you like ; there is nothing to be 

 afraid of," said I to Lucien, who had drawn back in fright. 



" But it is a scorpion !" he exclaimed. 



"You are too frightened to see clearly; it is a salaman- 

 der, an amphibious reptile of the frog family. The scor- 

 pion has eight feet, while the salamander, which is much 

 more like a lizard, has only four." 



" Are they venomous ?" asked Lucien of the Indian. 



" No, Chanito ; Indians" (it was well worth while hear- 



