A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



215 



that we should be certain to recover some part of it. Af- 

 ter an hour of useless wandering, we were compelled to 

 admit that our eyes must have been much mistaken as to 

 distances. L'Encuerado could not help smiling incredu- 

 lously on hearing the conjectures which I and Sumichrast 

 made ; but he was generous enough not to take advantage 

 of the superior astronomical knowledge which he assumed 

 he possessed. 



On setting out I again crossed the valley, and then climb- 

 ing the mountain, I led my companions up to a plateau. 



As far as was possible I followed the route I thought the 

 meteor had taken. L'Encuerado was just making his way 

 into the forest when Sumichrast noticed a broken tree, a little 

 to the right. I leaped up on the slope, and soon remarked 

 that the ground, for a space of at least twenty yards, was 

 strewn with black or green stones, which had been in a 

 fused state, and evidently bore the appearance of iron scoriae. 

 There could be no doubt about it ; the tree which had been 

 struck had caused the explosion of the meteor, and had 

 broken under the shock. 



" These, therefore, are the remains of some of your sky- 

 lanterns," said Lucien to PEncuerado, who had just picked 

 up some large stones, shining like metal. 



The Indian shook his head without answering. The fall- 

 en tree, the burned and blackened trunk, the withered and 

 even scorched grass, these strange-looking stones — every 

 thing visibly combined to upset his theory. Each of us 

 added to his load one of the aerolites ; then, again returning 

 to the plateau, we plunged into the forest. 



One shot that Sumichrast made rendered him happy for 

 the whole day. He had knocked down a green-colored 

 crossbill, of a species still unknown in Europe. 



" What a queer bird !" cried Lucien. " How did it man- 

 age to eat with its mouth all awry ?" 



