388 



THE AD VENTURES OF 



L'Encuerado, whose arm was now completely healed, had 

 again taken possession of the load, and Sumichrast com- 

 menced cutting the creepers in order to open a path. I re- 

 lieved him every now and then in this hard work, and Lu- 

 cien availed himself of the moments when we stopped for 

 breath to have a cut at the great vegetable screen which 

 nature places at the entrance of virgin forests, as if to 

 show that there is within it an unknown world to conquer. 

 Unfortunately, the small height of the boy rendered his 

 work useless ; but he at least evinced a desire to take his 

 part of the labor. At last the thick wall of vegetable 

 growth was passed, and we found ourselves in a semi-ob- 

 scurity, caused by the shade of gigantic trees. 



" Are we now in a virgin forest ?" asked Lucien. 



" No, for we are only just entering it," I replied. 



" But the ground is so bare ; there are no more creepers, 

 and the trees look as if they were arranged in lines." 



" What did you expect to meet with ?" 



"Plants all entangled together, birds, monkeys, and 

 tigers." 



" Your ideal menagerie will, perhaps, make its appearance 

 subsequently. As for the entangled plants, if the whole for- 

 est was full of them, it would be absolutely impenetrable. 

 The soil is bare because the trees are so bushy that no rays 

 of the sun can penetrate, and many plants wither and die in 

 the shade ; but whenever we come upon a glade, you will 

 find the earth covered with grass and shrubs." 



"Then the forests of the Terr e- Temp eree are more beau- 

 tiful than those of the Terre- Chaude f n 



" You judge too hastily," replied Sumichrast ; " wait till 

 our path leads along the edge of some stream." 



" All right," muttered the boy, shaking his head and 

 turning towards his friend; "the woods we have gone 

 through are much more pleasant. It is so silent, and the 



