450 THE ADVENTURES OF 



down by the band, there wouldn't be much left now but 

 bones." 



" Isn't the peccary a wild boar, M. Sumichrast ?" 



" It is a pachyderm — consequently, a relation of the pig," 

 answered my friend. " The wild boar is solitary, while the 

 peccaries always go in flocks ; this makes them formidable 

 enemies in spite of their small size. 



" What, small ! this one is larger than Gringalet !" 



" The wild boar is twice as big. A characteristic of the 

 peccary is, that its tail is rudimentary, and the bristles 

 spotted with black and white ; moreover, only its legs are 

 eatable." 



L'Encuerado went round the edge of the lake in order to 

 trace the course of the stream. We lost more than an 

 hour in false channels, and the raft ran aground in a shal- 

 low. 



When the sun had set, and all the birds were flying over 

 us to their retreats, we landed to bivouac for the night. 



A deep-toned roaring sound awoke me up with a start ; 

 the first thing I saw was Lucien, with his gun in his hand, 

 crouching down close to Sumichrast. On the shore, about 

 sixty yards from us, I saw a long tawny form, and two 

 shining eyes. A second roar told me the name of our noc- 

 turnal visitor, whose voice I fancied I had heard in a 

 dream. 



" And where is l'Encuerado ?" I asked my companion. 



" He is crawling away to the other side." 



A shot cut these words short ; the animal gave another 

 roar, and rushed into the jungle. We heard a noise like a 

 scuffle, and then the jaguar again came in sight; it ran 

 round and round, roaring with rage. A final bound 

 brought it to w T ithin twenty paces of our camp fire, when 

 it fell never to rise again. 



"Hiou! hiou! Chanito." 



