oking at what I shoot, and I never had a
glimpse of this. Did you see it, Drew?"

"I? No."

"Please, sir, I just got one squint at it," said Smith. "You did, too,
didn't you, Billy?"

"I sin it twice," said Wriggs. "It was a spotty sort o' thing, and it
went through the bushes like a flash."

"It must have been a leopard, then," said Panton.

"No," said Oliver decisively, "not that made the loud crashing noise.
One of those great cats would have glided away almost in silence. I
fancy that it was some kind of deer. Keep on steadily and we may hunt
up another."

But they tramped on for quite an hour, without any such good fortune,
though had their aim solely been collecting specimens, their
opportunities were great. For at every opening sun-birds flitted here
and there, poising themselves before some blossom which they probed with
their long curved bills, and sent forth flashes from their brilliant
plumage like those from cut and polished gems. Every now and then too,
thrush-like birds flew up from beneath the bushes--thrush-like in form
but with plumage in which fawn or dove colour and celestial blues
preponderated. Mynahs and barbets were in flocks: lories and paroquets
abundant, and at last Lane stopped short and held up his hand, for from
out of a patch of the forest where the trees towered up to an enormous
height, and all beneath was dim and solemn-looking as some cathedral,
there came a loud harsh cry, _waark, waark, wok, wok, wok_, and this was
answered several times from a distance.

"Only some kind of crow," said Panton, "and we don't, as the American
backwoodsman said, `kinder hanker arter crow.'"

"Kind of crow? yes, of course," said Oliver impatiently. "That's the
cry of the great bird of Paradise. Come along quietly, we must have
some specimens of them."

"No, no," cried Panton. "If we fire at them good-bye to any chance of a
deer. Steal up and have a look at them, we shall have plenty more
chances."

Oliver was strongly tempted to fire, for just then a bird skimmed down
from on high into the gloom beneath the trees, and they had a glimpse of
the lovely creature, with its long, loose, yellowish plumage streaming
out behind as if it were a sort of bird-comet dwelling amongst the
trees. Then it was gone, and the young man consoled himself with the
thought that had he fired the chances were great against his hitting,
and it would have been like a crime to let the bird go off wounded a