became
reasonably expert.

Thus armed they sallied forth, and, following the foot-path that
conducted from the door of the hut to the brow of the hill opposite,
they were soon buried in the shades of the great forest. On this
particular morning Barney observed that the hermit carried with him a
stout spear, which he was not usually in the habit of doing. Being of
an inquisitive disposition, he inquired the reason of his taking it.

"I expect to find a jaguar to-day," answered the hermit. "I saw him
yesterday go down into the small valley, in which my cows grow. I will
show you my cows soon, Martin."

The hermit stopped short suddenly as he spoke, and pointed to a large
bird, about fifty yards in advance of them. It seemed to bear a
particular ill-will to a round rough stone which it pecked most
energetically. After a few minutes the bird ceased its attacks and flew
off; whereupon the rough stone opened itself out, and, running quickly
away, burrowed into a little hole and disappeared!

"That is an armadillo," remarked the hermit, continuing to lead the way
through the woods; "it is covered with a coat of mail, as you see; and
when enemies come it rolls itself up like a ball and lies like a hard
stone till they go away. But it has four little legs, and with them it
burrows so quickly that we cannot dig it up, and must smoke it out of
its hole,--which I do often, because it is very good to eat, as you very
well know."

While they continued thus to walk through the woods conversing, Martin
and Barney were again interested and amused by the immense number of
brilliant parrots and toucans which swooped about, chattering from tree
to tree, in large flocks. Sometimes thirty or forty of the latter would
come screaming through the woods and settle upon the dark-green foliage
of a coffee-tree; the effect of which was to give the tree the
appearance of having been suddenly loaded with ripe golden fruit. Then
the birds would catch sight of the travellers, and fly screaming away,
leaving the tree dark-green and fruitless as before. The little green
parrots were the most outrageously noisy things that ever lived. Not
content with screaming when they flew, they continued to shriek,
apparently with delight while they devoured the seeds of the gorgeous
sun-flowers: and, more than once, Martin was prompted to scatter a
handful of stones among them, as a hint to be less noisy; but this only
made them worse,--like a bad ba