ruddy bronze, like that of the copper beech.
And, as though this were not in itself enough of beauty, many of the
more sombre foliaged trees were draped and festooned in riotous
profusion with parasitic creepers, the blooms upon which would have
driven a painter to distraction, so rich and varied were their tints,
while the shapes of some of them were fantastic enough to suggest that
Dame Nature must have been under the influence of a nightmare when she
formed them. A few of them were merely giant creepers, but Earle, who
possessed more than a smattering knowledge of botany, declared that most
of them were orchids, several of which were new to him. The air of the
place was heavy with mingled odours--one might almost have called them
perfumes, were it not for a certain smack of rankness and pungency in
them--and alive with birds, varying in size from that of a bumble bee up
to that of a carrion crow, a few specimens of which could be seen
perched here and there on the topmost branches of the tallest trees.
Several of the birds were of the humming bird or sunbird species, and
these, of course, gleamed and flashed in the sunlight like winged
jewels, while nearly all boasted plumage of pronouncedly vivid
colouring.

The two friends were still standing together on the spot where they had
come to a halt when first entering the clearing, and Earle was
expatiating upon the beauty and rarity of some of the orchids in their
immediate neighbourhood, when they suddenly became aware of the presence
of a large deer on the opposite side of the clearing. So silently had
the creature come that neither of those who now stood watching him had
been aware of the moment of his coming, nor could they discern the spot
from which he had emerged. The animal was standing as motionless as a
statue, with head erect, and he seemed to be sniffing the air, searching
it for hostile odours, so to speak. He appeared to be quite unaware of
their presence, a fact not very difficult to account for, since the sun
was shining strongly in his eyes, while the two friends were not only
standing in deep shadow, but also chanced to have come to a halt
immediately behind a thick bush, which effectually hid all but their
heads from the deer.

Instinctively, Earle began slowly to lift his rifle, but only to lower
it again, as he murmured to Dick:

"Too far off--a good three-hundred yards if an inch. We'll wait a bit.
I believe he has not yet seen us, and if