was swollen out to twice its original size,
as is always the case with carcasses of animals left exposed in a warm
climate. It was odd that some preying animals had not eaten it up. A
clump of tall trees that shaded it, had, no doubt, concealed it from the
sharp sight of the vultures, and these birds, contrary to what has so
often been alleged, can find no dead body by the smell. Neither ants
nor animals that prey upon carrion had chanced to come that way, and
there lay the deer intact.

So thought Don Pablo and Leon. Guapo, however, was of a different
opinion, and, going up to the body, he struck it a blow with his axe.
To the surprise of the others, instead of the dead sound which they
expected to hear, a dry crash followed the blow, and a dark hole
appeared where a piece of thin shell-like substance had fallen off.
Another blow from Guapo's axe, and the whole side went in. Not a bit of
carcass was there; there were bones--clean bones--and dry hard skin, but
no flesh, not an atom of flesh!

"Tatou-poyou!" quietly remarked Guapo.

"What!" said Don Pablo, "an armadillo, you think?" recognising, in
Guapo's words, the Indian name for one of the large species of
armadillos.

"Yes," replied Guapo. "All eaten by the tatou-poyou. See! there's his
hole."

Don Pablo and Leon bent over the sham carcass, and, sure enough, under
where its body had been they could see a large hole in the ground.
Outside the carcass, also, at the distance of several feet was another.

"That is where he entered," said Guapo, pointing to the second. "He's
not about hero now," continued he, "no, no,--ate all the meat, and gone
long ago."

This was evident, as the hollow skeleton was quite dry, and had
evidently been empty for a good while.

Don Pablo was pleased at this incident, as it gave him an opportunity of
verifying a curious habit of the armadillos. These creatures are among
the finest burrowers in the world, and can bury themselves in the earth
in a few seconds' time; but, being badly toothed,--some of them
altogether without teeth,--they can only feed upon very soft substances.
Putrid flesh is with them a favourite "dish," and in order to get at
the softest side of a carcass, they burrow under, and enter it from
below, rarely leaving their horrid cave until they have thoroughly
cleared it out.

The bark-hunters now passed on, Don Pablo making many inquiries about
the armadillos, and Guapo giving replies, while Leon listen