her birds of prey, the jacana defends them with its sharp
wing-spurs, and generally succeeds in beating off the enemy. It never
deserts the flock, but accompanies it in all its movements, and will
defend its charge with great fury and courage.

Besides the water-birds which were noticed by our travellers, many kinds
were seen by them upon the shore and fluttering among the trees. There
were parrots in flocks, and macaws in pairs--for these birds usually go
in twos--there were trogons, and great billed toucans, and their kindred
the aracaris; and there, too, were "umbrella-chatterers," of which there
is a species quite white; and upon a fruit-covered tree, not far off,
they saw a flock of the snow-white "bell-birds" (_Casmarhynchos_).
These are about as large as blackbirds, with broad bills, from the base
of which grows a fleshy tubercle that hangs down to the length of nearly
three inches, like that of the turkey-cock. The name of "bell-birds" is
given to them on account of the clear, bell-like ring of their note,
which they utter about the middle of the day, when most other creatures
of the tropical world are in silence or asleep.

Of course Don Pablo as a naturalist was interested in all those birds,
and observed their habits and movements with attention. There was none
of them about which he had not some strange story to tell, and in this
way he was beguiling the after-supper hour. It was too early for them
to go to rest--indeed it was not quite sunset; and Guapo for one had not
yet had his supper, although that meal was now very near at hand. The
marimonda was becoming charred and black, and would soon be ready for
mastication.

Guapo sat by the fire, now and again raking up the cinders with a long
pole which he held in his hand, while his eyes from time to time rested
on the marimonda that was directly in front of him, _vis-a-vis_.

At length the monkey appeared to him to be "done to a turn," and with
his _machete_ in one hand, and a forked stick in the other, he was just
bending forward to lift it off the fire, when, to his horror, the ground
was felt to move beneath him, causing him to stagger, and almost
throwing him from his feet! Before he could recover himself, the
surface again heaved up, and a loud report was heard, like the explosion
of some terrible engine. Then another upheaval--another report--the
ground opened into a long fissure--the staging of palms, and the
half-burned cinders, and the ch