see what we can meet with."
Ernest sat down with Frank, and we left them and my wife at the gourd
tree, while Fritz and Jack set off with me to a high rock which we saw
on the right.

"Fritz, look here," said Jack, as he made his way to the rock.

"What have you found now?" said Fritz.

"I don't know what it is, but it's a fine prize."

When I went up I saw at once that it was a large I-GUA-NA, the flesh and
eggs of which are both good for food. I had heard that these and such
like beasts will stand still if you play an air on a pipe. So I crept
near, and made a low sound with my lips, while I held in my right hand
a stout stick, to which I had tied a cord with a noose, and in my left
hand a slight wand. I saw it first move its tail, and then draw its head
from side to side, as if to look where the sound came from. I then threw
the noose round its neck, drew it tight, got on its back with a leap and
thrust the wand up its nose, which is the sole part of the beast where
there are no hard scales. It bled at once, and was soon dead, nor did it
seem to feel any pain. Our prize, which was near five feet long was no
slight weight to lift. I got it at last on my back, and thus we went
back to the gourd tree, where we found the rest quite safe.

It took us a long time to reach The Nest that night. My wife did her
best to dress some of the flesh of the land crab, but it was tough, and
did not taste so nice as the soup made from the beast that we had caught
by the nose.

CHAPTER IX.

FRITZ and I spent the whole of the next day in the woods. We took the
ass and one of the dogs with us, but left all else at home.

Our way first lay through a dense wood, where we saw no end of small
birds, but such game could not now tempt Fritz to waste his shot. We
then had to cross a vast plain, and to wade through the high grass,
which we did with care, lest we should tread on some strange thing that
might turn and bite us.

We came at last to a grove of small trees, and in their midst I saw a
bush, which I knew to be the wax tree, for the wax grew on it like white
beads. I need not say how glad I was to find so great a prize. We had
up to this time gone to bed as soon as the sun went down, for we had no
lamp to use; but as we could now make wax lights, I told Fritz that we
had found what would add two or three hours per day to our lives. We
took as much of the wax as would serve us for some time, and then made
our way out of the