ards the raft, assisted by Gringalet, who swam, barking, behind, and
biting it when opportunity offered.

"Fire your gun at this poor wretch's head," called l'Encuerado to
Sumichrast.

This was no sooner said than done, and l'Encuerado leaped on board,
dragging his victim after him.

The peccaries collected on the shore continued to utter loud grunts of
rage; but we were beyond their reach, for the raft was soon carried past
them by the current.

"Are peccaries carnivorous?" asked Lucien.

"Yes, indeed, Chanito. If one of us had been knocked down by the band,
there wouldn't be much left now but bones."

"Isn't the peccary a wild boar, M. Sumichrast?"

"It is a pachyderm--consequently, a relation of the pig," answered my
friend. "The wild boar is solitary, while the peccaries always go in
flocks; this makes them formidable enemies in spite of their small
size."

"What, small! this one is larger than Gringalet!"

"The wild boar is twice as big. A characteristic of the peccary is, that
its tail is rudimentary, and the bristles spotted with black and white;
moreover, only its legs are eatable."

L'Encuerado went round the edge of the lake in order to trace the course
of the stream. We lost more than an hour in false channels, and the raft
ran aground in a shallow.

When the sun had set, and all the birds were flying over us to their
retreats, we landed to bivouac for the night.

A deep-toned roaring sound awoke me up with a start; the first thing I
saw was Lucien, with his gun in his hand, crouching down close to
Sumichrast. On the shore, about sixty yards from us, I saw a long tawny
form, and two shining eyes. A second roar told me the name of our
nocturnal visitor, whose voice I fancied I had heard in a dream.

"And where is l'Encuerado?" I asked my companion.

"He is crawling away to the other side."

A shot cut these words short; the animal gave another roar, and rushed
into the jungle. We heard a noise like a scuffle, and then the jaguar
again came in sight; it ran round and round, roaring with rage. A final
bound brought it to within twenty paces of our camp fire, when it fell
never to rise again.

"Hiou! hiou! Chanito."

This sound took a weight off my mind, for I could not but feel alarmed
for the safety of l'Encuerado.

"Ohe! ohe!" was responded.

Gringalet, who was let loose, ran towards the enormous creature, and
barked at it from a safe distance. The Indian came up, with his gun upon
hi