t it was about
to make off, was getting ready to fire, when the deer gave a bound and
sank down under the weight of a puma, which had sprung upon it. I fired
at the carnivore, which the ferocious brute responded to by a loud roar,
then, dragging its prey a distance of about fifty yards, it suddenly
made off. The venison of the deer, and more than thirty small crayfish
caught by Lucien and his friend, were a godsend to our larder, and amply
made up for the short commons of previous occasions.

We watched the sun go down from the top of the hill, and descried on the
horizon the bluish line of the Cordillera, with the volcano of Orizava
towering up towards the west. Henceforth this mountain was to be our
guide while crossing the immense savannah, an undertaking which filled
me with dread.

"Shall we cross that great plain?" asked Lucien.

"Yes, Master Sunbeam, it is the shortest way to Orizava."

"How many hours shall we be in doing it?"

"Hours? We shall be three or four days at least."

At this moment a storm, which we saw impending, burst over us, and we
hurried pell-mell to our hut. For four hours the heavens continued to
pour down, amidst thunder and lightning, a perfect deluge, and we were
all, in spite of our shelter, soaked to the skin. The clouds broke up,
and a few stars shone out; about midnight the clear sky regained its
azure tint, while the moon dimly lighted up the landscape. L'Encuerado,
who slept through it, now woke up to help us to rekindle the fire and
get ready a cup of coffee; after enjoying which, and changing our
clothes, we all retired to rest.

In the morning we held a council to deliberate about the route, and,
after some debate, we agreed to l'Encuerado's proposal, and decisively
resolved to cross the savannah direct.

It would have been madness to travel, so heavily laden as we were, under
the rays of a vertical sun; so I proposed not to start till the evening,
and that henceforth we should travel by night, a plan which quite
rejoiced Lucien.

After the baggage had been equally divided, and every thing that was
useless thrown away, I counted the maize-cakes, our only food, and found
we had enough victuals for several days, besides crayfish, and the flesh
of an armadillo. We filled our gourds up to the necks with water and
corked them tightly, then lay down in the shade to gain strength for our
next stage.

[Illustration: "While the moon dimly lighted up the landscape."]

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