ding to Livingstone, never was the spirit of battle carried
farther, either among men or beasts! With their tenacious jaws, which
tear out the piece, these _sirafous_ make the bravest man recoil. The
largest animals--even lions and elephants--flee before them.

"Nothing stops them; neither trees, which they climb to the summit,
nor streams, which they cross by making a suspension bridge of
their own bodies, hooked together. And numerous! Another African
traveler--Du Chaillu--has seen a column of these ants defile past him
for twelve hours without stopping on the road. But why be astonished
at the sight of such myriads? The fecundity of these insects is
surprising; and, to return to our fighting termites, it has been
proved that a female deposits as much as sixty thousand eggs in a
day! Besides, these newroptera furnish the natives with a juicy food.
Broiled ants, my friends; I know of nothing better in the world!"

"Have you then eaten them, Mr. Benedict?" asked Hercules.

"Never," replied the wise professor; "but I shall eat some."

"Where?"

"Here."

"Here; we are not in Africa!" said Tom, very quickly.

"No, no!" replied Cousin Benedict; "and, thus far, these warlike
termites, and their villages of ant-hills, have only been observed on
the African Continent. Ah! such travelers. They do not know how to
see! Well! all the better, after all. I have discovered a _tsetse_ in
America. To the glory of this, I shall join that of having found the
warlike termites on the same continent! What matter for an article
that will make a sensation in educated Europe, and, perhaps, appear in
folio form, with prints and engravings, besides the text!"

It was evident that the truth had not entered Cousin Benedict's brain.
The poor man and all his companions, Dick Sand and Tom excepted,
believed themselves, and must believe themselves, where they were
not! It needed other incidents, facts still more grave than certain
scientific curiosities, to undeceive them!

It was then nine o'clock in the morning. Cousin Benedict had talked
for a long time. Did he perceive that his auditors, propped up in
their cells, had gradually fallen asleep during his entomological
lecture? No; certainly not. He lectured for himself. Dick Sand no
longer questioned him, and remained motionless, although he did not
sleep. As for Hercules, he had resisted longer than the others; but
fatigue soon finished by shutting his eyes, and, with his eyes, his
ears.