ng
accustomed to the gentle handling of the Indian girl, it poked out its
beak and took a sip. "Ho, ho!" it seemed to say, "that is nice stuff!"
and then it took another sip, and very soon seemed perfectly satisfied
that it was not going to be so badly off, in spite of its imprisonment.
Oria intimated that she would in time make the little stranger quite
tame.

"But we must keep it out of the way of Master Nimble's paws, for
otherwise he would be very likely to treat it with small ceremony,"
observed John. "Why, Ellen, you will have a perfect menagerie before
long."

"Yes, I hope so," she answered; "I am not nearly contented yet. I
should like to have one of those beautiful little ducks you were telling
me of, and as many humming-birds as I can obtain."

"Perhaps you would like to have a jaguar or puma," said John. "If
caught young, I dare say they can be tamed as well as any other animal."

"I am afraid they would quarrel with my more harmless pets," answered
Ellen. "And yet a fine large puma would be a good defence against all
enemies."

"Not against an Indian with a poisoned arrow. He would be inconvenient,
too, to transport in our canoe. I hope therefore you will confine
yourself to small animals, which will not occupy much space. You may
have as many humming-birds as you like, and half-a-dozen monkeys,
provided they and Nimble do not quarrel."

"Except some pretty little monkeys, I do not wish for any others besides
those I already have," said Ellen.

Duppo and Oria understood Ellen's wish to obtain living creatures, and
they were constantly seeking about, and coming back sometimes with a
beautiful butterfly or moth, sometimes with parrots and other birds.

While we were getting the canoe ready, Ellen and Maria, with the
assistance of Oria, had been preparing food for us--baking cakes, and
drying the meat of several birds and animals which John had killed. We
had hoped to see the large canoe begun before we took our departure, but
as the Indians had not arrived, we agreed that it would be better to
lose no more time, and to start at once.

We took an experimental trip in the canoe before finally starting. We
could have wished her considerably lighter than she was; at the same
time, what she wanted in speed, she possessed in stability.

Early in the morning we bade Ellen and John, with our faithful
attendants, good-bye. Oria, we thought, exhibited a good deal of
anxiety when we were about to