on would soon reveal that to us. We sat ourselves down on the
bank, thankful that we had escaped from the dangers to which we should
have been exposed had we remained longer on the floating island.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

OUR RETURN.

Where we had been cast we could not tell. Daylight was increasing. The
clouds had cleared off. We should soon, we hoped, be able to see our
way through the forest, and ascertain our position. We all remained
silent for some time, True lying down by my side, and placing his head
upon my arm. While thus half between sleeping and waking, I heard a
rustling sound, and opening my eyes, half expecting to see a snake
wriggling through the grass, they fell on a beautiful little lizard
making its way down to the water. At that moment a pile of dry leaves,
near which it was passing, was violently agitated, and from beneath them
sprung a hairy monster, with long legs and a huge pair of forceps, and
seized the lizard by the back of its neck, holding it at the same time
with its front feet, while the others were firmly planted in the ground
to stop its progress. In vain the lizard struggled to free itself. The
monster spider held it fast, digging its forceps deeper and deeper into
its neck. I was inclined to go to the rescue of the little saurian, but
curiosity prevented me, as I wished to see the result of the attack,
while I knew that it had already, in all probability, received its
death-wound. The struggles of the lizard grew feebler and feebler. Its
long tail, which it had kept whisking about, sank to the ground, and the
spider began its meal off the yet quivering flesh. I touched Arthur,
and pointed out what was taking place. "The horrid monster," he
exclaimed. "I must punish it for killing that pretty little lizard."
Before I could prevent him, he had jumped up and dealt the spider a blow
on the head.

On examining it I found that it was a great crab-spider, one of the
formidable _arachnida_, which are said to eat young birds and other
small vertebrates, though they generally, like other spiders, live upon
insects. This spider--the _mygagle avicularia_--will attack
humming-birds, and, indeed, other small specimens of the feathered
tribe. When unable to procure its usual food of ants, it lies concealed
under leaves as this one had done, and darts out on any passing prey
which it believes it can manage; or if not, it climbs trees and seizes
the smaller birds when at roost, or