us, as we followed behind. How we longed that it would break into a
run. I remembered the fable, however, of the hare and the tortoise:
"Sure and steady wins the race." Parched with thirst as we were, it was
a hard matter for us to restrain our eagerness. On went the tortoise,
turning neither to the right nor to the left. It seemed to us that the
ground was sloping, and that we were on the edge of a pine-barren.
Perhaps it was making its way to some bottom or hummock, where we should
find not only water but game. Tim and Caesar, however, became very
impatient at the tortoise, which crawled on, taking no pains to hurry
itself. I confess I myself had the greatest difficulty in not running
on and giving it a shove with the muzzle of my rifle.

At length some palmetto-scrub appeared, and palmetto-palms and other
trees which cannot exist without moisture. How thankful we felt when,
just before the gloom of evening came on, a pool appeared before us. We
forgot the tortoise, and dashed forward, eager to quench our thirst.
While we were stooping down to do so, and Caesar was busy lapping the
refreshing liquid, our slow-moving guide reached the water. I thought
that it would put in its head, and drink as we were doing; instead of
which, before we could catch it, the creature plunged into the pool and
disappeared. However, I scarcely regretted this, as, by destroying it,
we should have ill requited the valuable service it had performed to us.

The water greatly revived us, and we felt we could endure hunger for
some hours longer, should no animal come in our way. As there would,
however, still be some few minutes of daylight, we might be able to kill
a bird or two for supper. Rising to our feet, we lost no time in
looking out for game. We saw several birds,--green paroquets,
woodpeckers, blue-birds, and red-birds; but we had frightened them from
the spot where we had at first appeared. We accordingly made our way
along the pool, Tim going in one direction, I in the other. I was very
unwilling to throw away ammunition on small birds; but we had agreed to
kill no more than we wanted. I soon shot a couple, and heard Tim fire
twice. Just as I was reloading, I saw, through the thickening gloom, a
huge brown bear descending a cabbage-palm, up which it had climbed to
obtain the bunches of ripe fruit growing on the boughs. Though alone, I
determined to attack it; so I dropped in a ball instead of small shot,
as I was a