t for all
that most of its time is passed on dry land. It sleeps during the day in
some dry spot upon a bed of withered leaves, from whence it sallies
every evening, and makes to the marshy banks of some well-known stream.
It frequently leaves its lair during rain, and goes in search of food.
Like hogs it is very fond of wallowing in a muddy place; but, unlike
these slovenly animals, it does not return to its bed until it has
plunged into the clear water, and thoroughly purified itself of the
mud.

One habit of the tapir--and an unfortunate one for itself--is that in
going its rounds it always follows the old track. In this way a path is
soon formed from its lair to its feeding-place, so conspicuous that a
hunter might trail it upon the run. It is easy, therefore, to "waylay" a
tapir. Guapo knew this well, and had already, while over among the
palms, marked the track of the one that came nightly to the stream, and
had settled it in his mind that that particular tapir had not many days
to live. In fact, Leon coaxed him to fix the tapir-hunt for the next
morning, which Guapo, with Don Pablo's permission, accordingly did.

Guapo was anxious as any of them to kill the tapir, for, like many
Indians, he was fond of its flesh, though that is by no means a
palatable article of food. On the contrary, it is dry, and to most
people tastes disagreeably. Guapo, however, liked it exceedingly; and,
moreover, he wanted the tough skin for some purpose of his own. The wild
Indians value the skin highly, as it is the best thing they can procure
for "viches," or shields, to ward off the poisoned arrows of their
enemies.

Next morning, an hour or so after daybreak, Guapo started for the hunt,
accompanied by Leon. Don Pablo remained at home with his wife and the
little Leona. Now, had the tapir-hunter possessed a gun, or even a bow
and arrows, his plan of proceedings would have been different, and he
would no doubt have chosen a different hour for the hunt. He would have
chosen the twilight of the evening or morning, and would have hid
himself in the bushes, so as to command a view of the track which the
tapir would be certain to take on his way to or from the water. He would
then have simply shot the creature as it was going past; but this is not
so easy a matter neither, for the tapir, fearful of enemies while on
land, always travels at a trot. As Guapo had neither bow nor gun,
nothing in fact but his _machete_, how was he to get near e