shot as they made off.

This course he pursued; but, before he was within anything like fair
range, the monkeys, uttering their shrill screams, scampered over the
open ground, much faster than before, and took to the grove, from which
they had approached the spot.

Guapo followed at a slashing pace, and was soon under the trees, Leon at
his heels. Here they were met by a shower of sticks, pieces of bark,
half-eaten "peaches," and something that was far less pleasant to their
olfactory nerves! All these came from the tops of the trees--the very
tallest ones--to which the monkeys had retreated, and where they were
now hidden among the llianas and leaves.

You may fancy that it is easy to pursue a troop of monkeys in a forest.
But it is not easy--in most cases it is not _possible_. The tangled
underwood below puts a stop to the chase at once, as the monkeys can
make their way through the branches above much quicker than the hunter
can through the creeping plants below.

The pursuit would have been all up with Guapo, for the marimondas had
soon got some way beyond the edge of the grove; but just as he was
turning to sulk back, his keen Indian eye caught sight of one that was
far behind the rest--so far, indeed, that it seemed determined to seek
its safety rather by hiding than by flight. It had got under cover of a
bunch of leaves, and there it lay quiet, uttering neither sound nor
syllable. Guapo could just see a little bit of its side, and at this in
an instant the gravatana was pointed. Guapo's chest and cheeks were seen
to swell out to their fullest extent, and off went the arrow. A shriek
followed--the monkey was hit--beyond a doubt. Guapo coolly waited the
result.

A movement was visible among the leaves; the marimonda was seen to turn
and double about, and pluck something from its side; and then the broken
arrow came glancing among the twigs, and fell to the ground. The monkey
was now perceived to be twisting and writhing upon the branches, and its
wild death-screams was answered by the voices of the others farther off.

At length its body was seen more distinctly; it no longer thought of
concealment; but lay out along the limb; and the next moment it dropped
off. It did not fall to the ground, though. It had no design of
gratifying its cruel destroyer to that extent. No; it merely dropped to
the end of its tail, which, lapped over the branch, held it suspended. A
few convulsive vibrations followed, and it hung