earance, illumined as it was by the almost
perpendicular rays of the sun, which caused the broad leaves of the
trees to shine with dazzling brilliancy. We could hear, when we
stopped, the roaring of the cascade, though concealed by rocks, and
groves of the Indian fig-tree.

Up and up we went, sometimes along narrow paths on the summit of
precipices, with barely sufficient room for a single animal to advance
without risk of slipping over. The mules were so sure-footed, that we
had but little anxiety about them; but the danger my mother and sister
ran on horseback was very great. No one could render them any help, and
they had to depend upon their nerve and the steadiness of their horses.
Frequently, I held my breath as I saw the places they had to pass.

At length, from the height over which we were crossing, we looked down
upon a broad valley.

"I told you that I would bring you to a region where there is an
abundance of game," observed Kanimapo; and he pointed to a herd of deer
directly below us, grazing quietly, unconscious of our vicinity.

"But see! there are already hunters before us," I remarked, as at that
instant I observed two large pumas stealing along the top of an
overhanging rock. So eager were they in pursuit of their object, they
did not discover us. Scarcely had I spoken when the first threw itself
off, and pounced directly down on the back of an unsuspecting deer; its
companion the next instant following its example. So sure was their
spring, both secured their victims, and began tearing off the still
quivering flesh with mouth and claws; while the rest of the herd, seeing
the fate of their companions, fled like the wind along the valley.

"They cannot go far," observed Kanimapo; "and we shall always find some
in this neighbourhood when we want them."

"We must not let these savage brutes enjoy their meal at leisure," said
the doctor, dismounting, and getting his rifle ready to fire. "You take
the one on the right, Barry, and I will shoot the other. We must have
their skins; and the venison will not be much the worse for the way it
has been killed."

We both fired, and the pumas rolled over, struggling in the agonies of
death.

"We must now secure the venison," cried the doctor, leading the way down
the precipitous side of the valley. Tim and I followed him, Candela
soon afterwards joining us; and we were quickly engaged in the not
over-pleasant operation of cutting up the deer and ski