the ocean. The presence of man did not frighten them at the "hacienda;"
they heard nothing all day but their cry of "teretere" and the murmur
of their wings, similar to that of a spinning-wheel.

"Ah! how I should like to be there!" cried little Jack.

The surest method of getting there--to the "hacienda" of San
Felice--was not to stop on the road. Mrs. Weldon and her companions
only took the time absolutely necessary for repose.

The aspect of the forest already changed. Between the less crowded
trees large clearings opened here and there. The sun, piercing the
green carpet, then showed its structure of red, syenite granite,
similar to slabs of lapis-lazuli. On some heights the sarsaparilla
abounded, a plant with fleshy tubercles, which formed an inextricable
tangle. The forest, with the narrow paths, was better for them.

Before sunset the little troop were about eight miles from the point of
departure. This journey had been made without accident, and even
without great fatigue. It is true, it was the first journey on the
march, and no doubt the following halting places would be rougher.

By a common consent they decided to make a halt at this place. The
question then was, not to establish a real camp, but to simply organize
a resting-place. One man on guard, relieved every two hours, would
suffice to watch during the night, neither the natives nor the deer
being truly formidable.

They found nothing better for shelter than an enormous mango-tree,
whose large branches, very bushy, formed a kind of natural veranda. If