"Yes, only ostriches," repeated Harris.

"But ostriches are birds," returned Dick Sand, "and consequently they
have only two feet."

"Well," replied Harris, "I indeed thought I saw that those animals,
which have just made off so rapidly, were bipeds."

"Bipeds!" replied the novice.

"Indeed it seemed to me that I saw animals with four legs," then said
Mrs. Weldon.

"I also," added old Tom; then Bat, Acteon, and Austin confirmed those
words.

"Ostriches with four legs!" cried Harris, with a burst of laughter.
"That would be ridiculous!"

"So," returned Dick Sand, "we have believed they were giraffes, and not
ostriches."

"No, my young friend, no," said Harris. "You have certainly seen badly.
That is explained by the rapidity with which those animals have flown
away. Besides, it has happened more than once that hunters have been
deceived like you, and in the best faith in the world."

What the American said was very plausible. Between an ostrich of great
height and a giraffe of medium height, seen at a certain distance, it
is easy to make a mistake. If it were a question of a beak or a nose,