and bullet-bag were slung round his neck.  Barney now procured from this hospitable man a supply of powder and shot for his large brass-mounted cavalry pistol.  The hermit also made him a present of a long hunting-knife; and he gave one of a smaller size to Martin.  As Martin had no weapon, the hermit manufactured for him a stout bow and quiver full of arrows; with which, after some practice, he became reasonably expert.

Thus armed they sallied forth, and, following the foot-path that conducted from the door of the hut to the brow of the hill opposite, they were soon buried in the shades of the great forest.  On this particular morning Barney observed that the hermit carried with him a stout spear, which he was not usually in the habit of doing.  Being of an inquisitive disposition, he inquired the reason of his taking it.

“I expect to find a jaguar to-day,” answered the hermit.  “I saw him yesterday go down into the small valley in which my cows grow.  I will show you my cows soon, Martin.”

The hermit stopped short suddenly as he spoke, and pointed to a large bird, about fifty yards in advance of them.  It seemed to bear a particular ill-will to a round rough stone which it pecked most energetically.  After a few minutes the bird ceased its attacks and flew off; whereupon the rough stone opened itself out, and, running quickly away, burrowed into a little hole and disappeared!

“That is an armadillo,” remarked the hermit, continuing to lead the way through the woods; “it is covered with a coat of mail, as you see; and when enemies come it rolls itself up like a ball and lies like a hard stone till they go away.  But it has four little legs, and with them it burrows so quickly that we cannot dig it up, and must smoke it out of its hole,—­which I do often, because it is very good to eat, as you very well know.”

While they continued thus to walk through the woods conversing, Martin and Barney were again interested and amused by the immense number of brilliant parrots and toucans which swooped about, chattering from tree to tree, in large flocks.  Sometimes thirty or forty of the latter would come screaming through the woods and settle upon the dark-green foliage of a coffee-tree; the effect of which was to give the tree the appearance of having been suddenly loaded with ripe golden fruit.  Then the birds would catch sight of the travellers and fly screaming away, leaving the tree dark-green and fruitless as before.  The little green parrots were the most outrageously noisy things that ever lived.  Not content with screaming when they flew, they continued to shriek, apparently with delight, while they devoured the seeds of the gorgeous sun-flowers:  and more than once Martin was prompted to scatter a handful of stones among them, as a hint to be less noisy; but this only made them worse,—­like a bad baby, which, the more you tell it to be quiet, sets to work the more earnestly to increase and add to the vigour of