74 MARTIN RATTLER.

those who have not observed it to comprehend. All
the forenoon, screams, and cries, and croaks, and
erunts, and whistles ring out through the woods in-
cessantly ; while, if you listen attentively, you hear
the low, deep, and never-ending buzz and hum of
millions upon millions of insects, that dance in the air
and creep on every leaf and blade upon the ground.
About noon all this is hushed. The hot rays of the
sun beat perpendicularly down upon what seems a
vast untenanted solitude, and not a single chirp breaks
the death-like stillness of the great forest, with the
solitary exception of the metallic note of the uruponga,
or bell-bird, which seems to mount guard when all the
rest of the world has gone to sleep. As the afternoon
approaches they all wake up, refreshed by their siesta,
active and lively as fairies, and ready for another
spell of work and another deep-toned noisy chorus.

The country through which our adventurers tra-
velled, as evening approached, became gradually more
hilly, and their march consequently more toilsome.
They were just about to give up all thought of
proceeding farther that night when, on reaching the
summit of a little hill, they beheld a bright red light
shining at a considerable distance in the valley beyond.
With light steps and hearts full of hope they descended
the hill and hastened towards it.