The professor had had a long talk with the Indian regarding the game in the vicinity, and Cubara had told him where they were likely to find a number of peccaries, a wild animal common to many parts of Venezuela and one much sought after by the natives for food. The peccary is not unlike a wild hog in general appearance, and when full grown weighs from fifty to sixty pounds. They are very fierce when attacked and have short tusks which are as sharp as daggers.
The way was up the mountain side behind the camp, over tall rocks and around spots where the undergrowth was absolutely impenetrable. Overhead the sun shone down from a cloudless sky, yet under the gigantic trees not a ray was to be found, so thick was the foliage.
As they advanced the constant screeching of green parrots reached their ears, mingled with the distant pandemonium created by a tribe of howling monkeys.
“What a noise they make,” cried Darry. “I never heard such a racket in my life.”
“Those monkeys are the genuine ring-tail howling monkeys,” laughed the professor. “They are the pest of a hunter’s camp. When once they make up their mind to serenade you at night nothing short of a hurricane can stop them. Their howl, heard in the darkness, is the most mournful sound on earth, ten times worse than that of a dog baying at the moon.”
“Are they dangerous?” asked Sam.
“Not generally speaking, although you want to be careful of what you do to them. A shot from a gun will sometimes scatter them for an hour or so. But if you pick up a stone and hurl it at them, they will surely pick up other stones to hurl at you in return.”
In two hours they had covered a distance of several miles. Nothing had been seen of peccaries, and somewhat disheartened they came to a halt near the bank of a mountain torrent which, at that point, formed a pool several rods in extent.
“Hush!” said the professor suddenly. “Get down behind the bushes. There is a fine shot for all of us.”
They dropped down, and then gazed in the direction he pointed out. Sitting on some tall bushes overhanging the opposite side of the pool were a number of birds almost as large as wild turkeys. They were bluish in color, with a greenish tinge under the throat fading to white. On the head of each was a crest of yellow which looked like gold.