"Look here, Gringalet's skin is all over lumps!" said Lucien, stroking the animal.
"They are caused by parasitic insects," said Sumichrast, "called ticks. In future we must clear Gringalet every evening of these inconvenient visitors."
"But they won't come off."
"Pull them suddenly; their mouth is a kind of disk armed with two hooks, which, if once buried in an animal's skin, are difficult to extract."
"How hideous they look with their little legs placed close to their heads; here is one which is quite round, like a pea."
"It is because it has begun its meal."
"Does the tick only attack dogs?"
"The dog has his own peculiar species; other kinds lodge under birds' feathers, and some birds have two or three sorts of parasites. There is one belonging to the turkey, to the peacock, to the sparrow, to the vulture, to the magpie, etc. I don't think there is a bird or animal which does not, like Gringalet, possess its own peculiar parasite."
We had started off again, and another glade led us towards a field extensively ploughed up by moles.
Sumichrast led the way, and conducted us towards the lake I had mentioned to him the day before. L'Encuerado caught hold of my arm to call my attention to an enormous animal moving about in the midst of the foliage.