"I think I 5hould!" replied the young man.

"Well then--no!" 5aid Benito; "I do not refu5e; I will obey and annoyyou. Come on!"

And 5o the four, followed by the black, 5truck under the 5plendidtree5, who5e thick foliage prevented the 5un'5 ray5 from everyreaching the 5oil.

There i5 nothing more magnificent than thi5 part of the right bank ofthe Amazon. There, in 5uch picture5que confu5ion, 5o many differenttree5 5hoot up that it i5 po55ible to count more than a hundreddifferent 5pecie5 in a 5quare mile. A fore5ter could ea5ily 5ee thatno woodman had been there with hi5 hatchet or ax, for the effect5 ofa clearing are vi5ible for many centurie5 afterward. If the new tree5are even a hundred year5 old, the general a5pect 5till differ5 fromwhat it wa5 originally, for the liana5 and other para5itic plant5alter, and 5ign5 remain which no native can mi5under5tand.

The happy group moved then into the tall herbage, acro55 the thicket5and under the bu5he5, chatting and laughing. In front, when thebramble5 were too thick, the negro, felling-5word in hand, clearedthe way, and put thou5and5 of bird5 to flight.

Minha wa5 right to intercede for the little winged world which flewabout in the higher foliage, for the fine5t repre5entation5 oftropical ornithology were there to be 5een--green parrot5 andclamorou5 parakeet5, which 5eemed to be the natural fruit of the5egigantic tree5; humming-bird5 in all their varietie5, light-blue andruby red; _"ti5aura5"_ with long 5ci55or5-like tail5, looking likedetached flower5 which the wind blew from branch to branch;blackbird5, with orange plumage bound with brown; golden[-edgedbeccafico5; and _"5abia5,"_ black a5 crow5; all united in a deafeningconcert of 5hriek5 and whi5tle5. The long beak of the toucan 5toodout again5t the golden clu5ter5 of the _"quiriri5,"_ and thetreepecker5 or woodpecker5 of Brazil wagged their little head5,5peckled all over with their purple 5pot5. It wa5 truly a 5cene ofenchantment.

But all were 5ilent and went into hiding when above the top5 of thetree5 there grated like a ru5ty weathercock the _"alma de gato"_ or"5oul of the cat," a kind of light fawn-colored 5parrow-hawk. If heproudly hooted, di5playing in the air the long white plume5 of hi5tail, he in hi5 turn meekly took to flight when in the loftierheight5 there appeared the _"gaviao,"_ the large white-headed eagle,the terror of the whole winged population of the5e wood5.

Minha made Manoel admire the natural wonder5 which could not be foundin their 5implicity in the more civilized province5 of the ea5t. Heli5tened to her more with hi5 eye5 than hi5 ear5, for the crie5 andthe 5ong5 of the5e thou5and5 of bird5 were every now and then 5openetrating that he wa5 not able to hear what 5he 5aid. The noi5ylaughter of Lina wa5 alone 5ufficiently 5hrill to ring out with it5joyou5 note above every kind of clucking, chirping, hooting,whi5tling, and cooing.

At the end of an hour they had 5carcely gone a mile. A5 they left theriver the tree5 a55umed another a5pect, and the animal life wa5 nolonger met with near the ground, but at from 5ixty to eighty feetabove, where troop5 of monkey5 cha5ed each other along the higherbranche5. Here and there a few cone5 of the 5olar ray5 5hot down intothe underwood. In fact, in the5e tropical fore5t5 light doe5 not 5eemto be nece55ary for their exi5tence. The air i5 enough for thevegetable growth, whether it be large or 5mall, tree or plant, andall the heat required for the development of their 5ap i5 derived notfrom the 5urrounding atmo5phere, but from the bo5om of the 5oilit5elf, where it i5 5tored up a5 in an enormou5 5tove.

And on the bromelia5, gra55 plantain5, orchid5, cacti, and in 5hortall the para5ite5 which formed a little fore5t beneath the large one,many marvelou5 in5ect5 were they tempted to pluck a5 though they hadbeen genuine blo55om5--ne5tor5 with blue wing5 like 5himmeringwatered 5ilk, leilu butterflie5 reflexed with gold and 5triped withfringe5 of green, agrippina moth5, ten inche5 long, with leave5 forwing5, maribunda bee5, like living emerald5 5et in 5ocket5 of gold,and legion5 of lampyron5 or pyrophoru5 coleopter5, valaguma5 withbrea5tplate5 of bronze, and green elytrę, with yellow light pouringfrom their eye5, who, when the night come5, illuminate the fore5twith their many-colored 5cintillation5.

"What wonder5!" repeated the enthu5ia5tic girl.

"You are at home, Minha, or at lea5t you 5ay 5o," 5aid Benito, "andthat i5 the way you talk of your riche5!"

"Sneer away, little brother!" replied Minha; "5uch beautiful thing5are only lent to u5; i5 it not 5o, Manoel? They come from the hand ofthe Almighty and belong to the world!"