Swiss Family Robinson

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    In the evening he made his appearance, coming swiftly down stream. His brothers rushed to meet him, each eager to see and help to land his cargo. Ernest and Fritz were quickly running up the bank, with arms full of plants, branches and fruit, when Fritz handed to Jack a dripping wet bag which he had brought along partly under water. A curious pattering noise proceeded from this bag, but they kept the contents a secret for the present, Jack running with it behind a bush before peeping in, and I could just hear him exclaim:
    `Hullo! I say, what monsters they are! It's enough to make a fellow's flesh creep to look at them!'
    With that he hastily shut up the bag, and put it away safely out of sight in water.
    Securing the cajack , Fritz sprang towards us, his handsome face radiant with pleasure, as he exhibited a beautiful water-fowl. Its plumage was rich purple, changing on the back to dark green; the legs, feet and a mark above the bill, bright red. This lovely bird I concluded to be the Sultan cock described by Buffon , and as it was gentle, we gladly received it among our domestic pets.
    Fritz gave a stirring account of his exploring trip, having made his way far up the river, between fertile plains and majestic forests of lofty trees, where the cries of vast numbers of birds, parrots, peacocks, guinea-fowls and hundreds unknown to him, quite bewildered him and made him feel giddy.
    `It was in the Buffalo Swamp,' continued he, `that I saw the splendid birds you call Sultan cocks, and I set my heart on catching one alive, which, as they seemed to have little fear of my approach, I managed by means of a wire snare. Farther on I saw a grove of mimosa trees, among which huge dark masses were moving in a deliberate way. Guess what they were!'
    `Savages?' asked Franz timidly.
    `Black bears, I bet!' cried Jack.
    `Your words suggest to my mind the manner and appearance of elephants,' said Ernest.
    `Right you are, Professor!' exclaimed Fritz gaily, the words producing quite a sensation on the whole attentive family. `From fifteen to twenty elephants were feeding peacefully on the leafy boughs, tearing down branches with their trunks and shoving them into their mouths with one jerk, or bathing in the deep waters of the marsh for refreshment in the great heat. You cannot imagine the wild grandeur of the scene! The river being very broad, I felt safe from wild animals, and more than once saw splendid jaguars crouched on the banks, their glossy skin glancing in the sunlight.
    `While considering if it would be simply foolhardy to try a shot at one of these creatures, I was suddenly convinced that discretion is the better part of valour , and urging my canoe into the centre current, made a rapid retreat down the river. For just before me, in the calm deep water of a sheltered bay where I was quietly floating, there arose a violent boiling, bubbling commotion, and for an instant I thought a hot spring was going to burst forth--instead of that, up rose the hideous head and gaping jaws of a hippopotamus, who, with a hoarse terrific snort, seemed about to attack me.
    `I can tell you I did not wait to see the rest of him! A glimpse of his enormous mouth and its array of white gleaming tusks was quite enough. "Right about face!" said I to myself, and shot down the stream like an arrow, never pausing till a bend in the river brought me within sight of the Gap, where I once more felt safe, and joyfully made my way back to you all.'
    This narrative was of thrilling interest to us, proving the existence of tribes of the most formidable animals beyond the rocky barrier which defended, in so providential a manner, the small and fertile territory on which our lot was cast.
    During the absence of the adventurer we had been busily engaged in making preparations for our departure--and everything was packed up and ready by the morning after his return.
    After some hesitation I yielded to his great wish, which was to return by sea in his cajack round Cape Disappointment and so meet us at Rockburg .
    He was much interested in examining the outlines of the coast, and the rugged precipices of the Cape . These were tenanted by vast flocks of sea-fowl and birds of prey; while many varieties of shrubs and plants, hitherto unknown to us, grew in the clefts and crevices of the rocks, some of them diffusing a strong aromatic odour . Among the specimens he brought I recognized the caper plant and, with still greater pleasure, a shrub which was, I felt