Page:The Swiss Family Robinson (Kingston).djvu/502

456 “I passed the night in my cajack; and next morning, after a frugal meal of pemmican, and a draught of water from my flask, once more ventured forth. The wind had subsided, the sea was tolerably smooth; and, keeping my eyes busily employed in seeking in every direction to detect, if possible, the slightest trace of smoke, or other sign of human life, I paddled on till noon.

“The aspect of the coast now began to change: the shores were sandy, while further inland lay dense forests, from whose gloomy depths I could ever and anon hear the fierce roar of beasts of prey, the yell of apes, the fiendish laugh of the hyæna, or the despairing death cry of a hapless deer. Seldom have I experienced a greater feeling of solitude than whilst listening to these strange sounds, and knowing that I in this frail canoe was the only human being near. Giving myself up to contemplation, I rested my paddle, and allowed my cajack to drift slowly on.

“As I neared the shore, I noticed a large number of strange-looking birds, who would sometimes flutter round me, and then dart back again to the border of the forest, where they were feeding on what appeared to be the pepper plant; they seized the berries in their great ponderous beaks, threw them up into the air, and then dexterously caught them in their fall. Their beaks were really something extraordinary: they looked as though they must give their owners a perpetual headache, from their immense weight. The only thing that relieved the extreme ugliness of these great appendages was their gorgeous colour, which was only rivalled by the gay hue of the plumage. I wish now that I had brought home a specimen; but, at the time, I was so much amused by watching the grotesque antics of the birds, that I did not think of obtaining one. When I left the spot, I settled in my own mind that they were toucans: was I right, Ernest?”

The Professor, unwilling to interrupt the narrative, merely gave an oracular nod, and Fritz continued—

“For some hours after this I paddled quickly on, sometimes