"Asparagus thirty feet high!" exclaimed the sailor. "And are they good?" "Excellent," replied Herbert. "Only it is not the stems of thirty feet high which are eaten, but the young shoots." "Perfect, my boy, perfect!" replied Pencroft. "I will also add that the pith of the young stalks, preserved in vinegar, makes a good pickle." "Better and better, Herbert!" "And lastly, that the bamboos exude a sweet liquor which can be made into a very agreeable drink." "Is that all?" asked the sailor. "That is all!" "And they don't happen to do for smoking?" "No, my poor Pencroft." Herbert and the sailor had not to look long for a place in which to pass the night. The rocks, which must have been violently beaten by the sea under the influence of the winds of the south west, presented many cavities in which shelter could be found against the night air. But just as they were about to enter one of these caves a loud roaring arrested them. "Back!" cried Pencroft. "Our guns are only loaded with small shot, and beasts which can roar as loud as that would care no more for it than for grams of salt!". And the sailor, seizing Herbert by the arm, dragged him behind a rock, just as a magnificent animal showed itself at the entrance of the cavern. It was a jaguar of a size at least equal to its Asiatic congeners, that is to say, it measured five feet from the extremity of its head to the beginning of its tail. The yellow colour of its hair was relieved by streaks and regular oblong spots of black, which contrasted with the white of its chest. Herbert recognised it as the ferocious rival of the tiger, as formidable as the puma, which is the rival of the largest wolf! The jaguar advanced and gazed around him with blazing eyes, his hair bristling as if this was not the first time he had scented man. At this moment the reporter appeared round a rock, and Herbert, thinking that he had not seen the jaguar, was about to rush towards him, when Gideon Spilett signed to him to remain where he was. This was not his first tiger, and advancing to within ten feet of the animal he remained motionless, his gun to his shoulder, without moving a muscle. The jaguar collected itself for a spring, but at that moment a shot struck it in the eyes, and it fell dead. Herbert and Pencroft rushed towards the jaguar. Neb and Harding also ran up, and they remained for some instants contemplating the animal as it lay stretched on the ground, thinking that its magnificent skin would be a great ornament to the hall at Granite House. "Oh, Mr. Spilett, how I admire and envy you!" cried Herbert, in a fit of very natural enthusiasm. "Well, my boy," replied the reporter, "you could have done the same." [Illustration: AT THAT MOMENT A SHOT STRUCK THE JAGUAR BETWEEN THE EYES AND IT FELL DEAD] "I! with such coolness!--" "Imagine to yourself, Herbert, that the jaguar is only a hare, and you would fire as quietly as possible."