"
"The horn was hanging at the door of the chiente, and the conch,
too. It will be easy to see if they are in their places."
It was only necessary to walk around the walls of the hut, to its
opposite side, in order to ascertain this fact. Le Bourdon did so,
accompanied by the corporal, and just as each laid a hand on the
instruments, which were suspended in their proper places, a heavy
rush was made against the gate, as if to try its fastenings. These
pushes were repeated several times, with a violence that menaced the
bars. Of course, the two men stepped to the spot, a distance of only
a few paces, the gateway of the palisades and the door of the
chiente being contiguous to each other, and immediately ascertained
that it was the mastiff, endeavoring to force his way in. The bee-
hunter admitted the dog, which had been trained to suppress his
bark, though this animal was too brave and large to throw away his
breath when he had better rely on his force. Powerful animals, of
this race, are seldom noisy, it being the province of the cur, both
among dogs and men, to be blustering and spitting out their venom,
at all hours and seasons.
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