In the morning they had breakfast very early, having contracted for this beforehand. Had they not done so, nobody at the inn would have stirred before eight o'clock, and breakfast would not have been on the table until nine or ten. To many living in Porto Rico time seems to be of little value. Almost all of the business is done between ten and twelve o'clock in the morning, and after that the shopkeeper locks up his place and takes a nap until four or five o'clock, opening up again in the evening, which is really the busiest part of the whole twenty-four hours.
The storm had cleared off and now the atmosphere was sultry and oppressive, the evaporations from the forests going up like clouds of steam.
"Phew! this is going to be a corker!" exclaimed Dick, as he mopped the perspiration from his brow. They had covered less than two miles, and yet he felt completely dragged out.
"We'll take a rest when we come to a suitable spot," announced Robert Menden. "But we must push on all we can before twelve o'clock. Nobody will want to move a step between that time and four, mark my words."
Menden had scarcely spoken when a large flock of birds arose directly in front of them. The young hunters could not resist the tempta-
