The boys looked upward to discover the latter.

There, sure enough, was the web, in a shaded corner, stretching its meshes from a large liana to the trunk of the tupelo; and towards this point the spider now slowly progressed with his lifeless victim.
As they watched his motions, their eyes were caught by a shining object that moved along the wrinkled bark of the liana.

As the vine was nearly a foot in diameter, and of a deep ferruginous colour, this object was the more apparent against its dark ground, for it was a creature of brilliant hues.

It was an animal of the lizard species; and if any lizard could be considered beautiful, this one might have been so called.

But the hideous, half-human form of these animals, their piercing looks, their stealthy and predatory habits, and, above all, the knowledge that the bite of several of their species is poisonous, combine to render them objects that excite disgust and awe, rather than admiration.
This one, as we have already said, was of the most brilliant colour.
The whole of its upper surface was a golden green, vivid as the hues of an emerald; while its body underneath was greenish-white.