"Well, suppose it is, Jup," replied Legrand, somewhat more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case demanded; "is that any reason for your letting the birds burn? The color--" here he turned to me--"is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter's idea. You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the scales emit--but of this you cannot judge till to-morrow. In the meantime I can give you some idea of the shape." Saying this, he seated himself at a small table, on which were a pen and ink, but no paper. He looked for some in a drawer, but found none.
"Never mind," he said at length, "this will answer;" and he drew from his waistcoat pocket a scrap of what I took to be very dirty foolscap, and made upon it a rough drawing with the pen. While he did this, I retained my seat by the fire, for I was still chilly. When the design was complete, he handed it to me without rising. As I received it, a loud growl was heard, succeeded by a scratching at the door. Jupiter opened it, and a large Newfoundland, belonging to Legrand, rushed in, leaped upon my shoulders, and loaded me with caresses; for I had shown him much attention during previous visits. When his gambols were over, I looked at the paper, and, to speak the truth, found myself not a little puzzled at what my friend had depicted.
"Well!" I said, after contemplating it for some minutes, "this _is_ a strange _scarabaeus_, I must confess; new to me; never saw anything like it before--unless it was a skull, or a death's-head, which it more nearly resembles than anything else that has come under _my_ observation."
"A death's-head!" echoed Legrand. "Oh--yes well, it has something of that appearance upon paper, no doubt. The two upper black spots look like eyes, eh? and the longer one at the bottom like a mouth--and then the shape of the whole is oval."
"Perhaps so," said I; "but, Legrand, I fear you are no artist. I must wait until I see the beetle itself, if I am to form any idea of its personal appearance."
"Well, I don't know," said he, a little nettled, "I draw tolerably--_should_ do it at least--have had good masters, and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead."
"But, my dear fellow, you are joking, then," said I; "this is a very passable _skull_--indeed, I may say that it is a very _excellent_ skull, according to the vulgar notions about such specimens of physiology--and your _scarabaeus_ must be the queerest _scarabaeus_ in the world if it resembles it. Why, we may get up a very thrilling bit of superstition upon this hint. I presume you will call the bug _scarabaeus caput hominis_, or something of that kind--there are many similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where are the _antennae_ you spoke of?"