A SEASHORE ONE MILE UP 



finally, as I picked out the particular branch into 

 which I should be immediately catapulted, to have 

 the whole sink slowly (never the sensation of our 

 rising to clear them), and then marvellously to 

 rush past just beneath. Never have I had this 

 experience before. 



Trees seen from above — not too high up — must 

 be learned all over again, especially if the sun is 

 not out. Cocoanut palms look like crinoids, sugar- 

 cane like moss. The higher one goes, the more 

 important do shadows become in elucidating shapes 

 and heights ; Dunsany 's shadow-land begins at one 

 thousand feet. Ascent means optical devolution, 

 whereby cows become pigs, and human beings 

 chickens. 



We swung down the winding valley of the Grande 

 Riviere, with towns scattered here and there along 

 the banks of the muddy creek, like casual knots of 

 washed-up flotsam. I was watching a red-tailed 

 hawk soaring high above the pines and equally 

 far beneath me, when I followed a pointing finger, 

 and there on a distant ridge, was the citadel of 

 Christophe. 



It was like nothing so much as a great ship, 

 just appearing over the top of the mountainous 

 crest, and a second glance recalled all the photo- 

 graphs I had ever seen of the temple at Lhasa. 



Now and then Geiger passed me back a word 

 or two of information on a bit of paper. Once I 

 read, crumpled it, and threw it overboard and 

 watched. It fell horizontally as far back as I 



105 



