264 THE ARCTURUS ADVENTURE 



A few yards further on, a cascade fell sheer 

 down from a sixty-foot height. There was no pos- 

 sibility of climbing up at either side, so we made a 

 detour to the left, and searched for foot-hold. It 

 looked fairly simple; there were plenty of trees to 

 grasp and cling to, while the next step was con- 

 sidered, but we soon found those trees were rooted 

 no deeper than grass. The tree-ferns were particu- 

 larly deceptive; thick, sturdy-looking trunks grew 

 out at convenient angles from the cliff, and the 

 weight of a few pounds sufficed to dislodge them 

 entirely, and with them a cartload of earth and 

 rocks. Testing every cautious inch, with faces 

 pressed against the ground most of the time, we 

 wormed our painful way to the top without casual- 

 ties. A sharp ascending ridge led us to a hill-top 

 almost clear of undergrowth, where a few gigantic 

 trees grew. They were as beautifully spaced as 

 though a landscape gardener had planned the vista, 

 and almost every inch of trunks and branches were 

 covered thick with parasitic plants. 



We stood panting, and watched four finches that 

 flickered among nearby twigs. In the thick jungle 

 tree-tops sat frigatebirds, looking as out of place 

 as sailors on horseback. Lizards darted about in 

 the bromeliads that encrusted the trees. The 

 silence seemed unbroken and unbreakable. Then a 

 tiny faint cry sent our glances upward. Not more 

 than two feet above our heads hovered a snow-white 

 fairy tern, dainty wings beating with incredible 

 rapidity to hold it in this spot. Turning its head 

 from side to side, it hung there for a long time. 



