CREATURES OF DARKNESS 217 



brethren and was anxious to join their company. In the dark 

 I felt around for a club. There was none available. I had no 

 idea what was the proper thing to do, my experience with 

 donkeys was limited. 



Through the dark I could hear the hoofs pattering as the herd 

 circled the camp. The night became hideous with the sound 

 of their braying. No African veldt with lions, baboons and 

 hyenas resounded more violently to the howls of wild animals 

 than the Inaguan bush did that night. I sat down, sweat pouring 

 from my back. There was nothing I could do. Between the 

 intervals of howling, giant land crabs with yellow claws crept 

 all about, keeping me alert with their clatter. The din died 

 down about an hour before dawn and I dozed into a fitful 

 slumber. 



When I awoke the sun was high above the horizon and the 

 heat waves were dancing, making wavy images. My eyes were 

 heavy from lack of sleep. Even Timonias drooped wearily. I 

 cursed the day I acquired her. In a brackish pool, brown with 

 the steeping of tamarind roots, I washed my face and doused 

 my hair. It refreshed me considerably but dried with a sticky 

 feeling. Sleepily I reloaded the pack, and turned again toward 

 the center of the island. 



Everywhere the ground was covered with tracks, long sinu- 

 ous trails with double lines that marked the trails of the yellow 

 crabs, scores of prints of Httle round hoofs and the cleft ones 

 of wild cattle. There must have been hundreds prowHng about, 

 their imprints were everywhere. Once a splendid horse burst 

 from a glade, snorted and plunged away again. The interior 

 of Inagua must contain several thousand of these wild animals. 



I found one of the caves later in the day. Its entrance was 

 obscured by vines and was partly obstructed by rocks. After 

 tying Timonias to a tree, I unloaded the flashlight and camera 

 and stepped inside. The sudden change from glaring daylight 



