QUEST OF THE FIREBIRDS 257 



I did not sleep long for the hum of mosquitoes quickly brought 

 me to Hf e again. Trudging back to the boat I gathered the tent 

 and its poles, a jar of water and a few tins of food. Half asleep 

 and fighting the insects, I somehow managed to erect the tent 

 in the dark and crawl inside. Behind the netting there was re- 

 lief. I devoured a tin of fruit and then relaxed on the canvas 

 floor where I fell into a deep slumber. 



In the morning the heat of the sun aroused me. The lake was 

 as calm as a sheet of glass. Hurriedly, to take advantage of the 

 smooth surface, I lowered the tent and set out again. But I 

 had hardly left the island when the wind resumed its vigor. In 

 a half hour the waves were whipping up again, but the bot- 

 tom shoaled to my knees and I made much better progress 

 although the resistance of the water was very tiring. Around 

 eleven o'clock I caught sight of the flamingos in the distance. 

 The shimmer of their plumage was visible long before the 

 birds; the horizon appeared laden with pink down. When I 

 was still about five miles away I saw my first mirage. A group 

 of six or eight flamingos close to a small islet far to the left of 

 the main group gradually enlarged until they appeared about 

 four times as great as in Hfe, then above their heads appeared 

 an equal number inverted. The inverted birds walked in an 

 inverted lake and imitated the actions of their brethren below. 

 When fully extended the heads of the upside down flamingos 

 almost touched those beneath. The optical aberration lasted for 

 almost half an hour when it faded slowly away. Strangely, the 

 water in which these mirrored birds were wading looked quite 

 calm, and when I approached I saw that it was sheltered from 

 the wind in the lee of a dry sand bar. 



I was in for a great disappointment. Late in the afternoon 

 I reached the island where I had camped with Mary Darling 

 and made myself comfortable for the night. As I expected to 

 stay for several days I made the tent secure and prepared a 



