STORY OF DENDROBIUM LOWII 125 



never dreamed of quitting the bungalow when safe home 

 once more. 



Anyhow, the good man was struck with the beauty of 

 that jungle. Scarcely a flower did he see, or a butterfly, 

 or any living thing save ants and wasps. Vast trees arching 

 above the path shut out every sun-ray in that early hour. 

 But all beneath them was a garden such as he had never con- 

 ceived. The dews had not yet dried up. They outlined every 

 thread in the great webs stretching from bush to bush, edged 

 the feathers of bamboo with white, hung on the tip of every 

 leaf. And the leaves were endless in variety. Like a green 

 wall they stood on either hand — so closely were they pressed 

 together along the track, which gave them some faint breath 

 of air and glimmer of sunshine at noonday. Living things 

 were heard, too, though unseen. The wah-wahs called 

 'jug-jug' in a long gurgling cadence, like water pouring 

 from a bottle. Boughs clashed in sudden tumult, and dimly 

 one caught a glimpse of monkeys flying through the air in 

 alarm. A crow upon the top of some dead tree uttered its 

 clanging call, slow and sonorous like strokes upon a bell. 

 In short, Baker was much pleased and interested. Often he 

 came to a halt, and at every halt he served out rum. 



It was a walk of some miles, very steep at the last. Near 

 the village they crossed a ravine, dry at this season ; so 

 deep it was that the bridge which spanned it hung far above 

 the tops of lofty trees growing on an island in the midst. 



The bridge was actually the greatest wonder seen as yet 

 on this delightful excursion. Huge bamboos, lashed end 

 to end, were suspended over the abyss by rattans beyond 

 counting, fixed in the trees at either side. Not only wonder- 

 ful but most elegant it was, for the rattans had been disposed 

 symmetrically. But Baker, though a seaman from his youth 

 up, surveyed it with dismay. Boards a foot wide at the 

 utmost had been laid across the bamboo. There was a 



