262 JUNGLE PEACE 



creatures in my scant four square feet of mold. 

 Then there came to mind a square mile of 

 jungle floor with its thin layer of fallen leaves 

 sheltering more than six billion creatures. Then 

 I recalled the three thousand straight miles of 

 jungle which had lain west of me, and the hun- 

 dreds of miles of wonderful unbroken forest 

 north and south, and my mind became a blank. 

 And then from the mist of unnamable numerals, 

 from this uncharted arithmetical census, there 

 came to memory a voice, deep and guttural, 

 and this time the slow enunciation was jeering, 

 hopeless of answer, Wh y? And soon after- 

 wards, Wh y? And I packed up my last box 

 of vials and went on deck to watch the sunset. 



