278 JUNGLE PEACE 



to my amazement a rosy red light flashed out 

 behind, and my bewildered eyes all but distin- 

 guished a number! Naught but a tropical for- 

 est could present such contrasts in such rapid 

 succession as the poor-me-one and this parody 

 of man's invention. 



I captured the big beetle and slid him into a 

 vial, where in his disgust he clicked sharply 

 against the glass. The vial went into my pocket 

 and we picked up our guns and crept on. As 

 we traversed a dark patch, dull gleams like heat 

 lightning flashed over the leaves, and, looking 

 down, I saw that my khaki was aglow from the 

 illuminated insect within. This betrayed every 

 motion, so I wrapped the vial in several sheets 

 of paper and rolled it up in my handkerchief. 

 The glow was duller but almost as penetrating. 

 At one time or another I have had to make use 

 of all my garments, from topee to moccasins, in 

 order to confine captives armed with stings, 

 beaks, teeth, or fangs, but now I was at a com- 

 plete loss. I tried a gun-barrel with a handker- 

 chief stopper, and found I now carried an excel- 

 lent, long-handled flashlight. Besides, I might 

 have sudden use for the normal function of the 

 gun. I had nothing sufficiently opaque to 



