HAMMOCK NIGHTS 203 



affairs as well as those of their neighbors. To 

 say nothing of their environment and other- 

 matters. 



That my rope slipped was the direct result 

 of my own inefficiency. The hammock protects 

 one from the dangers of the outside world, but 

 like any man-made structure, it s]lo^\s evidences 

 of those imperfections which are part and parcel 

 of human nature, and serve, no dou})t, to make 

 it interesting. But one may at least strive for 

 perfection by being careful. Therefore tie the 

 ropes of your hammock yourself, or examine and 

 test the job done for you. The master of ham- 

 mocks makes a knot the name of which I do not 

 know — I cannot so much as describe it. But 

 I would like to twist it again — two quick turns, 

 a push and a pull; then, the greater the strain 

 put upon it, the greater its resistance. 



This trustworthiness commands respect and 

 admiration, but it is in the morning that one 

 feels the glow of real gratitude; for, in striking 

 camp at dawn, one has but to give a single jerk 

 and the rope is straightened out, without so much 

 as a second's delay. It is the tying, however, 

 which must be well done — this I learned from 

 bitter experience. 



