FAR AND NEAR 



that of some wild creature, the boat felt its way 

 into the little gut or channel that connects the pond 

 with the sea. In less than a hundred yards we 

 emerged from the shadows of the verdure upon 

 the still, moon-drenched, circular bit of land-locked 

 sea. How weird and mystical it looked! a wild 

 range of rocky, bushy hills upon one side, and low, 

 wooded shores upon the other. 



At the far side, a mile or more distant, standing 

 upon the sand, was a small, dilapidated building 

 used mainly by fishermen. To this point we directed 

 our course, and in due time drew our boat up on 

 the low, sandy beach. 



The scene was wild and lonely in the extreme, but 

 this was a part of what we had come for. We ex- 

 perienced our first disappointment when we found 

 that the moonlight killed the phosphorescent dis- 

 play that we had hoped to see. Only a very pale 

 blue flame could now be evoked from the water. 

 My son's second disappointment came when his 

 long and cautious promenade upon the shore, re- 

 volver in hand, and his long vigil by the inlet into 

 a second salt pond revealed no crocodiles. In his 

 absence I had scooped out a place in the sand, 

 spread our blankets, and, with a couple of old doors 

 raised over the spot to keep off the dews of the 

 night, stretched myself out, a lodger for the first 

 time with tropical nature. But sleep did not come 

 easily ; in fact, did not come at all. The ants froro 



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