THE LAKE OF PITCH. 57 



sit and gibber at us and rub their dew -drenched fur. Their 

 parents and great-grandparents had found nothing to fear 

 in this strange thing which, five times each day, crawls back 

 and forth on its narrow trail, and why should they do more 

 than look and wonder ? As we come in sight of the muddy 

 banks of the little river, a great Parrot shrieks in derision at 



FIG. 28. SPIDER LILIES NEAR PITCH LAKE. 



us from the top of a dead stub by the track, executing slow 

 somersaults for our benefit. Instinctively we look for a 

 chain on its leg and a food cup near by! A splash draws 

 our eyes downward, and from a maelstrom of muddy water 

 shoots a villainous sting ray. A school of little staring four- 

 eyes skips over the water, and near the swampy, farther 

 bank, a sprawling half-grown crocodile watches us as 

 quiet as a stranded log. 



