94 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 



rays, whose power must be greater than we real- 

 ize. Beyond the monkey roosted Robert, the 

 great macaw, wide-awake, watching me witli all 

 that broadside of intensive gaze of which only 

 a parrot is capable. 



The three of us seemed to be the only living 

 things in the world, and for a long time we 

 monkey, macaw, and man listened. Then all 

 but the man became uneasy. The monkey raised 

 herself and listened, uncurled her tail, shifted, 

 and listened. The macaw drew himself up, feath- 

 ers close, forgot me, and listened. They, un- 

 like me, were not merely listening they were 

 hearing something. Then there came, very 

 slowly and deliberately, as if reluctant to break 

 through the silent moonlight, a sound, low and 

 constant, impossible to identify, but clearly audi- 

 ble even to my ears. For just an instant longer 

 it held, sustained and quivering, then swiftly rose 

 into a crashing roar the sound of a great tree 

 falling. I sat up and heard the whole long de- 

 scent ; but at the end, after the moment of silence, 

 there was no deep boom the sound of the mighty 

 bole striking and rebounding from the earth it- 

 self. I wondered about this for a while; then the 

 monkey and I went to sleep, leaving the macaw 



