206 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 



a disturbance in the low ferns beneath his ham- 

 mock. He reached over and caught hold of one 

 of the cords, finding the attendant trap heavy 

 with prey. He was on the point of feeling his 

 way to the trap itself, when instead, by some 

 subconscious prompting, he reached over and 

 snapped on his flashlight. And there before him, 

 hanging in mid-air, striking viciously at his fin- 

 gers which were just beyond its reach, was a 

 young fer-de-lance one of the deadliest of trop- 

 ical serpents. His nerves gave way, and with 

 a crash the trap fell to the ground where he 

 could hear it stirring and thrashing about among 

 the dead leaves. This ominous rustling did not 

 encourage sleep; he lay there for a long time 

 listening, and every minute is longer in the 

 darkness, while his hammock quivered and 

 trembled with the reaction. 



Guided by this, I might enter into a new field 

 of naturalizing and say to those who might, in 

 excitement, be tempted to do otherwise, "Look 

 at your traps before lifting them.' 7 But my 

 audience would be too limited; I will refrain 

 from so doing. 



It is true that this brief experience might fee 

 looked upon as one illustration of the perils of 



