16 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 
solid jungle, with only Kalacoon and _ the 
Penal Settlement as tiny breaks in the wall of 
green. 
The tide was falling, and as I sat watching 
the light grow dim, the water receded slowly, 
and strange little things floated past down- 
stream. And I thought of the no less real hu- 
man tide which long years ago had flowed to my 
very feet and then ebbed, leaving, as drift is left 
upon the sand, the convicts, a few scattered In- 
dians, and myself. In the peace and quiet of 
this evening, time seemed a thing of no especial 
account. The great jungle trees might always 
have been lifeless emerald water-barriers, rather 
than things of a few centuries’ growth; the ripple- 
less water bore with equal disregard the last mora 
seed which floated past, as it had held aloft the 
keel of an unknown Spanish ship three centuries 
before. These men came up-river and landed on 
a little island a few hundred yards from Kartabo. 
Here they built a low stone wall, lost a few but- 
tons, coins, and bullets, and vanished. 'Then 
came the Dutch in sturdy ships, cleared the islet 
of everything except the Spanish wall, and built 
them a jolly little fort intended to command all 
