128 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 
to the last, or reserving the frosting until the cake 
is eaten. It occurred to me that, had it not been 
for the Kaiser, I might have been forbidden this 
mystery; a chain of occurrences: Kaiser—war— 
submarines—glass-shortage for dreadnoughts— 
mica port-holes needed—Guiana prospector— 
abandoned pits—rainy season—mysterious ten- 
ants—me! 
When I squatted by the side of the pool, no 
sign of life was visible. Far up through the 
green foliage of the jungle I could see a solid 
ceiling of cloud, while beneath me the liquid clay, 
of the pool was equally opaque and lifeless. As 
a seer watches the surface of his crystal ball, so 
I gazed at my six-foot circle of milky water. 
My shift forward was like the fall of a tree: it 
brought into existence about it a temporary cir- 
cle of silence and fear—a circle whose periphery 
began at once to contract; and after a few min- 
utes the gorge again accepted me as a part of its 
harmless self. A huge bee zoomed past, and 
just behind my head a hummingbird beat the air 
into a froth of sound, as vibrant as the richest 
tones of a cello. My concentrated interest 
seemed to become known to the life of the sur- 
rounding glade, and I was bombarded with sight, 
