176 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 
thighs until their wings would hardly lift them. 
They braced their feet, whirred, lifted unevenly, 
and sank back with a jar. Then turning, they 
bit off a piece of ballast, and heaving it over the 
precipice, swung off on an even keel. 
Close examination of some of the craters and 
volcanic-like cones revealed many species of ants, 
beetles and roaches searching for bits of food— 
the scavengers of this small world. But the most 
interesting were the actual parasites, flies of 
many colors and sizes, humming past like little 
planes and zeppelins over this hidden city, ready 
to drop a bomb in the form of an egg deposited 
on the refuse heaps or on the ants themselves. 
The explosion might come slowly, but it would 
be none the less deadly. Once I detected a hint 
of the complexity of the glade life—beautiful 
metallic green flies walking swiftly about on long 
legs, searching nervously, whose eggs would be 
deposited near those of other flies, their larve to. 
feed upon the others—parasites upon para<_ 
sites. 
As I had resolutely put the doings of the tree- 
tops away from my consciousness, so now I for- 
got visitors and parasites, and armed myself for 
the excavation of this buried metropolis. I 
