HAMMOCK NIGHTS 218 
of this kingdom, at once welcomed and delicately 
ignored as any honored guest should be. For 
this one must make unwonted demands upon 
one’s nocturnal senses. From habit, perhaps, it 
is natural to lie with the eyes wide open, but witk 
all the faculties concentrated on the two senses 
which bring impressions from the world of dark- 
ness—hearing and smell. Ina jungle hut a loud 
cry from out of the black treetops now and then 
reaches the ear; in a tent the faint noises of the 
night outside are borne on the wind, and at times 
the silhouette of a passing animal moves slowly 
®cross the heavy cloth; but in a hamaca one is not 
thus set apart to be baffled by hidden mysteries 
—one is given the very point of view of the crea- 
tures who live and die in the open. 
Through the meshes which press gently against 
one’s face comes every sound which our human 
€ars can distinguish and set apart from the si- 
lénce—a silence which in itself is only a mirage 
of apparent soundlessness, a testimonial to the 
imperfection of our senses. The moaning and 
whining of some distant beast of prey is brought 
,on the breeze to mingle with the silken swishing 
;of the palm fronds overhead and the insistent 
chirping of many insects—a chirping so fine and 
