i6 



OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



A whir of wings sounded, and a Kingfisher ""alighted within 

 arm's reach. But such a Kingfisher! — the veriest mite, clad 

 in a robe of brilliant emerald and orange. So small was he 

 that it seemed as if the tiniest of minnows must choke him. 

 He seemed to be of the same opinion, for while we watched 

 him he caught only the insects which passed him in mid-air 

 or which were floating on the water. 



By far the most numerous, and in their way the most 

 interesting of the mangroves' inhabitants, were the crabs. 



Fig. 7. Four-eyed Fish, 



There were untold millions of them, all small, all active and 

 keen of vision. If we sat quietly, they would appear from 

 everywhere, peeping out like little gnomes from their perches 

 on the mangroves, forever playing their noiseless little fiddles. 

 These tiny tree-folk not only played, but danced. Let us 

 picture a scene constantly enacted, so close to us that we 

 could all liut touch the performers. Two crabs approach 

 each other, now fiddling vigorously, now waving their diminu- 

 tive pincers back and forth over their heads as a ballet- 

 dancer waves her arms. They move never in straight lines, 

 but sideways, now running back a few steps, now forward, 



