NIGHT AND STORM 79 



It is five o'clock and the shadows in the forest are begin- 

 ning to deepen. I see two little gray monkeys playing in 

 the top of a very tall tree. The birds become monotonous 

 and tiresome. Yonder is a small snake twined around the 

 limb of a bushy tree. He is probably hunting for a nest 

 of young birds. The low muttering sound of distant thun- 

 der is heard. Little by little it grows louder. It is the 

 familiar voice of the coming tornado. I must prepare 

 for it. 



The stove is now lighted and a shallow pan of water is 

 set upon it. Into it is stirred an ounce of desiccated soup. 

 It is heated to the boiling point, and is then set on the 

 swinging table. A can of mutton is emptied into another 

 pan of the same kind, and a few crackers are broken and 

 stirred into the mutton. The soup is eaten while the meat 

 is being warmed. This is now ready, and the flame of the 

 stove is turned off. The second course of dinner is now 

 served. It consists of canned mutton, crackers, and water. 

 The dishes, consisting of three tin platters and a cup, are 

 thrust into the adjacent bush. The ants and other insects 

 will clean them during the night. 



Moses has now had his supper and has gone to his own 

 little house, to find shelter from the approaching storm. 

 The curtains are hung up on the side of the cage towards 

 which the tornado is coming. The leaves of the forest 

 begin to rustle. It is the first cool breath of the day, but 

 it is the herald of the furious wind that is rapidly advan- 

 cing. The tree-tops begin to sway. Now they are lashing 

 each other as if in anger. The strong trees are bend- 

 ing from the wind. The lightning is so vivid that it is 



