THE LOKEWAY 
125 
for days after its visit, signs of its merciless slaughtering are 
visible on the little ledges of sun-baked mud which project near 
the roots of the sallows. A strong odour of mint almost renders 
imperceptible the rank exhalations of decaying sedge and water 
weeds, so that it is pleasant to lie on the bank of the pool and 
watch the movements of its bird and insect life. If you remain 
silent and guard against making any sudden stir you may do 
this for hours together. You may follow the ferocious warring 
of the water beetles and the slow crawling of the caddis-worms 
as they drag their curious cases over the muddy bed of the pond. 
A lady-bird creeping up a dark green rush stem moves so slowly 
that it is possible to count the black spots on its red wings, and 
to notice that when it opens the latter a little its back shows 
like a narrow black wedge between them. As it ascends the 
rush it looks like a ruddy gem in a setting of olive green. 
Few people pass through the Lokeway, for it leads from the 
main road to the lowland pastures and there are several “ drift- 
ways ” more convenient for driving down the cattle. Those 
who make use of the quiet lane are mostly herdsmen, for whom 
it is a “ short cut ” to the meadows, from which they return 
with their cows by other routes. Some of them do not care 
about traversing the Lokeway at night, for it is one of the 
darkest places in the district, and has the reputation of being an 
uncanny quarter to venture into alone. The birds which sleep 
in the hedgerows have a way of making sudden and startling 
movements if disturbed, and when the moonlight filters through 
the oak branches the latter seem to assume strange and un 
natural shapes. At such times the livid lumps of fungi wliich 
cling close to the uncovered tree roots look like bloodless fiesh, 
and the trailing briars catch in one’s clothes and administer 
“ tugs” such as might well be made by human hands. About 
the pond, the rustling of the rats is heard above the chafing of 
the sedges and the sighing of the wind through the reeds, and 
tlie frogs keep up a continual croaking chorus. Sometimes, 
however, a pair of sedge-warblers will desert the distant river- 
side and build their nest among the sedges, and by their sweet 
songs, sung all through a late spring or summer night, seem to 
remonstrate with timid mortals for their nervous fears. It is 
during the daytime, however, that the Lokeway should be 
visited, for then it can be seen at its best, and there are few 
more pleasant spots in the neighbourhood. It is a place in 
which trees and bushes can be heard as well as seen growing, 
for often it is possible to hear the bursting of their swollen buds. 
Along the main road the hedgerows and turf borders are dingy 
with dust stirred up by the wind and the hoofs of the waggoners’ 
teams. In the Lokeway the leaves are of the freshest green, 
the air is sweet, and the birds sing their merriest songs. 
W. A. Dutt. 
