FELLING FOREST. 
what it used to be. He could not take his ejes off 
the spot, and even as he looked a wider space of light 
suddenly opened out, succeeded by a crash of falling 
trees. There was no mistake about it now ! It was 
the fe]]in<4 of forest. He had neighbours, or was going 
to have them. Some one was opening an estate in the 
immediate vicinity. Taking out his pocket compass, 
he took the bearing of the small light open spot, also 
of a big tree at the edge of bis own coffee. To- 
morrow morning,” says Air. Green, “ I will solve this 
mystery, or my name is not Green.” At morning mus- 
ter four coolies, with Mr. Green behind them, pro- 
ceeded to the big tree, at the edge of the clearing. 
They commenced cutting a path ihrough the jungle, 
Mr. Green, compass in hand, jjointing out the direc- 
tion. No matter what the ground was, down steep 
rocky banks of rivei-s and up the other side, still on, 
on the same course, until the compass was no longer 
necessary, for the constant ringing of axes, and the 
falling ti-ees, kept them to their course, wliich brought 
them out into a mass of felled timber, unlopped. 
Mr. Green clambered along the trunk of a felled dtin 
tree, and then up one of its ragged branches, and saw 
a large clearing, in iirocess of lopping. At a rough 
guess, it must be considerably more than lOO acres. 
A few gra^s and talipot lints were standing at the 
edge of the clearing, and on making inquiry there, 
as to who w^as the master, no satisfactory response 
could be elicited. The only definite information given, 
or distinctly understood, was, that they had not 
been paid for two months, neither had they any rice ! 
Mr. Green turned on his way back inwardly re- 
marking ; — ‘ ‘ Always so, go where you will. Pay and 
rice ! They can speak about nothing else. I wonder if 
they ever think about anything else or of anything that 
is not immediately connected with these tw'o all-im- 
portant objects of life.” Yes, they do speak of some- 
thing else or rather solnebo(!3^ and that somebody is the 
master, although, of course, what tiny do say is a 
secret amongst themselves, a sort of freemasonry, and 
perhaps it is just as well for the master’s peace 
of mind that it is so. There was now nothing for it 
but to wait with patience until the clearing was burnt. 
After this event, of course roads would be cut, a 
bungalow built, which, also, as a matter of course, 
would have an inhabitant, and many a quiet surmise 
Mr. Green had, as to who his neighbour would be, and 
what sort of a fellow, and as to whether they would 
be neighbourly, or adopt the usual proceeding of near 
and dear neighbours, which was to quarrel. 
In due course of time, after a long spell of dry 
