the shade," remarks another.

Catch one, he doesn't burn; don't grab him so as to hurt him, just take
him gently; that is right; bring him into the light and open your hand a
little. You see he is a flat, greenish beetle, with head set on a funny
hinge so that he could nod it violently if he liked. Half shut your hand
and turn away from the light; now you see two round green eyes glowing
like emeralds. He doesn't seem embarrassed by all this attention, but
you might let him go back to his party!

When we have let him go we will walk down the avenue of living light,
where is one thing more to see to-night. It is only ten minutes' walk
and as we near it it gleams in the dim light of the brilliant stars, a
ghostly white object. As our eyes grow accustomed to the light we see a
building like a snow-white bell. It is small compared with the gigantic
dagobas we have examined already to-day, for the very tip of the
pinnacle, rising above the bell-shaped part, is only sixty-three feet,
but it is very graceful and is considered the most sacred of all the
dagobas, for it was built to enshrine Buddha's collar-bone!

We haven't seen the half of Anuradhapura yet, and there are numbers of
other ancient cities in Ceylon to explore, to say nothing of
rock-temples with strange paintings and carvings; but we mustn't be here
too long or we shan't get through India and Burma before the hot weather
comes, which no European can endure.

The white coating of this dagoba is a stuff called chunam, a kind of
lime. It is startlingly white and looks beautiful at night, but
otherwise it is just a sort of whitewash, clean enough but not
particularly attractive. There are numbers of the same square-cut
granite columns that we saw at the Brazen Temple falling about near the
dagoba, some this way and some that. A good place for snakes, that is
why we came round by the road and walked so carefully.

Hullo! There is one! Keep still! Did you see him wriggle across among
the interlacing shadows of the trees? A large one too! Thank goodness he
has gone harmlessly! I wonder what sort he was? We ought not to have
come out, let us get back as quickly as we can.

[Illustration: A BULLOCK CART.]

CHAPTER XVII

UNWELCOME INTRUDERS

India at last!

We have come up the west coast from Ceylon and are now approaching
Bombay. It is night-time, and far ahead we see a great yellow light
which appears and disappears, and is visible for twenty miles o