had appeared from the depths, and were
mumbling oxygen with trembling lips.

In days to come, through all the months, I should again and again be
surprised and cheated and puzzled--all phases of delight in the beings
who share the earth's life with me. This was one of the first of the
year, and I stiffened into one large eye.

I did not know whether they were fish, fairy shrimps, or frogs; I had
never seen anything like them, and they were wholly unexpected. I so
much desired to know what they were, that I sat quietly--as I enjoy
keeping a treasured letter to the last, or reserving the frosting
until the cake is eaten. It occurred to me that, had it not been for
the Kaiser, I might have been forbidden this mystery; a chain of
occurrences: Kaiser--war--submarines--glass-shortage for
dreadnoughts--mica port-holes needed--Guiana prospector--abandoned
pits--rainy season--mysterious tenants--me!

When I squatted by the side of the pool, no sign of life was visible.
Far up through the green foliage of the jungle I could see a solid
ceiling of cloud, while beneath me the liquid clay of the pool was
equally opaque and lifeless. As a seer watches the surface of his
crystal ball, so I gazed at my six-foot circle of milky water. My
shift forward was like the fall of a tree: it brought into existence
about it a temporary circle of silence and fear--a circle whose
periphery began at once to contract; and after a few minutes the gorge
again accepted me as a part of its harmless self. A huge bee zoomed
past, and just behind my head a hummingbird beat the air into a froth
of sound, as vibrant as the richest tones of a cello. My concentrated
interest seemed to become known to the life of the surrounding glade,
and I was bombarded with sight, sound, and odor, as if on purpose to
distract my attention. But I remained unmoved, and indications of rare
and desirable beings passed unheeded.

A flotilla of little water-striders came rowing themselves along,
racing for a struggling ant which had fallen into the milky quicksand.
These were in my line of vision, so I watched them for a while,
letting the corner of my eye keep guard for the real aristocrats of
the milky sea--whoever they were. My eye was close enough, my
elevation sufficiently low to become one with the water-striders, and
to become excited over the adventures of these little petrels; and in
my absorption I almost forgot my chief quest. As soaring birds seem at
times to rest