mighty carefully, with my gun cocked, spying
all about me like a hunter, fully expecting to see a handsome young
woman sitting somewhere in the bush, and fully determined (if I did) to
try her with a charge of duck-shot. And sure enough, I had not gone far
when I met with a queer thing. The wind came on the top of the wood in a
strong puff, the leaves in front of me burst open, and I saw for a
second something hanging in a tree. It was gone in a wink, the puff
blowing by and the leaves closing. I tell you the truth: I had made up
my mind to see an _aitu_; and if the thing had looked like a pig or a
woman, it wouldn't have given me the same turn. The trouble was that it
seemed kind of square, and the idea of a square thing that was alive and
sang knocked me sick and silly. I must have stood quite a while; and I
made pretty certain it was right out of the same tree that the singing
came. Then I began to come to myself a bit.

"Well," says I, "if this is really so, if this is a place where there
are square things that sing, I'm gone up anyway. Let's have my fun for
my money."

But I thought I might as well take the off-chance of a prayer being any
good; so I plumped on my knees and prayed out loud; and all the time I
was praying the strange sounds came out of the tree, and went up and
down, and changed, for all the world like music, only you could see it
wasn't human--there was nothing there that you could whistle.

As soon as I had made an end in proper style, I laid down my gun, stuck
my knife between my teeth, walked right up to that tree, and began to
climb. I tell you my heart was like ice. But presently, as I went up, I
caught another glimpse of the thing, and that relieved me, for I thought
it seemed like a box; and when I had got right up to it I near fell out
of the tree with laughing.

A box it was, sure enough, and a candle-box at that, with the brand upon
the side of it; and it had banjo-strings stretched so as to sound when
the wind blew. I believe they call the thing a Tyrolean[4] harp,
whatever that may mean.

"Well, Mr. Case," said I, "you've frightened me once, but I defy you to
frighten me again," I says, and slipped down the tree, and set out again
to find my enemy's head office, which I guessed would not be far away.

The undergrowth was thick in this part; I couldn't see before my nose,
and must burst my way through by main force and ply the knife as I went,
slicing the cords of the lianas and sl