o horizon there was nothing but white water and these
coppice-islands of laurel green--one so like another that I marvelled
how Charlie expected to find his way back to camp again in the evening.
As the sun rose, flooding the wide floors with lonely splendour, it
smote upon what at first I took to be gleaming clouds of purest silver
unrolling before it. It was an angelic host of white herons soaring and
circling, stainless spirits of the dawn high up in the fathomless blue.
As we stole silently along in our skiffs, it seemed to me that we were
invading some sanctuary of morning, "occult, withdrawn," at the far
limits of the world.

I looked around to see how it was all affecting my young friend. He was
close behind, almost at my shoulder--his beautiful young face like that
of a Greek god in a dream.

"Isn't it wonderful?" he mused, in that voice like a musical instrument.
My heart went out to him in gratitude, for, as I caught sight of
Charlie's serious figure ahead--with no thought, I was sure, but duck--I
realised how lonely I would have been amid all that solemn morning
without my young fellow-worshipper.

Presently, the herons alighted on one of the near-by mangrove coppices,
and it was as though the green bushes had suddenly been clothed with
miraculous white flowers--or been buried under a fall of virgin snow.
High up against the sun, several larger birds were uncouthly gambolling
in morning joy. It was hard to believe that they were pelicans--such
different birds they seemed from their foolish moping fellows at the
Zoo. And ah! yonder, riding innocent of danger, filling the morning air
with their peaceful quacking, a huge glittering fleet of--teal.

At the sight, Charlie turned with solemn warning hand--at which I heard
my young friend behind me smothering his profane laughter--and made
various signs by which Tom (who was poling me) and I understood that our
job, and also that of my companion, was to steal behind one mangrove
copse after another till we had got on the other side of that
unsuspecting squadron--which might then be expected to take flight in
Charlie's direction and rush by him in a terrified whirlwind. This not
very easy feat of stalking we were able to accomplish, thereby winning
Charlie's immense approval and putting him a splendid temper for the
rest of the day; for, as the wild cloud swept over him, he was able to
bring down no less than seven. Like a true sportsman, in telling the
story aft