ion which lasted only a fraction of a second, and rubbing his eyes
he awoke to find himself in the tepid atmosphere of a green and humid
world.

This time he was not near the wood, but on the sea-shore. In front of
him was a grey sea, smooth as oil and clouded with steaming vapours,
and behind him the wide green plain stretched into a cloudy distance.
He could discern, faint on the far-off horizon, the shadowy forms of the
gigantic mushrooms which he knew, and on the level plain which reached
the sea beach, but not so far off as the mushrooms, he could plainly see
the huge green caterpillars moving slowly and lazily in an endless herd.
The sea was breaking on the sand with a faint moan. But almost at once
he became aware of another sound, which came he knew not whence, and
which was familiar to him. It was a low whistling noise, and it seemed
to come from the sky.

At that moment Fletcher was seized by an unaccountable panic. He was
afraid of something; he did not know what it was, but he knew, he felt
absolutely certain, that some danger, no vague calamity, no distant
misfortune, but some definite physical danger was hanging over him and
quite close to him--something from which it would be necessary to run
away, and to run fast in order to save his life. And yet there was no
sign of danger visible, for in front of him was the motionless oily sea,
and behind him was the empty and silent plain. It was then he noticed
that the caterpillars were fast disappearing, as if into the earth: he
was too far off to make out how.

He began to run along the coast. He ran as fast as he could, but he
dared not look round. He ran back from the coast to the plain, from
which a white mist was rising. By this time every single caterpillar had
disappeared. The whistling noise continued and grew louder.

At last he reached the wood and bounded on, trampling down long trailing
grasses and tangled weeds through the thick, muggy gloom of those
endless aisles of jungle. He came to a somewhat open space where there
was the trunk of a tree larger than the others; it stood by itself and
disappeared into the tangle of creepers above. He thought he would climb
the tree, but the trunk was too wide, and his efforts failed. He stood
by the tree trembling and panting with fear. He could not hear a sound,
but he felt that the danger, whatever it was, was at hand.

It grew darker and darker. It was night in the forest. He stood
paralysed with terror;