And in the midst of them the merciless creepers clung to the
big trunks in cable-like coils, leaped from tree to tree, hung in thorny
festoons from the lower boughs, and, sending slender tendrils on high to
seek out the smallest branches, carried death to their victims in an
exulting riot of silent destruction.
On the fourth side, following the curve of the bank of that branch of the
Pantai that formed the only access to the clearing, ran a black line of
young trees, bushes, and thick second growth, unbroken save for a small
gap chopped out in one place. At that gap began the narrow footpath
leading from the water's edge to the grass-built shelter used by the
night watchers when the ripening crop had to be protected from the wild
pigs. The pathway ended at the foot of the piles on which the hut was
built, in a circular space covered with ashes and bits of burnt wood. In
the middle of that space, by the dim fire, lay Dain.
He turned over on his side with an impatient sigh, and, pillowing his
head on his bent arm, lay quietly with his face to the dying fire. The
glowing embers shone redly in a small circle, throwing a gleam into his
wide-open eyes, and at every deep breath the fine white ash of bygone
fires rose in a light cloud before his parted lips, and danced away from
the warm glow into the moonbeams pouring down upon Bulangi's clearing.
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