THE FALLS
hundred yards
rning trees and downstream the noise of the falls， muffled by inter-
undergrowth in the crook of the bend， was reduced to a
uiet murmur of pouring
~usthan any other--than water， a natural sound more smoothly continu-
wind， insects or even night frogs in the marshes.
winter it might increase to the heavy roar of spate: in summer drought，
iamsinish to a mere splashing among fern at lip and weed at base. It never
ed.
l_~_eBel0w the bend the river ran strongly under the further bank， where its
en bed of stones， gravel and sunken logs made the surface ripple and
ulate， so that the tilted planes glittered in the late afternoon sun.
~der the overgrown， nearer bank it was deeper and stiller， dully reflecting
and trees. All about， on either side， masses of plants were in vivid
m; some forming wide beds in the shallowS， others lining the banks
-high or trailing from the
I~ish.white. trees in festoons ;of saffron， crimson and
x
hum Their honey-sweet or citrous scents filled the air， as did
t flight.~finsects hovering and gliding， hunting prey or themselves darting
Here and there a fish rose， gulped down a floating fly and
nea， leaving widening circles that died away on the surface.
i :/Taller than the rushes and swamp-grass filling a marshy inlet on the
~er bank， a keriot--the green， frog-hunting heron of the T
~ ，e-~-s. tood motmnless， watchin，- a._ ~ ， _ onildan
~ s t，，c few t， .
~llllld It with alert， vorac， ous eyes. Fro，，， ，;--7et o.f slow moving water
，1c to time it would bend its
， neck and stab， gobbling quickly before re \" ~
~t.length， as the sun， declining， di，._ea t is.ummg *ts still posture.
frog their sh~A v~，u behind the tops of the trees，
Dy0nd the **~ across the river， the keriot became restless. Wary
Dby such common run of wild creatures， it was alerted and made
slight intrusions as the change of light， the movement of
_! and the breeze now sprung up among the creepers. Having taken
~stless steps this
e. air and flew way and that through the plumed reeds， it rose
D~wings. Flying upstream， its long legs trailing behind the slow beat
directly
~nlit fails， up the line of the river， it was making for the
~.e big bird was high enough above the river to see， over the lip of the
e lake beyond lying calm in the sun， its blue expanse contrasting
e tumult and white water of the twenty-foot-high outfall. There
fact two falls， each about fifteen yards wide， separated by a little，
and bordered， at this time of year， with forget-me-not and golden
ilies， some nodding and dipping upon the very edge， as though
down into the welter below.
keriot had circled twice and was just about to glide down to the
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