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THE BLACK PHANTOM
* * * * *
BY LEO E. MILLER
The Black Phantom
The Hidden People
In the Tiger's Lair
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
* * * * *
THE BLACK PHANTOM
by
LEO E. MILLER
Illustrated
[Illustration: Here, where he had rested before, he would sleep again
Page 217]
Charles Scribner's Sons
New York
1922
Copyright, 1922, By Charles Scribner's Sons
Copyright, 1922, By The Open Road
Printed in the United States of America
TO MY SON SPENCER KELSEY MILLER
INTRODUCTION
The dried or mounted skins of animals from out-of-the-way places are
familiar to every one who has visited museums and other similar
institutions. But, no matter how cleverly arranged, they suggest
comparatively little of the creatures' real appearance in their native
environment.
The comedies, the tragedies, and the life stories of the untrammelled
wild creatures are infinitely more fascinating than a survey of their
lifeless and often faded forms, only too frequently collected by the
hundreds with little other thought than that of classification or the
possession first of rare or undescribed species.
It was with the view of bringing to light the home life of some of the
jungle's inhabitants that "The Black Phantom" was written.
Leo E. Miller.
Floral Park,
Stratford, Conn.
August 1, 1922.
CONTENTS
PAGE
When the Deluge Came 1
Oomah, the Story-teller 30
The Terror of Claws and Fangs 44
As It Was in the Beginning 82
The Struggle for Existence 114
The Cruelty of Tumwah 150
The White Feather 189
ILLUSTRATIONS
Here where he had rested before, he would sleep again Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
Suma waited with bated breath and blazing eyes 96
There was the twang of the bow and the deadly missile
whined through the air 208
"Tumwah, send the rain-clouds here" 222
THE BLACK PHANTOM
CHAPTER I
WHEN THE DELUGE CAME
With the coming of night, _Siluk_, the Storm-God, laid a heavy hand upon
the cowering jungle. Now, the coming of night in the Upper Amazon is in
itself an awe-inspiring event; but coupled with the furious onslaught of
_Siluk_, the Storm-God, it is terrible.
In the tropics there is not the lengthy twilight of a temperate clime;
nor the fearsome splendor of the Aurora Borealis with its million
streamers of ghastly light shooting into the heavens in a fan-shaped
flare of quivering color to lend mystery and enchantment to the long
months of the frigid, scintillating polar night.
One moment, the sun like a brassy ball of fire hangs low upon the
threatening horizon; the next, it has dropped into the belt of grayish
mist that marks the earth's end and darkness has spread its silent,
ominous mantle over the forest. Almost, as a room is plunged into
blackness upon the snuffing out of a candle at midnight, so the jungle
is flooded with gloom at the snap of the solar switch.
_Uru_, the great howling monkey, eyed with suspicion the bank of angry
clouds descending from the slopes of the dark mountain masses to the
west. Then he turned to his party, five in number, and from his throat
there emanated a few gruff barks followed by a long-drawn, rumbling
roar. The females hugged close the branches, gave one furtive look at
the threatening sky, and joined their voices in the deafening chorus
that shook the wide-spreading canopy of the tall ceiba tree and
penetrated into the innermost recesses of the jungle a distance measured
in miles. Then the troop clumsily made its way over the swaying branches
and sought a friendly shelter in the crown of a chonta palm.
The wild things of the forest heard the warning and understood its
meaning. From the snug security of the cavernous greenheart, the little,
woolly _douroucoulis_ or night monkeys roused themselves from their
daylight slumbers, peered out into the fading light with round, blinking
eyes, and then curled up again for another nap.
_Sama_, the tapir, one massive forefoot raised in midair, stopped
soothing with his tongue the ugly gash inflicted by _Ueshe_, leader of
the peccary herd when he had incautiously stumbled into its midst, and
listened. His mind had been made up that to-night he should feast on the
luscious grass growing so abundantly in the bed of the broad, nearly dry
river. But the swelling chorus from the treetops caused Sama hastily to
reach another decision. He would remain where he was, in the dense brake
of _chuchilla_ canes and satisfy his hunger on their coarser leaves. The
river bed was too exposed to danger. In the all but impenetrable cane
thicket lay at least a measure of safety.
Even _Picici_, the bushmaster, largest and deadliest of all the
poisonous snakes heard--and heeded. Not one muscle in all his nine feet
of tightly coiled, scale-covered body quivered. Ordinarily, Picici
feared not one living thing. In the jungle he was supposed to reign
supreme, save only for _Muzurama_, the black snake who could
successfully engage him in combat if he chose; but this enemy was so
rare as to be almost negligible. The other animals instinctively knew
and feared his lightning thrust and death-dealing fangs. But Siluk, the
Storm-God was different--an intangible, elusive something he did not
understand, could not subdue. And the terror that Siluk brought was even
worse, for it stalked boldly in the night and slew without warning or
mercy. And so the mighty serpent was contented merely to remain in the
damp, evil-smelling burrow under the decaying vegetation to wait and to
watch.
About the only creatures to remain unaffected by the approach of the
storm were the birds in the treetops; to them the thing it heralded
meant a superabundance of food and a denser, more protective growth of
vegetation. And the stupid _Agoutis_, overgrown guinea-pigs they were,
who could never profit by past experiences anyway, either squatted
comfortably in their burrows or stole out noiselessly to nibble the
tender shoots, as suited their fancy.
The hush that fell upon the jungle was appalling. It was the great,
breathless silence of fear and apprehension. But the suspense was of
short duration.
A sighing breeze sifted its way through the whimpering leaves; again the
deadly calm; then a dull roar, distant at first, but gaining in volume
with each passing heartbeat. With a crash that rent the tallest ceiba
from the topmost branches to the buttressed roots, Siluk arrived. The
trees bent and groaned before the furious onslaught of the wind that
enfiladed their ranks and tore off branches a foot through and hurled
them to the ground; a deluge of water beat down upon them from above;
and in the glare of the brilliant, blue-green lightning flashes, the
startled eyes of trembling wild things saw the weaker and more venerable
monarchs of the forest succumb to the unequal struggle and fall with a
roar that made itself heard above the drumfire peals of thunder.
But, terrible as the Storm-God was in all the majesty of his unleashed
fury, it was not he alone that the trembling denizens of the wilderness
feared. Rather, it was the thing he portended, the message he brought.
For, with this coming of Siluk, began the dismal season of seemingly
unending rains when the waters of the lowlands reached their flood stage
and drove into the higher, forested country that crafty, merciless
terror from which few were safe and which was held in awe and dreaded by
even the strongest among them.
_Suma_, the Jaguar, basking in the glaring sunlight, awoke with a start,
stretched her massive forelegs, yawned, then snapped halfheartedly at
the annoying insects that buzzed about her ears and stung her lips; and
lowered her head for another nap. But, sleep came slowly and then it
was for short periods of time only. Something stirred within her and
warned her of a coming danger--not from the other inhabitants of the
wilderness for among them there was none to dispute her sovereignty;
rather, she looked upon the wild folk as creatures that had been
provided to satisfy her hunger, gratify her whims when in a playful
mood, or upon which to vent her rage. Besides, the flat-topped rock she
had chosen for her daily resting place was well out from the banks where
unknown peril might lurk and high enough above the sluggish, yellow
river to discourage the designing crocodiles that swarmed below. In the
open, and in a fair fight these repulsive reptiles were easy victims of
her power and cunning; but, taken unawares, she would find them
formidable adversaries. For this reason she drank only of the shallowest
pools, and refrained from swimming, reaching her abiding place over a
series of conveniently-placed boulders that served as stepping stones.
All through the torrid day the disquieting impulse warned her to be up
and on her way--just as the birds feel the urge of an irresistible voice
to desert the land of their birth and to seek a foreign clime as the
change of the season draws near, and, heeding it, run the gauntlet of
long migrations through uncharted space.
But, Suma was loath to give up the life of ease and plenty on the
sandbanks for the sterner existence in the forested country. Not until
she was driven from them would she undertake the long, fatiguing journey
to the more elevated regions.
The river was at its lowest stage. Vast islands and low, flat bars
dotted its winding course. The latter extended far as the eye could see
on both sides of the now narrow channel. Young turtles in legion were
emerging from the hot, sun-baked sand and making for the water the
instant they breathed the outer air as if their very lives depended on
it, and they did--for during the hours of daylight there were herons, an
ever-present host of hawks, and other predaceous birds waiting for the
eggs to hatch and eager to feast on the defenseless horde the instant
the little creatures pushed their heads through the crumbling sand and
while they scrambled frantically toward the water and safety. At night
the four-footed animals from miles around gathered on the bars to growl
and to snarl at one another and to feast on the manna so bountifully
spread by heaven for the delectation of all. Fights were almost unknown
for full stomachs were not conducive to quarrelsomeness. Nor must it be
thought that Nature was cruel to the turtles only to be generous to the
other creatures. This very emergency had been amply provided for by the
fact that each adult turtle during her annual visit to land deposited as
many as one hundred eggs in the hole she carefully scooped in the sand,
and had all her offspring survived the rivers would soon be overstocked,
constituting a real menace to the perpetuation of the race. So long as
the others took their toll, that generation was safe.
Crocodiles too were bursting through their tough, leathery egg-shells,
but in smaller numbers. They were vicious little creatures right from
the start, snapping quickly and savagely at everything that interfered
with their rapid march to the muddy stream. But they too had their
enemies and numbers did not live to reach the water's edge, in spite of
the fact that the mother caiman had the unpleasant habit of keeping a
watchful eye on her nest and escorting her brood to safety if she
chanced to be present when it came into the world. If an overzealous
jabirou stork or a gluttonous opossum ventured near she charged with a
hoarse bellow that put the intruder to flight; and while she was thus
engaged, some other keen-visaged marauder would be sure to take
advantage of the opening created by her absence to satisfy his rapacious
cravings.
But the turtles and the crocodiles were not the only delicacies the
sandbars provided. There were iguanas two yards long, and on the knolls
where the wind had blown the sand into heaps fat young skimmers and
terns were testing their wings for the new life that lay before them in
the air.
The shallow inlets were full of fish. They came out of the deeper water
at night to spawn, and could be dragged ashore with little effort.
From such a well-stocked hunting ground Suma was not eager to depart.
Day after day the journey was postponed, and the procrastination, as
usual, brought evil consequences.
It was night, but a full moon, and the myriads of stars, beaming and
twinkling in the glorious tropical sky, shed a mellow light on the
sandbar where the last of the turtles were escaping from their prison
shells. Suma feasted leisurely, then drank from the lazy stream, and sat
straight upright like a huge cat and began unconcernedly to tidy up by
licking her huge paws with her pink tongue and then applying them to her
face.
A dull roar pierced the silence with a suddenness that was ominous. The
Jaguar sprang to her feet and uneasily tested the air, first in one
direction, then another. There was not a stir of wind. The sky was
cloudless--the growing rumble was not thunder.
Onward came the mysterious sound with a terrifying swiftness, and Suma
knew it must be the river. The abrupt bank was fully half a mile distant
but toward it the startled creature bounded in gigantic leaps that took
her over the sand with the speed of the wind. The goal had all but been
attained when the cataclysm struck. A wall of water, four feet high and
crested with foam came rushing down the river bed with incredible
swiftness, engulfing everything within its reach. The sandbar with its
varied population was submerged in a flash and as the air imprisoned in
the wide cracks and crevices of the sun-baked surface rushed up toward
freedom, the water seethed and boiled like the contents of a gigantic
cauldron.
Completely overwhelmed by the first wave, Suma struggled frantically to
regain her foothold and finding this impossible followed the path of
least resistance and struck out boldly with the current until the water
drained from her eyes and she could discern the bank which had been her
objective. By varying her course slightly toward that side nearest the
land she made fair progress and soon reached a point where the water was
shallow and wearily dragged herself ashore. Pausing only long enough to
shake the glistening drops from her shivering body she began the long
journey westward for at last Suma was forced, reluctantly, to admit the
truth. Days before, she had sensed the coming of the melancholy weeks of
endless downpours with the attendant saturated earth; but the warning
had gone unheeded. Now, when it was all but too late it served as a
stimulus to redoubled effort; for the rains had started in the foothills
and would soon extend their sway to the lower country.
Daylight found the journey well under way, with vast stretches of swamp
and forest and plain to be traversed. Before her lay the wild
pantenales, vast wastes of land and water. The inhabitants of these
dismal places too felt the coming of the change for, between the sky,
now overcast and angry for the first time in days, and the earth,
seemingly waiting in sullen acquiescence to the dictates of a higher
power, flecks of black soared in stately circles, or whirled in erratic
courses, that were either manifestations of abject surrender to the
inevitable, or else a show of frenzied despair, one could not tell
which. The soaring flecks of black were flocks of graceful ibises
sailing hour after hour on tireless wings and indistinguishable from
vultures save for the long, outstretched necks and legs; for, outlined
against the grayish heavens all the winged creatures appeared dark, no
matter what their color. The whirling swarms were hordes of cormorants,
herons, terns and skimmers defying every known law of gravity in their
mad evolutions.
The chorus of screams and squawks from overhead could be heard for miles
and chief among the offenders in this respect were the terns whose
shrill voices and incessant clatter were like the cries of woe of
demented souls. Below, the occasional bellow of a crocodile hidden in
the reedy bed of a marsh or the high-pitched wail of the great brown
wolf added its note to the clamor of the multitude.
Suma spent the nights only in travel. When the approach of day was
heralded by the crimson glare in the eastern sky she sought shelter in
one of the dark forest islands so liberally sprinkled over the pantenal
country. To the Jaguar these were places of delight, free from
disturbance and well suited for repose. To man, these same places would
have been an inferno.
The tall trees, mostly of a wood known as _quebracho_, eagerly sought in
other regions on account of its qualities of yielding tannin, rich dyes
and compounds of medicinal worth, grew in dense clumps, the straight
trunks packed close together and the spreading, leafy branches almost
completely shutting out the daylight. More often than not reeking pools
of black water formed the floor of these desolate places. Mosquitoes in
clouds rose from the stagnant mire; their buzzing wings made an
ever-present music for, the insects being of various kinds and sizes, the
note contributed by each species was of a different pitch. Near the
ground the din was maddening, and the bites of the ravenous creatures
were sufficient to cause death.
The wily Jaguar avoided the intolerable annoyance and danger by seeking
a partly-fallen, leaning tree-trunk, or a thick branch, fifteen or
twenty feet above the ground. This was well above the zone of perpetual
torment, for the obnoxious insects formed a stratum that hugged the
earth. Among the branches the squirrels frolicked, whisking their
plume-like tails and keeping at a respectable distance from every other
animal that was not of their own family. Some of them were of
extraordinary size, with red backs and white under parts; others
belonged to the extreme lower end of the scale and were scarcely larger
than good-sized mice; but they all seemed a good-natured, fun-loving lot
that enjoyed life to the fullest extent.
The Cebus monkeys were of a very different nature. They always wore
tragic expressions on their faces and their lives were full of suffering
and woe for they had enemies without numbers. If they showed themselves
on the sunlit dome of the treetops, an eagle was always ready to pounce
down upon them and carry away one of their number, screaming piteously,
in its talons. When they descended to drink caimans were lurking near at
hand to drag them into the dark depths below. Snakes of the constrictor
family were not wanting among the branches; despite their huge size they
had a habit of lying patiently in wait where the cover was thickest, or
of appearing in the most unexpected places and after each of their swift
lunges the monkey population was reduced by one. Then too, there was
Suma, never averse to striking with murderous intent at anything that
came within reach. The damp chill of the nights penetrated the bodies of
the closely huddled groups, and caused them to shiver; and during the
hottest hours of the day they trembled with the ague. So their
existence, taken as a whole was a most unfortunate and melancholy one.
There were also other denizens of the dismal places. At noon the marsh
deer with wide-spreading antlers sought them out as the only available
protection from the blistering sunlight. But they were wary creatures,
ever on the alert, sensing danger and fleeing from it before their
position was really imperilled. The tapirs too were shy but not so
apprehensive of their welfare, for they were powerful animals and well
versed in jungle strategy. Once Suma had essayed to try her prowess on
one of the big ungulates by springing from a lower branch and burying
her claws and fangs in its shoulder. But the hide was so tough,
particularly along the ridge that ran down from the neck that she gained
little more than a secure hold and this the tapir broke by promptly
bolting through the densest brush where the stout overhanging branches
brushed the Jaguar off as if she had been a fly and left her lying
bruised and stunned on the soggy ground. Herds of peccaries roamed the
forest islands at will. Their safety lay principally in numbers, but
more of them anon.
Keeping just ahead of the encroaching water that daily added broad miles
to the inundated areas, Suma was finally driven to the heavy forest that
spread its mantle over the rough, low ridges forming the Andean
foothills. And the long journey finally over the great cat felt a thrill
of delight at again seeing the old, familiar haunts in the rain-drenched
thickets.
With a caution akin to awe she approached the windfall where a cyclone
years before had levelled a wide swath through the heavy growth. Giant
trunks and branches, resisting decay, littered the floor of the lane and
formed a barrier impenetrable to those inhabitants of the jungle
confined to a life on the ground. Second growth sprouts had pushed their
way through the tangled, twisted debris and waved their plumed heads
above the mass of wreckage. Creepers and trumpet vines covered it with a
green cloak so that an endless mound of verdure dotted with clusters of
scarlet flowers greeted the eye in two directions. Gorgeous humming
birds, aflame with ruby and emerald light, flitted from one patch of
color to another, sipping the nectar from deep-throated corollas and
picking out the ants and other minute insects that too had been
attracted by the delicacies stored in the brilliant blossoms.
Suma knew the country well. Thrice before had she taken up her abode
there while the rains were falling. And now, springing nimbly from one
prostrate tree-trunk to another, threading her way through
verdure-covered tunnels, and pushing aside the sprouts that impeded her
progress she made her way to the old lair--a great cavity in the heart
of an uprooted cottonwood.
At the entrance she stopped short and sniffed the air enquiringly. Her
nose told her that the spiny rats had been there, probably that very
night, but they were beneath her serious attention and now that she had
arrived they would lose no time in seeking other quarters; so she
dismissed them from her mind without another thought. A stronger and
more disagreeable odor proclaimed the presence of an opossum; in fact,
its beady eyes could be seen dully glowing in the farthermost corner of
the cavity. How dared the impudent creature appropriate for its own use
and defile the place that Suma held sacred? Ordinarily she would pass it
in contempt, but such impertinence must not remain unpunished. With a
snarl of rage she dashed through the entrance and struck the wretched
creature a terrible blow with one claw-armed paw that tore it into
shreds and turning, with a second quick thrust tossed it out where it
fell among the trumpet-vines, a limp and lifeless mass.
After a thorough inspection of her old quarters the Jaguar was
apparently satisfied that they would serve their purpose another season,
and set about renovating them. This consisted of carefully digging up
and turning over the decayed bark and leaves that had sifted in through
the opening. Nor was this labor without its reward, for numbers of fat
grubs and the helpless larvæ of rhinoceros beetles were unearthed,
providing dainty morsels for the big cat. This accomplished, Suma
inquisitively sniffed at each nook and crevice, then turning around a
number of times in search of the most comfortable spot, settled down for
a long nap--her nostrils toward the entrance beyond which the rain
roared and the thunder crashed. The air was fragrant with the smell of
growing things for the rainy season was not yet far enough advanced to
induce decomposition of the wilted and dead vegetation; and Suma, glad
to be back in her home again, speedily sank into a peaceful and
refreshing sleep.
From the cautious hunter moving shadow-like over the dreary expanse of
the pantenales or stealing like a spirit through the forest islands and
killing for food only, Suma suddenly changed to a bloodthirsty terror
that slew whatever came within her reach. Back and forth she patrolled
along the edges of the windfall. No creature was too small, none too
large to merit the fury of her onslaught.
Numbers of the more careless or stupid animals, panic-stricken at last
when it was too late, fell ready victims. Instead of seeking safety at
the first menacing roar they foolishly succumbed to their curiosity or
stopped only long enough to listen and to wonder, then went about their
own affairs as was their custom. This seldom failed to bring dire
consequences, for when the sudden rush came it confused them and they
dashed blindly into the very jaws of their destroyer. Such particularly
was the fate of the agoutis, which had either forgotten the experience
of past seasons or had failed to inherit the cunning of the other wild
folk. When the Jaguar approached, noisily announcing her coming with
voice and footfall, they sat stock still and waited. Only their noses
twitched and their large, black eyes stared dumbly in the direction from
whence the sounds came. They never had long to wait. With a growl, Suma
pounced upon them, mauled them into bits and left them as a warning the
meaning of which could not be misunderstood.
The lot of the armadillos was not vastly different. Digging for grubs in
the wet mould, they were oblivious to their surroundings for with their
heads hidden from view they felt a fanciful security from outward
aggression. The rings of bony armor that covered their bodies was strong
enough, it is true, to protect them from the talons of the harpy eagle
and claws of the tiger cats; but when Suma dealt her crushing blow it
proved at once the fallacy of taking too many things for granted. So the
shattered casques and broken bones of many a luckless armadillo were
strewn along the way, mute evidences of Suma's insatiable savagery.
In contrast to the actions of the agoutis and armadillos was the
behavior of the ocelots. At the first intimation of danger they
disappeared to their hiding places or climbed the nearest tree from the
branches of which they watched with the eyes of hatred as their larger
relative passed below. However, in the event that they were trapped in
the middle of a stalk they spat and hissed and offered the strongest
resistance of which they were capable, or at least so it seemed. In
reality they were merely bluffing, knowing all the while, with sinking
hearts, that their position was hopeless, and that their strategy had no
effect whatever on the actions of their persecutor.
The more knowing animals heeded the warning so plainly written in the
mutilated bodies of their brethren; in the snarls of rage and in the
screams of terror of the doomed victims; and in the roars of triumph
that followed each notable kill. To them, all these signs were
superfluous, for had they not witnessed the coming of Siluk, the
Storm-God, and had they not known of the thing that portended? But such
is the nature of the wild things that they are loath to change the
established order of their lives until forced to do so. So, not until
death walked boldly in their midst, and struck--no one could tell when
and where--did they profit by their superior intelligence. Then the
more timid ones among their number moved to safe quarters far from the
windfall, while the others redoubled their vigilance and dared not
venture many paces from the protection of their burrows and shelters.
So far, the inhabitants of the treetops had not been molested. Largest
among them were the howling monkeys. Secretly, they feared Suma and
hated her with all the vehemence of their intractable natures. In secret
also, they followed her movements whenever possible, dogging her steps
and gazing with furtive eyes upon her acts of violence. But they were
careful to keep to the higher branches and to view the jungle tragedies
from the safety of their lofty perches. So long as the Jaguar hunted
openly and made no efforts to conceal her movements, they had nothing to
fear. It was later, when the great cat called into play all the
resources and artifices at her command that their hour would strike. But
like the other foolish wild folk, they looked upon that time as
something belonging to the indistinct future and not until the lesson
should be brought home to them, swiftly and terribly, would they profit
by it.
In her turn, Suma hated the monkey tribe. She had frequent glimpses of
the dark forms slinking through the branches high above her head, but
gave no indication of the fact. At the present time she could not hope
successfully to wage war upon them in their arboreal fastness. But it
would not always be so. Other days were coming and then the monkey band
would be given their lesson and punished for their presumption.
The bird flocks swept through the forest in quest of their livelihood
with as much clamor as ever. To them Suma meant nothing; the majority of
them had never seen her--did not even know that such a creature existed.
The jays, quarrelsome and noisy as are their relatives of the temperate
zone, occasionally saw the spotted hunter as she passed where the
undergrowth was more open, and sent up a loud chatter that apprised all
the other wild things of her whereabouts. And while realizing her
impotence to deal with them, Suma could never quite check the growl that
swelled in her throat nor stay the lips that drew back until the
gleaming, white fangs were exposed to view. Then, with a sheepish look
as if heartily ashamed of having noticed the pests at all, she hastened
to thicker cover and quickly lost herself to her tormentors.
And so the days, and the nights too, passed swiftly, each with its
complement of thunder and of rain, and of intimidation and destruction;
but at last Suma was satisfied. The region had been cleared of
everything that might disturb the tranquillity of the weeks to come.
That had been her first care, her first duty prompted by an instinct
that made her merciless in its execution. Her abode was safe from
disturbance. She could come and go as she chose, serene in the knowledge
that not a living thing remained in the vicinity to trouble her, or, if
any remained they were cowed to the point where they dared not make
their presence known. Then she retired to the cavity in the great
cottonwood and for three days and three nights the jungle saw her not.
The deluge thundered and beat upon the drooping vegetation with a sound
so monotonous that Suma grew accustomed to it and did not notice its
existence. But the chamber in the giant tree trunk remained dry and
comfortable, a little world apart from its mournful surroundings. And
scarcely had she entered upon her voluntary retirement when a swarm of
craneflies took up its station at the entrance. These latter were
slender, almost wasplike insects with lacy wings and long, thread-like
legs, that whirled and danced with the mad joyousness of life, the mass
of swirling creatures seemingly spinning a net of sheerest gossamer that
curtained the interior from the prying eyes of the wrens and ant birds
hopping inquisitively through the crevices of the windfall.