The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories

sky. From the little circular building, with its mushroom dome, the slopes plunge steeply downward into the black mysteries of the tropical forest beneath. Th

he midst of the mystery of the forest. Nocturnal insects appeared in ghostly fashion out of the darkness, and fluttered round his light. He thought, perhaps, of all the possibilities of discovery that still lay in the black tangle beneath him; for to the naturalist the virgin forests of Borneo are still a wonderland full o

mitive appliances in addition to the telescope, still involves a very large amount of cramped and motionless watc

ement compensates for the earth's rotation, and allows a star once found to be continuously observed. Besides this, there is a compact tracery of wheels and screws about its point of support, by which the astronomer adjusts it. There is, of course, a slit in the movable roof which follows the eye of the tel

and their light lay, a pallid gleam, along the black tube of the instrument. Woodhouse shifted the roof, and then proceeding to the telescope, turned first one wheel and then another, the great cylinder slowly swinging into a new position. Then he glanced through the finder, the little companion telescope, moved

mate, and the intermittent sounds of the Malay and Dyak servants. Presently one of the men began a queer chanting song, in which the others joined at intervals. Af

red the place and grew shriller in indignation at Woodhouse's oin

hen the slow movement of the telescope had

perhaps Woodhouse was deeply interested. He must have forgotten things terrestrial. All his attention was concentrated upon the great blue circle of the telescope field-a circle powdered, so it seemed, with an innumerable multitud

out. A flash of blackness pass

odhouse. "Must h

. Then the dome of the observatory resounded with a series of thundering blows. The stars seemed to

cried Woodhouse

to be struggling in the aperture of the roof. In another moment the slit wa

black, and only a scraping sound marked

ng, whatever it was, inside or out? It was big, whatever else it might be. Something shot across the skylight, and the telescope swayed. He started vi

terior of the dome, and then something flapped almost into his face, and he saw the momentary gleam of

elescope seat. There was a smoking streak of phosphorescent light, the match flared for a moment, and he saw a vast wing sweeping towards him, a gleam of grey-brown fur, and then he was struck in the face and the match knocked out of his hand. The blow was aimed at his temple, and a claw tore sideways down to his cheek.

e could at least kick. He was still in a mystified state. The strange beast banged about in the darkness, and presently clung to the telescope, making it sway and the gear rattle. Once it flapped near him, and he kicked out madly and felt a soft body with his feet. He was horribly scared now.

kicking with the other. Then he realised he had the broken water-bottle at his hand, and, snatching it, he struggled into a sitting posture, and feeling in the darkness towards his foot, gripped a velvety ear, like the ear of a big cat. He had

hard. He felt the sickening feel of fur and bone giving under his boot. There was a tea

ilence, broken only by his own sobbing breathing, and a sound like licking. Everything was black except the parallelogram of the blue skylight w

an to move again. "Time!" called Woodhouse, with a sudden gleam of mirth, but the thing was not coming at him again. He must have hurt it, he thought, with the broken bottle. He felt a dull pain in his ankle. Probably he was bleeding there. He wondered if it would support him if he tried to stand up. The night outside was very still. There was

r got to? It occurred to him he could get his bearings by the stars visible through the skylight. The patch of stars he saw was in Sagittarius and south-eastward; the door was north-or was it north by

shifted and creaked. Somehow he did not feel very frightened or excited now. He felt a curious sinking sensation inside him. The sharply-defined patch of light, with the black form moving across

sion. Then there was the top of Thaddy's face upside down. Funny fellow, Thaddy, to go about like that! Then he grasped the situation better, and perceived that h

servatory in a prett

were his arm and the side of his face. The smashed glass, red-stained, lay about the floor, the telescope seat was overturned, and by th

ho's been killing calves

e Thing, and the figh

id to Thaddy-"the Th

But, anyhow, don't worry yourself no

on to keep Woodhouse quiet until he was decently put away in bed, and had slept upon the c

short ears, and soft fur, and its wings were leathery. Its teeth were little but devilish shar

ty nearly,"

hat is about as much as I know about the beast. Our convers

it nervous. They say there is a Big Colugo and a Little Colugo, and a something else that sounds like gobble. They all fly about

he forests of Borneo, than are dreamt of in our philosophies. On the whole, if the Borneo fauna is going to disgorge any mo