Page:Stars of the Desert.djvu/154



sunset lights are burning low, While tents are pitched and camp-fires glow, Steals o'er us, ere the stars appear, The furtive sense of Jungle Fear.

For when the dusk is falling fast Still, as throughout the Ages past, The stealthy beasts of prey arise And prowl around with hungry eyes.

Though safe beside the fire I sit And stretch contented hands to it, Though all the cheerful camping-ground, With men and arms, is close around,

I feel the Jungle very near And shiver with instinctive fear. For in some hidden cells of me Stirs the ancestral memory

Of times when from the beasts of prey At this same hour men slunk away To seek their caves, and thrilled to hear The red-eyed Panthers lurking near,

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