A Mild Attack of Locusts

"Look, look, there they are!"

Out ran Margaret to join them, looking at the hills. Out came the servants from the kitchen. They all stood as a streak of ruse rocky levels, Lothe s. There they cstreak of rust coloured air, Locusts. There they came.

At once Richard shouted at the cookboy. Old Stephen yelled at the houseboy. The cookboy ran tanch,t tat was used to summon labourers at moments of crisis.was used to summon labourers at moments of crisis. The houseboy ran off to the store to collect tin cans, any old bit of metal. The farm was ringing with the clamour of the gong; and they could see the labourers come pouring out of the compound, pointing at the hills and shouting excitedly. Soon they had all come up to the house, and Richard and old Stephen were giving them orders-hurry, hurry, hurry.

And off they ran again, the two white see wit smokm and in a risininurom all around the farmthe smoke of fires rising from all around the farmlands. Piles of wood and grass had been prepared there. There were seven patches of bared soil, yellow colour and pink, where the new mealies were just showing, making a film of bright green; and around each drifted up thick clouds of smoke. They were throwing wet leaves on to the fires now, to make it acrid and black. Margarew was waadvanc tg, rust colour still, s ellong, low cloud advancing, rust colour still, swelling forward and out as she looked. The telephone was ringing. Neighith had had his crop eaten to the ground. Quick, get your fires started. For of course, whilQuick, get yer fire tstarted. For of course, while every farmer hoped the locusts would overlook his farm and go on to the next, it was only fair to warn each other; one must play fair. Everywhere, fifty miles over the countryside, the smoke was rising from myriads of fires. Margaret answered the telephone calls, and between calls she stood watching the locusts. The air was darkening. A strange darkness, for the sun was blazing-it was like the darkness of a veldt fire, when the air gets thick with smoke. The sunlight comes down distorted, a thick, hot orange. Oppressive it was, too, with the heaviness of a storm. The locusts were coming fast. Now half the sky was darkened. Behind the reddish veils in front, which were the advance guards of the swarm, the main swarm showed in dense black cloud, reaching almosthe cthe do to help

Margaret was wondering what she could do to help. She did not know. Then up came old Stephen from the lands. "We're finished, Margaret, finished! Those beggars cnn eat eAnd it is only early afternoon- if we cf an hour! And it is only early afternoon- if we can make enough smoke, make enough noise till the sun goes down, they'll settle somewhere else perhaps...." And then: "Get the kettle going. It's thirsty work, this."

Looking out, all the trees were queer and still, clotted with insects, their boughs weighed to the ground. The earth seemed to be moving, locusts crawling everywhere, she could not see the lands at all, so thick was the swarm. Toward the mountains it was like looking into driving rain-even as she watched, the sun was blotted out with a fresh onrush of them. It was a half-night, a perverted blackness. Then came a sharp crack from the bush-a branch had snapped off. Then another. A tree down thund. Through the hail of insectshinman ct," he said.

But the gongs were still Nothing left," he said.

out the and Margaret asked: "Why't you ing. They are heavy withleggs. Twey are top ing for a place to settle and lay. Ithat's nverything. If

t." Hve ecked a stray locust off clotted inside with eggs. "Imagine thatarm on the march? Well, eau're l, and

"Is it very bad?" asked Margaret fearfulshed. This swarmbe cominh down fe are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on f And then there are the hoppers - it might go on for two or three years."

"For the Lord's sake," said Margaret angrily, still half-crying, "what's here is bad enough, isn't it?" For although the evening air was no longer black and thick, but a clear blue, with a pattern of insects whizzing this way and that across it, everything ethe moving brown masses.

But Matharet preferred not even to think of them. After the mt preferred not even to think of them. After the midday meal the men went off to the lands. Everything was to be replanted. With a bit of luck another swarm would

not come traveling down just this way. But they hoped it would rain very soon, to spring some new grass, because the cattle would die otherwise there was not a blade of grass left on the farm. As for Margaret, she was trying to get used to the idea of three or four years of locusts. Locusts were going to be like a bad weather, from now on, always imminent. She felt

like a survivor after war-if this devastated and mangled countryside was not ruin, well, what then was ruin?

But the men ate their supper with good appetites.

"It could have been worse," was what they said. "It could be much worse."