Its depths seemed to be devoid of life, although occasionally they heard the screaming of parrots in the treetops a couple of hundred feet above, or caught sight of the dim shapes of monkeys swinging themselves from bough to bough.

That was in the daytime, when, although they could not see it, they knew that the sun was shining somewhere.

But at night they heard nothing, since beasts of prey do not come where there is no food.

What puzzled Alan was that all through these impenetrable recesses there ran a distinct road which they followed.

To the right and left rose a wall of creepers, but between them ran this road, an ancient road, for nothing grew on it, and it only turned aside to avoid the biggest of the trees which must have stood there from time immemorial, such a tree as that which he had seen fall; indeed it was one of those round which the road ran.
He asked Jeekie who made the road.
"People who come out Noah's Ark," answered Jeekie, "I think they run up here to get out of way of water, and sent them two elephants ahead to make path.