The Man and His Kingdom by E. Phillips Oppenheim

A man had halted in the centre of a little grove of pine trees to listen to the singing of a bird. It was late in the evening, and the breeze which had stolen down from the Andiguas a few hours before had gradually died away. The tops of the trees were absolutely motionless--through the canopy of delicately interlaced leaves the moonlight came streaming down and lay all about him in brilliant yellow patches. The undergrowth around was alive with insect noises; a yard or two behind, hidden away snugly amongst the bushes, a landrail was filling the air with his own peculiar ideas of melody. The man had just lit a cigarette, and a great black and yellow moth came fluttering around the match which burned still in his long white fingers. He held it carefully at arm's length until the insect with singed wings fell to the ground at his feet, then he set his foot upon it with a faint smile. The night bird was singing all the time. Captain Eugène Rimarez leaned with his back against a tree listening. He was, after all, in the ordinary sense of the word by no means an ill-looking man. He was of medium height only, but he was slim and well shaped. Just now the flush of wine--which he chanced to have been drinking in moderation only--upon his usually pale cheeks gave him a not unbecoming colour. He was wearing the picturesque uniform of his regiment without an overcoat, for the night was hot and he had left his servant a mile or so away on the road to lead down into Beau Desir a lamed horse and his baggage.

As the bird's song grew louder his eyes became softer. He came almost to a standstill. Below him through the trees twinkled the lights of Beau Desir. He listened, and the cruel curl of his lips relaxed--he was giving himself up to the aesthetic delight of the little stream of melody so delicately in accord with his surroundings. He was so absorbed, indeed, that he did not hear a dry twig snap in the path a few yards away. He was absolutely unconscious that he was not alone until a voice almost in his ear greeted him.