and at work in the
orchards--as he took them to be--dotted here and there in the valley far
below. Farther away, he perceived a number of small dots on the bosom
of the lake, carefully watching which he at length became convinced that
they were canoes, or some similar kind of craft, crossing the lake, some
heading towards the city and others from it.

Some two hours later, Dick called a halt in a small pine wood, and
ordered Moquit to kindle a fire and prepare a brace of the shot birds
for their mid-day meal; and while this was being done the young
Englishman sauntered off a little way in search of another spot from
which he might advantageously effect a further reconnaissance of the
valley. He found such a spot at no great distance and, unslinging his
glasses, proceeded to search the valley and the face of the neighbouring
cliffs from his new view point. But, look where he would, it everywhere
seemed the same: vertical unscalable precipices of appalling height, and
nowhere anything suggesting the existence of a road by means of which
the valley might be reached.

Yet stay! As he was in the very act of removing the binoculars from his
eyes his keen sight detected what appeared to be an infinitesimally
small moving dot against the bare drab face of the cliff, some two miles
away. Focussing his glasses afresh upon the spot, Dick watched it
steadily for two or three minutes until he became certain that it was
moving. Yes, moving downward along the cliff face toward the valley.
Precisely what it was, he could not determine with any certainty, but he
judged it to be a vehicle of some sort, a slow moving vehicle; and if
so, it was of necessity travelling over a road, and that road, although
it was indistinguishable from where Dick stood, was one of very easy
gradient, judging from the movements of the object upon it. Satisfied
now that he had made an important discovery, the lad carefully noted his
surroundings, noted with equal care a number of objects which would
enable him to fix the position of the road, and closing his glasses,
walked briskly back to his temporary camp, where he found Moquit
anxiously awaiting his return, with the birds cooked to a turn and just
ready for eating.

Hurriedly dispatching his meal, Dick, with Moquit at his heels, resumed
his task of exploration, proceeding first to the spot from which he had
just observed the moving object, and there treating the face of the
cliff to a further clo