tion from which they
had come as far as their vision extended, the vast forest which they had
skirted; in another direction all was plain; right and left open
diversified land presenting easy passage for the waggons; and when in
obedience to a sign from Mak they turned to gaze to the north-west, the
black raised his spear and pointed in one direction, where the beautiful
landscape seemed to come to an end in mass after mass of tumbled
together rock, showing with vivid distinctness patches of woodland,
deeply marked ravine that was filling fast with velvety purple shadow,
and heaped up mass that as they gazed began gradually to grow less and
less distinct, till that which at the first glance had stood out sharply
clear and marked against the pale, golden sky began to die away till
nothing was left, not even a shadow.

The boys and the doctor had somehow been so impressed by the beauty of
the scene that they spoke in whispers, Mark finding words just to say,
"Oh, I wish father were here! I did ask him to come, but he wanted to
rest."

"Yes," said the doctor; "we have had a very long day. But how
beautiful! How grand! We ought to stay up here till the stars come
out.--Eh, what do you say, Mak?" as the man touched his shoulder and
pointed again right away into the west.

"All gone," he said.

"Yes, all gone," said the doctor, using the black's simple words.

"Sunshine come again, 'morrow morning."

"Yes," said the doctor thoughtfully, as he stood trying to pierce the
soft transparent limpidity of the coming night. "Boys, we shall never
forget this."

"Ah," said the black, thumping down the haft of his spear upon the
massive block where he had perched himself some two hundred feet above
the plain. "Mak knows Mak's big stones."

"What!" cried Mark excitedly. "Is that where the old city lies?"

"Umps, yes," said the black. "Mak big stones."

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

"DON'T SHOOT, FATHER!"

"Why, we are as snug here as can be," said Dean.

"Should be," said Mark, "if it wasn't for that fire."

For the night set in dark--a night which would have been of intense
blackness but for the brilliant points of light that shone down like
effulgent jewels spread upon a sky of the deepest purple dye.

But it was light enough within the enclosure formed by the perpendicular
patch of granite rock, the two waggons, and the dense mass of thorny
faggots which had been gathered and built up so as to hedge them in.