e thought of
home not being so very bad a place after all continually forcing itself
upon me, till our guide suddenly announced our proximity to the place I
had come these thousands of miles to seek. And now it was that from
where it had sunk my heart gave a great leap of exultation, and I sat
for long enough upon my bony mule drinking in the scene before me.

For the last three days our ride had been over stone and sand, with here
and there a melancholy palm shooting up from the drab-hued desert, the
sun beating down and being reflected up in a way that was almost
unbearable; even Tom riding with his mouth open, panting like a dog, his
face coated with perspiration and dust; while when at night we had
stopped at some wretched makeshift of an inn--a hut generally where a
grass hammock and a little lukewarm water was the total accommodation--a
wash or bath of any kind had been quite out of the question. But now,
as we were descending a steep mountain-side, it seemed as if we had
suddenly dropped into one of the most lovely spots on earth, riding at
once right in beneath the shade of a huge forest, with a sea of green
leaves spreading out before us in every direction.

By comparison the coolness was delightful, and we rode through a vast
arcade over a golden net-work spread by the sun upon the grassy
undergrowth; whilst from afar off came that sweetest of sounds to a
parched and thirsty traveller, the murmuring of falling water, now soft
and gentle, now increasing to a roar.

"Great river, senors," said our guide, pointing forward. "Senor Don
Reuben Landell on other side."

"Say, Mas'r Harry," said Tom just then, "they ain't sure where the
Garden of Eden was, are they? I'm blest if I don't think we've found
the very spot, and if--There she goes!"

I can't say whether Tom's mind was running just then upon Eve, but as a
light figure seemed to flit into our sight and stand gazing at us with
bright and wondering eyes, mine did; and for a few minutes after she had
disappeared amongst the trees I sat in my saddle without speaking.

But the glorious verdure around soon made me forget the fair vision; and
now, riding on a few paces, now halting at an opening in the forest, I
sat drinking in the scene with the feelings of one in a dream.

Then we rode on a hundred yards up an ascent, with the sun full upon us
once more, to descend a precipitous path, holding on tightly by the
mule, which one expected to slip and hurl on