range old city, passed the
horseshoe gate of entrance, and bore us up into the mountains.

Not a soul did we meet, once we turned our backs upon Tarifa. Only the
wild wind would not desert us, but roared in strange voices along the
hollows of the land, in a country where all was wild. The rough mountain
sides were peppered with stunted oaks; and as our way ascended more
thrilling grew the views, with the smoke of great steamers streaming black
pennons over the sea, and the Atlas Mountains squatting Sphinx-like to
guard the African shore.

Then, we lost the hard blue line of water, screened behind mountains; and
slipping down over the summit we hid from the bellowing wind. The car flew
like a circling bird round the wide curves, and dropped us in peaceful
vales sheltered by cork forests, and rocky walls inlaid with the silver of
trickling streams.

Thus, back to the wide sea view and downs whose flowery carpet was torn by
jagged nail-heads of rock. Cork trees, sombre as giant olives clad in
mourning, strong in their corselets and shields of half-stripped bark as
knights in armour, covered the hills like a vast army. At the foot of the
hoary warriors, waved bracken and yellow iris in tangled masses; high
above their heads sailed here and there a golden eagle of a vulture,
looking like paper birds or Japanese kites.

Far below us the white houses of Algeciras lay scattered, a broken
necklace of white beads; and from across the water that dark lion,
Gibraltar, crouched as if waiting to spring.

Whether Dick or I saw it first I can't tell, but we exclaimed together,
"There's the other car!" And there it was, a moving speck upon the road in
a white cloud of dust.

After it we went with a bound of increased speed. No need now to stop and
ask the way to the hotel; all we had to do was to follow and catch up with
the Lecomte at the steps of the Hotel Reina Cristina. A wild idea flashed
into my head, that I would snatch Monica as she alighted from Carmona's
car, fling her to Dick in mine, jump in after her myself, and be off
before the others had time to recover from their surprise.

The more I thought of this the more feasible did it seem. No slowing up
for sharp turnings now; trust to luck that the road was clear ahead! I was
thrilling with hope and excitement as we dashed after the disappearing
dust-covered automobile into a wide open gateway. The scent of heliotrope
and rose geranium, hot under the April sun, intoxicat