and, and one has to be transported to the mainland before the journey
can be continued. The little steamer does not run regularly, as _manana_
is the same as to-day, if not preferable, to the native of the coast.

We could hardly believe the evidence of our senses when finally we were
plowing our way over the bay toward our desired destination, some two
and a half hours after the proprietors of the launch had assured us they
would be ready to start.

In all the heat of the tropical noonday sun we came to a stop two hours
later, at _La Brea_, and alighted upon a sandy beach, back of which were
a store-house and a few small mud cabins. In the office of the
store-house we ate our lunch, and shortly after word came to me that the
fated moment for mounting had arrived.

With a heart beating with apprehension I went outside where I found
quite a group of curious natives, while in the midst stood the
antagonist with whom I was to wage such an unaccustomed warfare--a
gentle-looking beast, gayly trapped out in a handsome saddle of red and
tan leather, under which was a corresponding velvet cloth.

With a degree of satisfaction somewhat reassuring, I noted that she was
large enough to carry me and yet so small that a fall from her height
could not be wholly fatal. What I further noticed and was troubled by
was the fact that the saddle was made for the right side instead of the
left, and then it was borne in upon my mind, that the hope that a slight
experience on horseback ten years before would prove of some service to
me now, was a perfectly futile one. I was about to embark upon an
unknown sea, with no chart to guide me in its navigation.

Meanwhile a low chair had been brought, upon which I climbed preparatory
to making the further ascent. Just then my courage was at such a low ebb
that to take the next step seemed beyond me.

"Vincent, I can't do it."

"You must," was the unsympathizing reply, and seeing me still hesitate,
he added: "You can't walk, and this is the only way."

That settled it. In sheer despair, I set my teeth together, shut my eyes
and jumped, remembering that "whatever goes up must come
down"--somewhere, and I did not much care where.

Even yet I retain more than a vivid memory of the astonishment I felt
when I discovered that I had actually alighted in the right place. My
stock of self-esteem has been on the increase ever since.

In a few moments we started merrily off, I soon becoming used to the