ed seals. They did not seem
alarmed. In fact one old bull, scarred by many battles, made toward
us.

We left him, scaled the cliff, and turned up a broad, pleasant valley
toward the interior.

There the later lava flow had been deflected. All that showed of the
original eruption were occasional red outcropping rocks. Soil and
grass had overlaid the mineral. Scattered trees were planted
throughout the flat. Cacti and semi-tropical bushes mingled with brush
on the rounded side hills. A number of brilliant birds fluttered at
our approach.

Suddenly Handy Solomon, who was in advance, stopped and pointed to
the crest of the hill. A file of animals moved along the sky line.

"Mutton!" said he, "or the devil's a preacher!"

"Sheep!" cried Thrackles. "Where did they come from?"

"_Golden Horn_," I suggested. "Remember that wide, empty deck
forward? They carried sheep there." The men separated, intending fresh
meat. The affair was ridiculous. These sheep had become as wild as
deer. Our surrounding party with its silly bared knives could only
look after them open-mouthed, as they skipped nimbly between its
members.

"Get a gun of the Old Man, Mr. Eagen," suggested Pulz, "and we'll have
something besides salt horse and fish."

I nodded.

We continued. The island was like this as far as we went. When we
climbed a ridge, we found ourselves looking down on a spider-web of
other valleys and canons of the same nature, all diverging to broad
downs and a jump into the sea, all converging to the outworks that
guarded the volcano with its canopy of vapour.

On our way home we cut across the higher country and the heads of the
canons until we found ourselves looking down on the valley and Dr.
Schermerhorn's camp. The steam from the volcanic blowholes swayed
below us. Through its rifts we saw the tops of the buildings.
Presently we made out Percy Darrow, dressed in overalls, his sleeves
rolled back, and carrying a retort. He walked, very preoccupied, to
one of the miniature craters, where he knelt and went through some
operation indistinguishable at the distance. I looked around to see
my companions staring at him fascinated, their necks craned out, their
bodies drawn back into hiding. In a moment he had finished, and
carried the retort carefully into the laboratory. The men sighed and
stood erect, once more themselves. As we turned away Perdosa voiced
what must have been in the minds of all.

"A man could climb down there,"