, the bare branches
were alive with a new-born cloak that possessed the whiteness of
fresh-fallen snow. Even the lank grass under foot was similarly
awakening.

The wonder of it all must have been amazing had Steve not been prepared
for some such phenomenon. Was not this crazy valley the reality of that
vision he had set before Marcel? It was the melting spring of temperate
latitudes transposed to the confines of the Arctic Circle. It was a land
of still, wonderful, voiceless life, whose air was sweet, and heavy
laden with a subtle perfume.

He wondered, as he paced on under the burden of the pack his broad
shoulders were supporting. His mind was a riot with questioning. What of
the rest? Would the whole dream become reality? Why not? What of the
day when the sun rose again from its long winter sleep?

For answer he gazed out ahead where a pillar of fire looked to be
supporting the clouded heavens. The logic of it all was plain. There was
no real question in his mind. With the returning light of the sun, and
the steadily rising temperature, the ghostly foliage would promptly
assume Nature's happy green and the world would ripen with the rapidity
of a forcing house. Then----

Steve's eyes were suddenly raised to the dark vault of the skies. The
lights of the night had been largely obscured. Only the heart of Unaga
still remained shining with unabated splendour. It was _raining_!

Rain had ceased. The dripping figure of Steve was at rest on the low,
white-clad summit of a hill. He had no care for his condition as he
steamed under the dank heat of the valley. His eyes were steadily
regarding the wonder world of the west.

For a long time he stood almost without movement. He was seeking,
seeking in every direction. But the rosy twilight baffled him. Unaga
buried her secrets deeply, and only was there the perfume in the air
which she could not conceal. This was the key with which Steve meant to
open the door of her treasure house.

He raised his face and drew a deep breath through sensitive nostrils.
Then he exhaled slowly, deliberately, and his lips moved. Now there was
taste in the air as well as perfume. The change had come with the
rainfall.

He stooped and deposited his pack on the moist ground. Then he
unfastened it. A few moments later he was standing erect again, and his
face was half hidden under a curiously constructed mask. Again he turned
to the west. Again he inhaled deeply. And as he did so satisfacti