h, jagged rock, and much overgrown
with thick, tangled scrub; the "going," therefore, was a bit toilsome,
but that did not greatly matter to me, for the night air was distinctly
raw, I was none too thickly clad, and the exertion kept me warm. When I
reached the belt of fir wood that seemed to completely encircle the
range of heights which I was climbing, the obscurity was such that it
was only with the utmost difficulty I was able to make any headway at
all; and at length, coming to a spot where the grass was exceptionally
thick and dry, feeling somewhat fatigued with my unwonted exertions, I
flung myself down for a short rest, and before I knew what was
happening, fell fast asleep.

I awoke, chill and cramped, at the sound of a distant bugle call, to
find that the sky over the summit of Mount Sampson was just paling to
the approach of dawn. I therefore scrambled to my feet, much refreshed
by my nap, and resumed my climb, eager to get a glimpse of my
surroundings with the first of the daylight; for I had a great deal to
do, and not very much time in which to do it.

A quarter of an hour of brisk walking brought me to the upper edge of
the fir wood, and there before me, scarcely a mile distant, stood the
peak which I had chosen as the starting-point for my operations. I had
been guided by the map in my selection of it, for the contours showed me
that, apart from Mount Sampson, it was one of the most lofty elevations
in the neighbourhood, and also that it rose somewhat abruptly to a
small, well-defined point. My first glance at it assured me that, so
far at least, my map spoke truly, for the summit appeared to consist of
a rocky knoll, the highest point of which was a short, stunted, conical
mass, the top of which seemed scarcely capable of affording standing
room. Nothing could possibly have been better for my purpose, and I
hurried forward and upward, eager now to get at my work.

I will not afflict the reader by attempting to describe in detail my
plan of operations, for it involved a mathematical problem of some
complexity, only interesting to and comprehensible by a mathematician.
Suffice it to say that what I had undertaken to do was to make three
separate sets of observations from as many chosen points, consisting of
carefully observed compass bearings, and angles taken with my pocket
sextant; and the taking of these observations, and the travelling from
one point to another, kept me so busy all day that I w