ary had another talk with him, when he begged to know if there
were likely soon to be an opportunity of sending to England. He had
some fossils which he wished to send to Lord Fitzjocelyn; and he
fetched them, and explained his theories with regard to them as if he
had almost forgotten that she was not his young Lord. She carried his
request to her father, and was answered that of course he might take a
holiday if he could leave the works with safety; he had better spend a
few days in the town when he did come. With this answer she made him
happy; and they set off, to the extreme joy of Rosita, who had
engrossed much less attention than she had expected, and declared she
would never have come into these horrible places if she could have
imagined what they were like. Certainly, no one wished to have her
company there again.

When Mr. Ponsonby mentioned the permission which he had accorded to
Madison, Robson coughed and looked annoyed. Mary could not help
suspecting that this was because the request had not been preferred
through himself. 'So the young fellow wants to be coming down, does
he? I thought his ardour was too hot to last long.'

'Very natural that the poor lad should want a holiday,' said Mr.
Ponsonby. 'It must take a tolerable flow of spirits to stand long,
being so many feet above the level of the sea, in caves fit for a
robber's den at the theatre.'

'Oh, I am making no objection, sir,' returned Robson; 'the young man
may take his pleasure for what I care, so he can be trusted not to
neglect his business.'

Here the path narrowed, and Mary had to fall back out of hearing; but
she had an unpleasant suspicion that Robson was telling her father
something to Tom's disadvantage, and she had to consider how to avoid
rousing a jealousy, which she knew might be dangerous.

Mr. Ward, however, came up to interrupt her thoughts and watch the
steps of her mule. The worst difficulties of the descent had precluded
all conversation; and the party were just beginning to breathe freely,
think of terra firma as not far off, and gaze with easier minds on the
marvellous ocean. Mary went on in very comfortable discussion of the
wonders they had seen, and of Madison's remark that the performances of
the Incas made one quite ashamed of the achievements of modern
science--a saying in which Mr. Ward perfectly agreed; and then he began
to say something rather long, and a little disconnected, and Mary's
mind took an ex