_. At intervals I could hear a faint
rattle and another cloud of red dust would rise from her deck, like the
smoke of a bombardment. Far below me were a tiny group of men at work in
a quarry. They seemed to be engaged in some fascinating game. They
clustered and broke apart, running here and there, crouching behind
boulders, and remaining suddenly still. There would be a dull thump, a
jet of smoke, and a few pieces of rock, microscopic to me, would tumble
about. And then all the pigmy figures would run out again and begin
industriously to peck at these pieces, like ants, and carry them, with
tiny staggerings, out of sight. I watched them for a moment and then
walked on until I came to the corner where the path curves to the right
and eventually confronts the open sea. I was alone with the inaccessible
summits and the soft murmur of invisible waves breaking upon half-tide
rocks. I was in mid-air with a scene of extraordinary beauty and
placidity spread before me. The sea, deep blue save where it shallowed
into pale green around the farther promontory, was a mirror upon which
the shadows of clouds flickered and passed like the moods of an innocent
soul. In the distance lay the purple masses of other islands, asleep. It
was as though I were gazing upon a beautiful and empty world, awaiting
the inevitable moment when men should claim the right to destroy its
loveliness....

"At intervals along the face of the cliff were tunnels which led
through the marble shell of the mountain into the veins of ore. I walked
along looking for a place to sit down, stepping from tie to tie of the
narrow-gauge track along which the mine trucks were pushed by Gruenbaum's
islanders. I suppose the vein had petered out up there.... I don't know.
One of Gruenbaum's dispositions, perhaps. Anyhow it was deserted. I came
to a huge mass of rock projecting from the face, so that the track
swerved outward to clear it. I walked carefully round and stopped
suddenly.

"She was sitting there, leaning against the entrance to a working, and
looking out across the sea. Without alarm or resentment she turned her
head slightly and looked at me, and then bent her gaze once more upon
the distance. I hesitated for a moment, doubtful of her mood, and she
spoke quietly.

"'What is it?' she asked. I went up and stood by her.

"'I have a message for you,' I remarked, and took out a cigarette. 'But
I had no idea you were up here. In fact, I dare say I should have go