ace."

"Have you ever been there?" he was asked.

"I was a guard on two occasions when we took prisoners there," he
answered.

"Tell us about it," said George.

"I have never been in the village, but within an hour's march of it. The
Chief warned us never to go into the place itself."

Aside from the village the place which interested John and the boys most
was the mountain on which they were now standing. This must be explored.
It was now late in the afternoon, and at John's suggestion they
encamped, and only short excursions were made by the boys in the quest
for something new.

It was a delightful night. The elevation gave them the advantage of a
beautiful breeze, and the odors wafted to them, from some unknown
source, on the mild trade wind from the north, was almost like a
narcotic, so soothing and restful.

"Did you ever visit a more delightful spot?" asked Harry, as he inhaled
the beautiful perfume.

"It does not seem to me that the criminal colony is in a very bad place,
if this is any indication of it. Isn't that way of dealing with crime a
strange thing?" remarked George.

"Why so?" asked John. "Is it anything peculiar for the wrongdoers to be
banished from a community?"

"No; but it seems wrong to condemn the innocent women and children. Why
should they be punished along with the guilty?"

"Probably, in the majority of cases, the women and children would prefer
to accompany their husband and father. That does not seem to be so
cruel, when it is considered that they are left free to live as much so
as in their own community."

"That is what I cannot understand. What is the use of sending them away,
if they are not locked up?"

"Do you not know that among the ancients, banishment from a country was
the greatest punishment; greater even than death, in the opinion of
many; and there are many cases where suicide was preferable. The odium
of banishment was so great in those days that only the strongest and the
greatest of men could live it down."

"It makes me feel, when I smell this delightful perfume, that the home
of the bad people over there must be a beautiful place," said George.

"To give such an opinion, just because of the fragrance that comes from
the north is proper for a sentimentalist," said John, as he laughed.

"Well, that is a pretty big name to give, and I suppose it means having
some notion that hasn't any sense in it, but just theory?"

"That is a fairly close description, b