two were indulging their little pleasantries, the guide and
his friend Laihova had gone to the top of a neighbouring bluff to
consult as to the best route to adopt in the present troubled state of
the country.

The view from the commanding height on which they stood was indeed
marked by a rugged grandeur which might have done credit even to the
giant Andes themselves, and offered a variety of routes, or rather
obstructions to routes, which might well perplex men who were eager to
cross country swiftly.

The point which they had reached, and much of the range they had
crossed, was formed of basalt in various stages of decomposition; but in
the country before them, for several miles in advance, huge masses of
granite and fragments of quartz indicated a change in the nature of the
prevailing rock. The position of these masses, as well as their size,
gave a wild Titanic aspect to much of the scenery.

Many enormous stones projected out of the ground at various angles. One
of these stood out horizontally to the distance of between twenty and
thirty feet, forming a cave under it, in which it was evident, from
sundry suggestive appearances, that wayfarers were accustomed to lodge.
The neighbourhood of this cave formed one of the most romantic and
picturesque scenes they had yet seen. It was a dark narrow vale, in
many places not less than five hundred feet deep, with a considerable
stream at the bottom, which brawled among detached and shattered rocks,
or was partly lost to view in its meanderings among the beautiful green
shrubs which clothed its banks. Various kinds of birds twittered among
the bushes, and wherever water expanded in the form of pond or lakelet
numerous waterfowl sported on the surface.

"A glorious prospect!" exclaimed Mark, as he joined the guide and his
friend, "and a splendid place, I should think, for fugitives from
persecution."

He pointed, as he spoke, to the scene on his right, where masses of rock
varying from thirty to fifty feet in length projected from the side of
the ravine. On the top of these rested other masses in a position that
seemed to threaten destruction to all who ventured beneath them.

"The caves of this region," said the guide, "have served to shelter the
Christians many a time. It looks as if God had provided these blocks of
granite for this very purpose, for the caverns which extend beneath them
are dark and intricate, having many entrances, and being lighted in some