, to Hamersley the valley appears a paradise--worthy home of the
Peri who is conducting him down to it. It resembles a landscape painted
upon the concave sides of an immense oval-shaped dish, with the
cloudless sky, like a vast cover of blue glass, arching over it.

The scene seems scarcely real, and once more the young prairie merchant
begins to doubt the evidence of his senses. After all, is it only a
vision of his brain, distempered by the long strain upon his intellect,
and the agony he has been enduring? Or is it but the _mirage_ of the
desert, that has so oft already deceived him?

His doubts are dissipated by the sweet voice sounding once more in his
ears.

"_Mira, caballero_! you see where you are going now? It is not far; you
will need to keep a firm seat in the saddle for the next hundred yards
or so. There is a steep descent and a narrow pathway. Take good hold
with your knees, and trust yourself to the mare. She knows the way
well, and will bear you in safety. Won't you, Lolita? You will, my
pet!"

At this the mustang gives a soft whimper, as if answering the
interrogatory.

"I shall myself go before," the girl continues. "So let loose the rein,
and leave Lolita to take her own way."

After giving this injunction, she turns abruptly to the right, where a
path almost perpendicular leads down a ledge, traversing the facade of
the cliff. Close followed by the mustang, she advances fearlessly along
it.

Certainly a most dangerous descent, even for one afoot; and if left to
his own will, Hamersley might decline attempting it on horseback. But
he has no choice now, for before he can make either expostulation or
protest, Lolita has struck along the path, and continues with
hind-quarters high in air and neck extended in the opposite direction,
as though standing upon her head! To her rider there is no alternative
but do as he has been directed--stick close to the saddle. This he
manages by throwing his feet forward and laying his back flat along the
croup, till his shoulders come between the crossed shanks of the
prong-horns.

In this position he remains, without saying a word, or even daring to
look below, till he at length finds himself moving forward with face
upturned to the sky, thus discovering that the animal he bestrides is
once more going along level ground.

Again he hears the voice of Lolita's mistress, saying, "Now, senor, you
can sit upright; the danger is past. You have behav