ley
of Ellyria was about four hundred feet below, at about a mile distant.
Beautiful mountains, some two or three thousand feet high, of gray
granite, walled in the narrow vale, while the landscape of forest and
plain was bounded at about fifty or sixty miles' distance to the east
by the blue mountains of Latooka. The mountain of Ellyria was the
commencement of the fine range that continued indefinitely to the south.
The whole country was a series of natural forts occupied by a large
population. A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient. To
FIGHT a way through a valley a quarter of a mile wide, hemmed in by high
walls of rock and bristling with lances and arrows, would be impossible
with my few men, encumbered by transport animals. Should the camels
arrive I could march into Ellyria in twenty minutes, make the chief a
large present, and pass on without halting until I cleared the Ellyria
valley. At any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced march
at night, however distressing, had been successful. The great difficulty
now lay in the ravine that we had just crossed; this would assuredly
delay the caravan for a considerable time.

Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock beneath the shade of a
small tree within ten paces of the path, and considered the best course
to pursue. I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone before
the arrival of my whole party, as we had been very rudely received by
the Tollogo people on the previous evening; nevertheless I thought it
might be good policy to ride unattended into Ellyria, and thus to court
an introduction to the chief. However, our consultation ended in a
determination to wait where we then were until the caravan should have
accomplished the last difficulty by crossing the ravine, when we would
all march into Ellyria in company. For a long time we sat gazing at the
valley before us in which our fate lay hidden, feeling thankful that
we had thus checkmated the brutal Turks. Not a sound was heard of
our approaching camels; the delay was most irksome. There were many
difficult places that we had passed through, and each would be a source
of serious delay to the animals.

At length we heard them in the distance. We could distinctly hear
the men's voices, and we rejoiced that they were approaching the last
remaining obstacle; that one ravine passed through, and all before would
be easy. I heard the rattling of the stones as they drew nearer, and