38 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. in. 



pure ; for I noticed that all the dogs in the place were 

 the same. A clear stream ran past the front of our 

 house, and we were glad to get a bath before dinner. 

 In this stream were at least two species of little fish, the 

 largest rarely exceeding three inches in length, being 

 beautifully spotted with dark brown on their sides. We 

 felt deliciously cool after bathing, and ate our dinner com- 

 fortably, on seats we extemporised just outside our door. 



After a smoke, in the cool of the evening, we prepared 

 our sleeping gear, and turned in for the night. We were 

 up at sunrise, and bathed in the little stream, while 

 my friend's servant and our men prepared breakfast. 

 We left some of our less needful gear in charge of the 

 headman, and then shouldering our guns, we set out for 

 the mountain, a good ten mile walk, over bad roads, 

 and the last three or four miles is stiff climbing most of 

 the way. Altogether it took us about six hours to 

 accomplish, as we started at about seven o'clock in the 

 morning, and reached the hut at the top a little after 

 one p.m. 



The first mile or two the path lies through gambier 

 patches ; and at one of the clearings we flushed a couple 

 of fire-back pheasants, but we were too far off to get a 

 shot at them. Their plumage shone resplendently in 

 the morning sunlight, as they rose with the " whir-r-r," 

 so familiar to sportsmen nearer home. A tolerably level 

 jungle path succeeds the gambier patches for two or 

 three miles further, and then the path commences, 

 leading up the mountain- side. 



Our first stopping place was at some distance up the 

 base of the rise, where a bit of folded paper in a split 

 stick directed us to the " Lady Jervoise Falls ;" and, 

 as we stood quietly, the sound of the falling water fell 

 on our ears from the left-hand side of the path. We 



