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bubbling away merrily. Mine were a motley crew, 

 a rough and reckless lot of desperate men, of differ- 

 ent race and creeds, bound by no tie, and heeding 

 no law, yet perfect unanimity existed amongst them. 

 Wild songs were sung, strange tales were told ; and 

 many a hoarse peal of merriment rang through the 

 night air, as the jest went round. Loudly they 

 laughed, and little they recked for the morrow. 

 The moon was nearly at the full, and her silver light 

 made the open parts of the forest as clear as day ; 

 but I set the watch early, and bid my followers take 

 what repose they could, as I knew that they would 

 have a hard fag on the morrow. 



The queen of the night was still high in the 

 heavens, when we began to make preparations for a 

 start by packing up our baggage in the smallest 

 space possible, and after a cup of hot coflfee and eau 

 de vie to keep out the night air, we were again en 

 route. We soon left the forest behind, and, after 

 crossing a belt of dwarf-pine, with an undergrowth 

 of savin and juniper bushes almost waist-high, we 

 came to a wilderness of rocks and beetling crags ; 

 having every now and then to clamber up steep 

 slopes covered with huge boulders of granite and 

 masses of fallen d^hns^ which were readily set in 

 motion. We were obliged to be very careful, and 

 ascend like skirmishers in extended order, as, every 

 few yards we went, huge fragments came rolling 

 down, which would have caused severe injury had 

 they struck any of us. After several hours' severe 



