38 HWA-SHAN, THE FLOWER MOUNTAIN 



to far-off Lanchow-fu, made a narrow streak, 

 though its ranks in a country where fuel is so 

 precious are sadly thinned ; west and east the 

 mighty Hwang-ho and its great tributaries wound 

 their dragon-like curves ; the firs rose dark against 

 the salmon and gold of the evening sky ; away to 

 the west lay a blue shapeless blur ; and though the 

 depths would see me on the morrow, I was happy, 

 for 1 knew that presently I should come again to 

 the hills. 



