204 DANGERS OF AN OLIVE GEOVE. ch. vtii. 



sturdy beasts accomplished the task bravely, though not 

 without hard struggling, that would have strained the mus- 

 cles of animals less strong and hardy. As always happens 

 when the ground is looked at in the reverse direction, we 

 espied, on retracing our track, several plants not before 

 noticed, one or two of them certainly new. No botanist can 

 resist such a temptation, even though he were flying for his 

 life ; and two or three times we dismounted to snatch a 

 specimen or two, but were soon recalled to the necessity 

 for pushing on. P"or the first time since we landed in 

 Maroeco, the evening sky was overcast with heavy dark 

 clouds, and the last of twilight was fading fast when we 

 reached the ford over the torrent. The banks are here 

 overarched by poplars and other tall trees, and in the dim 

 light the rapid stream seemed fiercer, and its roar more 

 menacing, than when we crossed it in the morning. The 

 passage was achieved ; but not without a good deal of ex- 

 citement among our followers, when one of the soldier's 

 horses slipped into a hole, and only after violent plunging 

 and loud shouting of the natives, scrambled to the farther 

 bank. 



Without more trouble we ascended the slope on the 

 western side of the valley, and reached the olive grove, 

 to which we had given little attention when we passed 

 through it in the morning. This now unexpectedly pre- 

 sented the most diificult, and even dangerous, stage of our 

 excursion. Such faint glimmering of light as remained 

 up to this disappeared under the trees, and gave place to 

 absolute pitch darkness. The rough spreading boughs, all 

 beset with the ragged, leafless, half-dead branchlets cha- 

 racteristic of old olive trees, stretched out on every side, 

 at a height of four or five feet from the ground. There 

 was no regular beaten track through the grove, but by day 

 it was easy for man and horse to thread a way among the 

 trees. The case was now very different. Our keen-sighted 

 Shelluh followers were as much at a loss as we were. One 

 or two men on foot went fii-st, and we then followed, tlie 



