"Not so impatient, dear!" she cautioned. "'Too fast arrives as tardy
as too slow!' To-morrow's time enough."
"Ruling me with quotations from Shakespeare, eh?" he laughed, with a
kiss. "All right, have your way--_Mrs._ Stern!"
She laughed, too, at this, the first time she had heard her new name.
So they made camp and postponed further labors till daylight again.
Morning found them early astir and at work. Together they traversed
the tropic-seeming woods, aflame with brilliant flowers, dank with
ferns and laced with twining lianas.
In the treetops--strange trees, fruit laden--parrakeets and flashing
green and crimson birds of paradise disturbed the little monkey-folk
that chattered at the intruders. Once a coral-red snake whipped away,
hissing, but not quick enough to dodge a ball from Stern's revolver.
Stern viewed the ugly, triangular head with apprehension. Well he knew
that venom dwelt there, but he said nothing. The one and only chance
of successfully transplanting the Folk must be to regions warm as
these. All dangers must be braved a time till they could grow
acclimated to the upper air. After that--but the vastness of the
future deterred even speculation. Perils were inevitable. The more
there were to overcome the greater the victory.
"On to the cliffs!" said he, clasping the girl's hand in his own and
making a path for her.
Thus presently they reached the edge of the canyon.
"Magnificent!" cried Beatrice as they came out on the overhang of the
rock wall. "With these fruitful woods behind, that river in front, and
these natural fortifications for our home, what more could we want?"
"Nothing except caves," Stern answered. "Let's call this New Hope
River, eh? And the cliffs?"
"Settlement Cliffs!" she exclaimed.
"Done! Well, now let's see."
For the better part of the morning they explored the face of the
palisade. Its height, they estimated, ranged from two to three hundred
feet, shelving down in rough terraces to the rocky debris through and
beyond which foamed the strong current of New Hope River, a stream
averaging about two hundred yards in width.
Up-current a broader pool gave promise of excellent fishing. It
overflowed into violent rapids, with swift, white waters noisily
cascading.
"There, incidentally," Stern remarked, with the practical perception
of the engineer, "there's power enough, when properly harnessed, to
light a city and to turn machinery ad libitum. I don't see how we
could better this site, do you?"
"Not if you think there are good chances for cave-dwellings," she made
answer.
"From what we've seen already, it looks promising. Of course, there'll
be a deal of work to do; but there are excellent possibilities here.
First rate."
Fortune seemed bent on favoring them. The limestone cliff,
fantastically eroded, offered a score of shelters, some shallow and
needing to be walled up in front, others deep and tortuous. All was in
utter confusion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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