wandering a short time, they came to a hedge of cactus, some of the plants in full bloom, the brilliant tints of their gorgeous flowers heightened and suffused by the golden rays of the now rising sun. They turned into a path which led along the hedge toward the high-road. On their right, towering above the tangled brushwood, were many trees, mostly large, and some of them magnificent. The most conspicuous were the assumah, the ya yati, and the robla,[1] but the grandest and most beautiful of all, the lordly frangipan, with its deep-green leaves and thickly studded scarlet blossoms. On the other side of the hedge was an extensive field of sugar-cane, in all the rich luxuriance of a matured and abundant crop. An immense mass of foliage, of the liveliest green, thick and impenetrable in its growth, its tops waved gracefully in the wind with a rustling sound that was borne onward until it died away in the distance. On the opposite side, visible through the hedge, the field was skirted by a forest, which, ascending a slope behind it, and becoming thinner as it ascended, left only a few trees scattered here and there along the ridge which bounded the western horizon. But Mary, striving to conceal her weakness and suppress the moans that were every instant rising to her lips, and Talbot, who was wholly engrossed by anxiety for her, could neither of them enjoy the natural beauties of the scene. When they had proceeded a few hundred yards, they came to a small gate set in an opening in the hedge. Talbot soon forced it open, and they emerged upon a wagon-road which ran between the hedge and the cane. But Mary could proceed no farther, and seating her on the road-side, Talbot, himself in a state of indescribable anxiety, endeavored to cheer her with hopes of speedy relief. ----- [1] Spelt as they are pronounced. CHAPTER V. The first lieutenant returned to the frigate about half an hour after Frank and his sister had left, and was delighted to hear that the American consul had sent for them. Soon after he had made his report, the count ordered his boat, and left the ship. Supposing that he was summoned ashore by some of the letters he had received, the old lieutenant little dreamed that the departure of his commander, in any manner, had reference to the orphans. He believed them safe, and with many claims upon his attention, dismissed them readily from his mind.