Near the top of Green Mountain there are a few little residences situated in very pretty gardens. Indeed, the whole of the island above a certain level is very beautiful and a paradise as compared with the hot, dusty garrison at the base. Near the summit I came to a house surrounded by a picturesque garden containing many trees and shrubs with bright blossom. I learned that it belonged to the “Farm Superintendent.” At this point a corporal of marines approached me, and remarking that I looked hot, asked me if I would like a glass of beer. I _was_ hot, and the suggestion was too alluring to be refused, though I had doubts as to the wisdom of it, seeing that I had still many miles of hot walking ahead of me. There is a small signal station here, and the corporal took me to his quarters, from where I had a magnificent view of the slopes of the island and of the sea, covered with twinkling points, stretching like a flat board to a far distant horizon. There is a small farm which supplied the station with fresh meat, milk, etc. I had a look at the cowhouses, which literally swarmed with rats of enormous size. There are also some hen-runs and pig-sties, and a number of sheep graze on the hills. Thanking the friendly corporal, I pushed on over a grassy slope dotted about with trees, and finally reached the summit, where there is a thick plantation of bamboos, the stems of which rattled in the strong south-east trades. In the middle of it there is a pond of very stagnant water. The view from the top is wonderful, every part of the island being clearly visible. All about the upper slopes are asphalted watersheds leading to storage tanks. All the water for the garrison and the other buildings at the base of the island comes from the summit, and is conducted there by pipes. Descending the farther slopes, I came to the entrance to a long narrow tunnel cut through the hill. It had been dug by the military detachment many years before, quite for what purpose I did not learn. It is low, narrow and pitchy black, but there is a hand-wire by using which as a guide one can go steadily forward. It emerges in a corner of the farm superintendent’s garden.