"'It was hyar that I cut from those Injuns on the war-path,' said Stevens, 'and we cayn't be mor'n a mile from the gully--we should be there by nightfall.' "It was noonday, almost as hot as it is now, and I was snoozing comfortably, when I heard Stevens shout: "'Hyar we are, pard--wake up!' "The boat swung lightly round, and shot under the overhanging branches of a large jack tree as he spoke, and I had to stoop very low to save my head. Stevens was trembling with excitement. "'In thar,' he called out--'tell them to steer in thar, an' then right ahead.' He pointed to a small opening, about three feet wide, up which a long straight cut of water extended. We got the boat in with some little trouble, and then slipped along easily. The cut was as straight as a canal, overhung on each side with a heavy undergrowth. As we went deeper into the forest this undergrowth became less, and finally almost ceased. Every yard of our advance took us amongst trees which grew more gigantic as we went on. Some of the trees were splendid, going up fifty or sixty feet before throwing out a single branch; and the bamboos--I never saw such bamboos. As we continued our course it became darker and darker, until we entered the blackest bit of forest I ever saw. We could hear the drip of the dew from leaf to leaf. The few rays of sunlight that straggled in fell in level bars on the green of the leaves, shadowing the dim outlines of the long colonnades of tree trunks, and occasionally lighting up the splendour of some rare orchid in full bloom. A hundred times I wanted to stop and collect specimens, but Stevens would not hear of it. "'No, no, old pard! let's get on. We'll come back hyar in our steam yacht, an' you can then root away for etarnity. We're on the right trail, an' in ten hours--my God! I cayn't think ez how your mind can turn to roots now.' "I was a little surprised myself; but the love of these flowers was in me, and not all the gold in Asia could stop that. In this way we travelled for about four hours; and then towards evening a broad band of daylight spread suddenly before us, and, almost before I was aware of it, we were out of the long, snake-like cutting, and, turning a magnificent clump of bamboos, came upon a wide stretch of water. "'There they air!' said Stevens. "There they were--six huge statues--standing in a row on the edge of the inland lake, each colossal image larger than the other, all with their faces set towards the west. It was almost sunset, and the sky was aflame with colour, which was reflected back by the water, over which the Gautamas looked in serene peace. There was not a sound except the soft murmuring of the breeze amongst the tree tops. As I live, it was the place we had seen in the mirror, and for a moment that tragedy of the past came before me in all its clearness--and I was in dreamland. "'Wal, pard! Struck ile at last.'