"I want to sit on one of those boulders," was all she said. "I want just to rest and be still." "Yes," he said. "But when you are rested we'll explore a bit. It's worth it. It goes on like this for ever so far, opening out and closing in again between green walls. It's difficult to break through in places; but I'll go first and make a clearing for you. Take my hand. These stones are treacherous." "I'm glad you brought me here," she said, accepting his aid readily. "I'm glad I came. I've never seen anything quite like this before. It's wonderful. You are right: one can imagine wild beasts here. One can imagine anything here... snakes. I should be terribly frightened if I saw a snake." She sat on a large boulder with her hands clasping her knees, and peered into the black-green shadows nervously. The man, standing upon the stones which just escaped the water, watched her with an expression of interest and of satisfaction in his eyes. The grace of her unstudied pose, the serious look on the bright, fair face, appealed pleasantly to him. In his preoccupation he scarcely heeded what she said, until she turned her face and looked up at him inquiringly. "Are there snakes here?" she asked. "I don't know. I've not seen one. I think we are more likely to discover them higher up. They like warmth. It is always wise to tread cautiously though." "Ugh!" She drew her feet a little higher above the water and shivered apprehensively and looked about her. "It rather spoils one's enjoyment, thinking of these things." "Don't think of them," he returned. "There are plenty of people in Africa and plenty of snakes, but it's very rarely that we hear of any one being bitten. I come here often; it's the only cool place on a hot day." "Well, I shan't come here often--although I love it," she added. "Anything might happen here. It's difficult to believe that the sun is shining somewhere--blazing right over our heads. Here it is always twilight, which later will deepen into night. It's lovely, with a sort of eerie beauty. I don't want to talk. I want just to enjoy it and be quiet." He understood her mood. The place had impressed him in much the same way when he first beheld it. Familiarity with it had made its wild beauty less assertively striking; but the girl's keen pleasure in everything recalled his own earlier impressions and added to them. He strolled off and left her in undisturbed contemplation while he explored along the bank of the stream and considered the best spots to show her when she wearied of inactivity and expressed the wish to go on.