'You will have it to be Happar, I see, my dear fellow; pray
Heaven you may not find yourself deceived,' observed I, with a
shake of my head.

'Amen to all that, and much more,' shouted Toby, rushing forward;
'but Happar it is, for nothing else than Happar can it be. So
glorious a valley--such forests of bread-fruit trees--such groves
of cocoanut--such wilderness of guava-bushes! Ah! shipmate!
don't linger behind: in the name of all delightful fruits, I am
dying to be at them. Come on, come on; shove ahead, there's a
lively lad; never mind the rocks; kick them out of the way, as I
do; and tomorrow, old fellow, take my word for it, we shall be in
clover. Come on;' and so saying, he dashed along the ravine like
a madman, forgetting my inability to keep up with him. In a few
minutes, however, the exuberance of his spirits abated, and,
pausing for a while, he permitted me to overtake him.



CHAPTER NINE

PERILOUS PASSAGE OF THE RAVINE--DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY

The fearless confidence of Toby was contagious, and I began to
adopt the Happar side of the question. I could not, however,
overcome a certain feeling of trepidation as we made our way
along these gloomy solitudes. Our progress, at first
comparatively easy, became more and more difficult. The bed of
the watercourse was covered with fragments of broken rocks, which