air with clouds of loose sand, and gives sinister addition to the white
shifting heaps and fields that steal slowly yet unrelentingly over the
green hinterland of forest which lies below the southern slopes. Trees yet
to die stand in passive bands at their feet; the stark, black trunks of
trees long dead rise here and there in spots where the sand-glacier has
done its work of ruin and passed on.

After some moments of scrambling and panting our two travelers gained the
divide. Below them sloped a great amphitheatre of sand, falling in
irregular gradations; and at the foot of all lay the lake, calmly azure,
with its horizon, whether near or far for it was almost impossible to say--
mystically vague. On either hand rose other hills of sand, set with sparse
pines and covered, in patches, with growths of wild grape, the fruit half
ripened. Within the amphitheatre, at various levels, rose grimly a few
stumps and shreds of cedars long dead and long indifferent to the future
ravages of the enemy. The whole scene was, to-day, plausibly gentle and
inert. It was indeed a bridal of earth and sky, with the self-contained
approval of the blue deep and no counter-assertion from any demon wind.

"So far, so good," said Randolph, taking off his hat, wiping his forehead,
and breathing just a little harder than he liked. "The rest of our course
is plain: down those slopes, and then a couple of miles along the shore.
Easy walking, that; a mere promenade on a boulevard."

Cope stood on the height, and tossed his bare head like a tireless young
colt. The sun fell bright on his mane of yellow hair. He took in a deep
breath. "It's good!" he declared. "It's great! And the water looks better
yet. Shall we make it in a rush?"

He began to plunge down the long, broken sand-slope. Each step was worth