A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 97: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

94 A QUEER RACE. — igation, except for very light craft, piloted by men wiio know the coast, almost impossible.” ‘<So, one way and another, you are pretty secure from intrusion?” ‘«“So much so, that you and Mr. Bolsover will be the first strangers our people of this generation have seen.” By this time we had rounded the headland, It divided the large bay from the smaller one, which seemed to run a long way inland, and terminate ina riveror creek. Its sides were lofty and picturesque, with lateral openings into romantic little valleys; and here and there a silvery stream, overarched with trees, shot arrow-like into the sea, ‘There! That is Fairhaven!”-exclaimed Mr. Field, when we were about half-way up the inlet, at the same time pointing to a commanding eminence on the north- west side of the mountain. Looking through my binocular, I could make out a number of buildings scattered over a wide expanse of ground, and rising one above the other, much after the fashion of a Swiss Alpine village. ‘“Mab is back, Field,” said Fane, gazing in the same direction. ‘‘ The flag is flying, is it? Ah, your eyes are younger than mine, Amyas.”’ I glanced at them inquiringly. ‘** Look at the large house which stands a little way from the others, near a grove of acacia-trees, and sur- rounded by a garden,” said Fane. ‘* Yes; [ have found it.” ‘“‘ Well, the flag you see flying above the veranda signi- fies that Queen Mab is at home.” ‘““But I don’t see any flag,” I said, straining my eyes, and altering the focus of my binocular. ‘‘Is it poss:ble that I can see better with the naked eye than you with your spy-glass? May I? Thank you.” “It would seem so,” J said, handing him the binoc- ular, and showing him how to adjust the focus. After trifling with it a few minutes, he gave it back. “It certainly brings things a little nearer,” he said. ‘* All the same, I can see quite as well without it as with it. I fear I should find a spy-glass rather a useless in- cumbrance.”’ Ecomichbooks.com