The Rajah's Fortress — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 105 ains that seemed so close to them now, and after breakfasting on plantains the march was re- sumed. Melton realized that not the slightest hope uf escape offered, and he accepted the situation with his usual philosophical calmness, comforted perhaps by the thought that if he ever came out of this scrape alive his fame as a war correspondent was assured. He had a keen eye for the beautiful, and, in spite of his weariness, he enjoyed the scenery that lay around him. Towards noon they struck the mount- ains, crossing a low spur thickly grown with pine trees, and then ascending a higher peak, from the summit of which he could see a vast expanse of jungle and forest on all sides, its monotony broken only at one point by a faint curl of smoke stamped ever so faintly against the marvelous blue of the sky, and, as near as Melton could judge, off in the direction of Balet. Descending the mountain, they entered a deep, narrow ravine which curled in and out for miles through the surrounding mountains, at times dark- ened by the rocky cliffs that nearly met over their heads, and then again bright and smiling with sun- light, while the mountains rolled to the foot of the valley in verdure crowned slopes. They followed up the bed of ashallow mountain stream, wading its channel at places and leaping from rock to rock. Around them were birds of every description, deer rose before them and fled COLUM 1OOO SS co