“That is what one sees all along the coast,” said Mr Pepson, turning his head, “and I am told that some of the caravan routes which pass through this forest toward the interior are often almost completely blocked by fallen trees. It is the weedy youngsters that tumble. They run up swiftly, as straight as a rod, till they overtop the veterans. Then comes a gale, and owing to the nature of the ground and the little hold which their roots give them, they topple over. We’ve had a lesson, Dick. Keep out of forests in future when the wind blows.”
A little later the party emerged into the open, and were delighted to find that there was a very wide clearing, the forest standing back on all sides for more than a mile. And in this space the ground rose steeply, till its crest blotted out the view beyond.
“Rock,” said Meinheer Van Somering, with a chuckle of delight. “Dad was ze report, I zink. We were told dad ze mine was well placed. I agree, Meinheer, for in zis coundry where zere is rock zere is gold.”
At this moment a shout rang out in the silence, and a figure appeared on the crest of the rock.
“Our Dutch agent,” said Mr Pepson. “He is coming down to us, and soon we shall be at the stockade.”
Indeed, within a quarter of an hour the agent had joined them, making his way down the steep rocky hill by a path which was invisible from where they stood.
“Mein word!” exclaimed the Dutchman, as he stared at his agent and watched his agility as he leaped down the steep path. “If zat is ze only way do ze stockade, we shall be dead. Yes, I tell you, we shall die, for who could climb such a blace? Id is too steeb.”
“And happens to be the nearest way,” replied Mr Pepson, reassuringly. “Never fear, Meinheer, there will be an easier way down.”
That the agent was glad to see some white men could not be doubted, for he rushed toward them with a shout, and commenced to greet Meinheer Van Somering volubly. Then he was introduced to the others, and shook hands with an eagerness which showed that for many a week he had had no one there with whom to practise the art.
“Glad to see you, gentlemen,” he cried, in excellent English. “That am I, for it is dull here. When you get to the top I shall show you why. You will see to the right and left trees in one dense mass. To the north and south there is the same. Nothing but trees, and the blue sky overhead. It becomes tiring. But now you are here and I shall have company. Come this way. We can go by the path which I have just followed, or we can skirt round the hill.”