"It seems to me we have gone considerably to the right. How far are we from the river, according to your calculations?"
"Well, Harry, I am not good at guessing, but I suppose we have traveled at a pretty lively rate while going after the ocelot. We certainly made two miles trailing him; and it was as much more from the river to the forest. I should say we are fully six miles from it."
"I wish we could get a glimpse of the mountains," answered Harry. "I wonder why the Professor has always been so anxious to investigate this part of the island?"
"That is a mystery to me. It may be merely a natural curiosity."
The boys noted the gradual ascent they were making now, and it was also obvious that the trees were not so thick nor so tall, in comparison with those farther north.
"Do you suppose we are near the base of the mountain?" asked Harry.
"It must be we are near it, or we should not be going up so gradually, as we have done for the last hour."
When several more miles had been added, the woods thinned out perceptibly, and when the clearing was sufficient to enable them to get the first glimpse to the south, Harry remarked:
"Well, there are the mountains, and they seem as far away as when we left the river. Suppose we follow this ridge to the west. You see, there is another forest between us and the mountains."
As they advanced the trees were smaller, and there was every evidence that this was a young forest. There was an abundance of the finest grass, and here they found immense flocks of beautiful pheasants and numerous other birds that were unknown to the boys, and it was not long until they had more than a dozen of different varieties.