Advancing, the surface became more rugged. They had to cross numerous gullies, and broken portions, and frequently jagged rocks would show themselves. Evidently when the island was raised up from the sea the rocks were forced through, and the climate in time disintegrated them, and formed a soil.
"Do you think we shall find any minerals here?" asked Harry.
"If we are to judge from our experiences on Wonder Island, where there is almost exactly the same formation, we may reasonably expect to find copper and also iron here."
"While Harry and I were over at the bluff with Uraso, we saw something like green drippings, from the walls."
"That is, undoubtedly, copper,—that is the sulphate form, in which it is usually found."
"I was amused at Laleo (the native guide), who told Uraso this morning that our mission would be[p. 131] successful, and when he was asked why, answered, that the first thing they saw was three black birds. How superstitious these people are."
"Do you think they are any more so than civilized people?" answered John. "It is curious how the number three runs through all their ideas. In certain parts of England they have a great many omens, and one of them is that if the traveler, starting on a journey, meets three magpies, it means success; if two appears, it is a sign of marriage; and four unexpected good news."
"I recall that it is considered lucky for sun to shine on a bride," added Harry.
"The other part of that couplet is 'rain on a corpse,'" remarked John.
"I never knew it was lucky for the corpse to be rained on," responded Harry, in a questioning tone.