At the bottom of this incline I had another view of the gorgeous palace; but the path again led away from it, and I followed it with grim determination, feeling, however, just a little doubtful about the justice of further perplexities in my path. Yet, she it was who had planned them, and I was finally but too glad to do her sweet bidding, realizing it was but a question of time, as I feared no further impediments. And I could but scold myself for taking the path I did, for there was another leading directly toward my goal. Though I felt that in all my travels I had never been beset in such a brief compass of time with so many obstacles, and would gladly have seen the end of them, I could not satisfy myself the other path was the proper one, and my judgment again proved unerring.
And the next barrier interposed, which temporarily stopped my further progress, came near causing me to give up the whole affair, and I should probably have done so had not I imagined I heard a scornful laugh when my discomfiture was most apparent on my countenance—I say, had it not been for the stinging of that laugh, I might have lain down right there and died from wounded pride.
And though that titulation was but an hallucination of my brain, it sent my forces back into the ranks and I went at the obstacle in such a business-like way it was soon a thing of the past.
The obstacle was a lake about two miles wide. Now, I could easily have swam it, but it was well tenanted with a large variety of leech, as I was made aware when I recklessly launched myself upon its surface, for they attacked me in such numbers their weight would have drowned me then and there had I reached a sufficient distance from the shore to have been in water over my head. As it was I was so thoroughly tired out in carrying myself thus burdened with them back to shore I sat down with only enough power remaining to remove them and cast them on the ground.
It was at that moment I thought I heard the scornful laugh, and I was then gazing at those leeches anything but pleasantly, for they had all but spent my entire strength in the brief space during which they had been fastened on me.
My eye caught sight of a small feather on the sand, and a broad smile must have appeared on my face, for I was instantly filled with joy.
I bit off the small tip of the quill and likewise enough of the other end to permit me to blow out the pith. I was forbidden to kill anything, and I did not propose to kill these leeches unless it became necessary; but I admit I bore them no good will, and under other circumstances I could have enjoyed tearing them to pieces one by one.
I inserted the quill in each in turn and blew up a hundred or more of them until they looked like great balls. I then put the mouth of one to the side of another, to which it adhered tenaciously, until I had a square of them several feet across. I then made another square of the same size, and laid that on top of the first, and then another, and laid that on top of the second, and still another on top of the third.
I pushed my raft into the water and got upon it. As there was quite a breeze blowing, I spread my mantle and sailed slowly but positively to the point on the other side at which the path continued its course.
As I walked along I noticed the trees on either side were increasing in height and becoming thicker and closer to the path as I went on, with the result I at length found myself in what might well be termed a pocket, with trees towering two hundred feet in the air, and so close together it was impossible for me to squeeze between the next two, the last two having flattened me all nature would stand.