On the whole he was satisfied that he had followed the wisest course thus
far. The broad panorama of the morning hills communicated to his spirit a
growing elation. He began singing in German a ballad that recited the
sorrows of a pale maiden prisoner in a dark tower on the Rhine, whence
her true knight rescued her, after many and fearsome adventures. On the
last stave he ceased abruptly, and an exclamation of wonder broke from
him.
They had been riding along a narrow trail that afforded, as Oscar said, a
short cut across a long timbered ridge that lay between them and
Armitage's property. The path was rough and steep, and the low-hanging
pine boughs and heavy underbrush increased the difficulties of ascent.
Straining to the top, a new valley, hidden until now, was disclosed in
long and beautiful vistas.
Armitage dropped the reins upon the neck of his panting horse.
"It is a fine valley--yes?" asked Oscar.
"It is a possession worthy of the noblest gods!" replied Armitage. "There
is a white building with colonnades away over there--is it the house of
the reigning deity?"
"It is not, sir," answered Oscar, who spoke English with a kind of dogged
precision, giving equal value to all words.
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