We had a splendid
view from our lofty cliff-top. Dimly, to the west, we could see the
farther shore of the inland sea, and southwest the large southern
island loomed distinctly before us. A little east of north was the
northern island, which Ajor, shuddering, whispered was the home of
the Wieroo--the land of Oo-oh. It lay at the far end of the lake
and was barely visible to us, being fully sixty miles away.
From our elevation, and in a clearer atmosphere, it would have stood
out distinctly; but the air of Caspak is heavy with moisture, with
the result that distant objects are blurred and indistinct. Ajor
also told me that the mainland east of Oo-oh was her land--the land
of the Galu. She pointed out the cliffs at its southern boundary,
which mark the frontier, south of which lies the country of
Kro-lu--the archers. We now had but to pass through the balance
of the Band-lu territory and that of the Kro-lu to be within the
confines of her own land; but that meant traversing thirty-five
miles of hostile country filled with every imaginable terror, and
possibly many beyond the powers of imagination. I would certainly
have given a lot for my plane at that moment, for with it, twenty
minutes would have landed us within the confines of Ajor's country.
We finally found a place where we could slip over the edge of the
cliff onto a narrow ledge which seemed to give evidence of being
something of a game-path to the valley, though it apparently had
not been used for some time.
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