Page:Through South Westland.djvu/297

Rh broom, then a flax plant, as I shot down—but they tore from my grasp, and I found myself at the bottom beside Transome, who was holding a handkerchief to his neck which was cut from a falling stone. However, we found that neither of us was really anything the worse. It was too late to start climbing by another route, so, hot and tired, we came down, and had a bathe, first in the icy river, then in warm, shallow pools in the sand. I may here add, we never tried this part of the mountain again.

Next morning it was still very hot, and we decided a day off would be pleasant. I had a regular clean-up, and washed our clothes in the creek; and after lunch we rode slowly up the flat to visit the old saw-mills. The mill itself was gone, but the house was standing, despoiled of everything except a stool, a battered basin, and two bunks. Large enclosures had been fenced in, and the grass, soft and velvety, looked almost like a lawn with groups of beautiful trees scattered about. What a site it would be for a summer outing! A river came out of a gorge between forest-clad cliffs, and behind them an amphitheatre of black rocks held a great glacier, hung between heaven and earth, with a fringe of waterfalls hanging like icicles to its broken face. We planned to explore this another day, and rode on to a placid ford on the main river—that is, placid for a stream which in most of its length races along like an express. It was a lovely spot, bush growing to the