Behind--a wonderfully effective background--were the steep gardens from which, even in this uncertain light, he caught faint glimpses of colouring subdued from brilliancy by the twilight.

These were encircled by a brick wall of great height, the whole of the southern portion of which was enclosed with glass.

From the fragment of rock upon which he had seated himself, to the raised stone terrace in front of the house, was an absolutely straight path, beautifully kept like an avenue, with white posts on either side, and built up to a considerable height above the broad tidal way which ran for some distance by its side.

It had almost the appearance of a racing track, and its state of preservation in the midst of the wilderness was little short of remarkable.
"This," Hamel said to himself, as he slowly produced a pipe from his pocket and began to fill it with tobacco from a battered silver box, "is a queer fix.

Looks rather like the inn for me!" "And who might you be, gentleman ?" He turned abruptly around towards his unseen questioner.