Zaidie had, meanwhile, gone to her lady guest and dropped the black lace mantilla over her head, and, as she did so, she caught herself saying: "There, dear, we shall soon be back in your own light.

I hope it hasn't hurt you.

It was very stupid of us to do a thing like that." The answer came in a little cooing murmur, which said, "Thank you!" quite as effectively as any earthly words could have done, and then the _Astronef_ passed through the cloud-sea.

The soaring forms of her lost escort came into view again and clustered about her; and, surrounded by them, she dropped, in obedience to their signs, down between the tremendous mountains and towards the island, thick with golden foliage, which lay two or three Earth-miles out in a bay, where four converging rivers spread out through a vast estuary into the sea.
As Lady Redgrave said afterwards to Mrs.Van Stuyler, she could have filled a whole volume with a description of the exquisitely arcadian delights with which the hours of the next ten days and nights were filled.

Possibly if she had been able to do justice to them, even her account might have been received with qualified credence; but still some idea of them may be gathered from this extract of a conversation which took place in the saloon of the _Astronef_ on the eleventh evening.
"But look here, Zaidie," said Redgrave, "as we've found a world which is certainly much more delightful than our own, why shouldn't we stop here a bit?
The air suits us and the people are simply enchanting.