True, it had been invaded by the people of Kaloon in several wars, but on each occasion their army was destroyed or met with terrible disaster.

Little wonder then they had come to believe that the House of Fire was under the protection of some unconquerable Spirit.
Leaving the marsh, we reached a bare, rising plain, which led to the first slope of the Mountain three or four miles away.

Here we expected every moment to be attacked by the savages of whom we had heard so much, but no living creature did we see.

The place was a desert streaked with veins of rock that once had been molten lava.

_I_ do not remember much else about it; indeed, the pain in my arm was so sharp that I had no eyes for physical features.