The pass was of irregular width, sometimes but a hundred yards, sometimes fully a mile across.

Long habit and practice with the Indians had immensely improved their walking powers and, with long elastic strides, they put mile after mile behind them.

Long before the sun was at its highest a little stream ran beside them, and they saw, by the course of its waters, that they had passed the highest part of the pass through the Cordilleras.
Three hours later they suddenly emerged, from a part where the hills approached nearer on either side than they had done during the day's walk, and a mighty landscape opened before and below them.

The boys gave, simultaneously, a loud shout of joy; and then dropped on their knees, in thanks to God, for far away in the distance was a dark level blue line, and they knew the ocean was before them.
"How far off should you say it was, Ned ?" Tom asked, when they had recovered a little from their first outburst of joy.
"A long way off," Ned said.

"I suppose we must be fifteen thousand feet above it, and even in this transparent air it looks an immense distance away.