This indicates the presence of a dwelling; and as they advance a little further into the gorge, the house itself can be descried.
In contrast with the dreary plain over which he has been so long toiling, to Hamersley the valley appears a paradise--worthy home of the Peri who is conducting him down to it.

It resembles a landscape painted upon the concave sides of an immense oval-shaped dish, with the cloudless sky, like a vast cover of blue glass, arching over it.
The scene seems scarcely real, and once more the young prairie merchant begins to doubt the evidence of his senses.

After all, is it only a vision of his brain, distempered by the long strain upon his intellect, and the agony he has been enduring?
Or is it but the _mirage_ of the desert, that has so oft already deceived him?
His doubts are dissipated by the sweet voice sounding once more in his ears.
"_Mira, caballero_! you see where you are going now?
It is not far; you will need to keep a firm seat in the saddle for the next hundred yards or so.

There is a steep descent and a narrow pathway.

Take good hold with your knees, and trust yourself to the mare.