CHAPTER XVI.
THE GARDEN OF HESPERIDES.
It seemed no longer space of time than takes place between the shutting and the opening of an eyelid since Philip, Adela and Captain Nelson had stood upon the sterile shores of that black river, and now they stood beneath a clear blue sky and in the midst of a semi-tropical landscape.
"Already you have proved how easy it is to fly," said Hesperia, smiling upon them. "We are still under the Southern Ocean, yet, if we had wished, we could have been at the opposite end of the earth in the same time."
"I know that we have been whisked off, but how is still a mystery, yet I am perfectly content to be where I am for the present," answered the captain.
They were at the entrance of a spacious garden, arched over with fruit trees of many varieties. Behind them lay a sunny valley, through which a clear stream ran and bubbled over many a small cascade, pouring like crystal over the mossy boulders, dashing milky-white within the amber-tinted pools, and finally losing itself under the cool and sheltered avenues of this delicious garden.
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