"So do I, lad; but we'll have to stay our stomachs until we are further away from those Tagals, I'm thinking. I've been looking around and I don't think the top of this hill is far off. Let us get to there and take in the lay of the land."
As there seemed nothing better to do, I agreed, and we began the ascent of the cliff, which was composed of lava principally, for the Philippine Islands are largely of volcanic origin, and have numerous volcanoes which are in constant operation. The cliff passed, we began another trudge through the woods.
I had noticed butterflies, small and big, before, but now these beautiful creatures became more plentiful than ever, until at one point our way was almost blinded by them.
"It's like a snow-storm of 'em, aint it?" remarked Dawson, and his picture was about correct, excepting that, while a portion of them were milky white, the others were of every shade imaginable.
We had hoped to gain the top of the hill by ten o'clock, but it was afternoon before we came out on the stretch of tableland that was its highest point. As before, the tableland was surrounded by palms, so both Dawson and I had to climb into the trees to get a look around.
We first turned our eyes toward the China
