So
strong were the rays, that what was before indistinct now clearly opened
to the view. With a feeling of awe at being thus unexpectedly admitted,
as it were, into the secrets of that desert place, Frances gazed
intently, until, among the scattered trees and fantastic rocks,
something like a rude structure was seen. It was low, and so obscured by
the color of its materials, that but for its roof, and the glittering of
a window, it must have escaped her notice. While yet lost in the
astonishment created by discovering a habitation in such a spot, on
moving her eyes she perceived another object that increased her wonder.
It apparently was a human figure, but of singular mold and unusual
deformity. It stood on the edge of a rock, a little above the hut, and
it was no difficult task for our heroine to fancy it was gazing at the
vehicles that were ascending the side of the mountain beneath her. The
distance, however, was too great to distinguish with precision. After
looking at it a moment in breathless wonder, Frances had just come to
the conclusion that it was ideal, and that what she saw was a part of
the rock itself, when the object moved swiftly from its position, and
glided into the hut, at once removing every doubt as to the nature of
either. Whether it was owing to the recent conversation that she had
been holding with Katy, or to some fancied resemblance that she
discerned, Frances thought, as the figure vanished from her view, that
it bore a marked likeness to Birch, moving under the weight of his pack.
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