After climbing the last cliffs, which required quite a bit of work, they reached the highest point of the mountain, and indeed of all the surrounding hills. When they appeared on the rock that marked the summit, the effort of the ascent was rewarded by the panorama that opened before their eyes. In a clear sky, the visibility was very great and encompassed a wide area of the Mongolian steppe and mountains. Fields covered with green grasses stretched for miles around, their monotony broken by small dots marking the locations of villages, isolated dwellings, and herds.
Orghana arrived first and was ecstatic contemplating the landscape. Ives arrived immediately and exhausted; he leaned in the foreground on the stone of the summit. The woman took his hand and drew him close.
“Look what a
