CHAPTER XVII

South they held along the coast, hunting, fishing, swimming, and horse-buying. Billy shipped his purchases on the coasting steamers. Through Del Norte and Humboldt counties they went, and through Mendocino into Sonoma--counties larger than Eastern states--threading the giant woods, whipping innumerable trout-streams, and crossing countless rich valleys. Ever Saxon sought the valley of the moon. Sometimes, when all seemed fair, the lack was a railroad, sometimes madrono and manzanita trees, and, usually, there was too much fog.

"We do want a sun-cocktail once in a while," she told Billy.

"Yep," was his answer. "Too much fog might make us soggy. What we're after is betwixt an' between, an' we'll have to get back from the coast a ways to find it."

This was in the fall of the year, and they turned their backs on the Pacific at old Fort Ross and entered the Russian River Valley, far below Ukiah, by way of Cazadero and Guerneville. At Santa Rosa Billy was delayed with the shipping of several horses, so that it was not until afternoon that he drove south and east for Sonoma Valley.

"I guess we'll no more than make Sonoma Valley when it'll be time to camp," he said, measuring the sun with his eye. "This is called Bennett Valley. You cross a divide from it and come out at Glen Ellen. Now this is a mighty pretty valley, if anybody should ask you. An' that's some nifty mountain over there."

"The mountain is all right," Saxon adjudged. "But all the rest of the hills are too bare. And I don't see any big trees. It takes rich soil to make big trees."

What are the answers to this following set of questions:

1. What direction were they headed?
2. What did they seek?
3. Did they do anything along the way?
4. Like what?
5. Anything else
6. What else?
7. Did they buy anything?
8. What?
9. How did they transport what they'd bought?
10. Who was responsible for doing this?
11. Did they travel through forest?
12. What was there an excess of?
13. What was there an occasional dearth of?
14. Did the female character feel they needed sunshine?
15. Did her companion agree?
16. What slowed them down?
17. Where?
18. At what point did they move away from the ocean?
19. When did they arrive at Sonoma Valley?
20. How did the male character describe Bennett Valley?

Numbered answers:
1. South
2. the valley of the moon.
3. Yes.
4. hunting
5. fishing
6. swimming
7. Yes.
8. horses
9. on the coasting steamers
10. Billy
11. Yes.
12. fog
13. railroads
14. Yes.
15. Yep
16. the shipping of several horses
17. Santa Rosa
18. Fort Ross
19. unknown
20. mighty pretty