Again there was a chorus of delighted exclamations, as "The Merry Hearts" climbed the terrace and found themselves in a park of tropical loveliness. Great silk-cotton trees, with their strangely gnarled roots and wide-spreading branches, and feathery-leaved tamarinds shut out the glare of the sunlight. Banana-trees waved their great leaves, torn into shreds by the winds. Hibiscus bushes, starred with scarlet blossoms, bordered the paths. Yellow jasmine climbed the trellises of an arbor. At their feet beds of violets and sweet alyssum perfumed the air, and overhead myriads of gaily colored birds chirped and warbled among the green branches.