The state of the weather is apt to affect our spirits, and the clear sunshine and cool bracing air had its effect on Gerald. From his seat he could see at a distance of twenty-five miles the snowy top of Pike’s Peak, looking on account of the clearness of the atmosphere not more than five miles away. There were intermediate summits which, had he been nearer, would have hidden the snowy crest of the grand old mountain, but from where he was he could see clearly, rising above the wooded slope.