ail up its flanks, the great
truncated cone, above whose summit floated a faint grey cloud of smoke
or steam--which they could not tell.

But when mid-day arrived they had seen neither hut nor canoe, and in
accordance with the captain's instructions they rowed into the mouth of
a little river and landed in a lovely shady ravine, whose waters at a
couple of hundred yards from the lagoon were completely shaded by the
boughs of ancient trees.

Their halting-place was a pool, at whose head the advance of such salt
tide as ran up was checked by a huge wall of volcanic rock, down which
trickled the bright clear waters of one stream, while another took a
clear plunge only a few yards away right into the pool.

"What a place for a lunch!" said Sir John, as the occupants of the two
boats now met on shore, and Mr Bartlett placed one of the two keepers
from each boat in good places for observation of sea and land, so as to
guard against surprise.

Edward was now in his element, and while men went with buckets to get
water from the springs by climbing up the side of the huge lava wall, he
spread a cloth for the gentlemen's lunch and emptied a flat basket.

The sailors soon selected their spot a dozen yards away, and their
preparations were very simple.

"Hold hard a minute," cried Edward to the men as they returned with the
buckets filled. "I want one of those. Let's see which is the coldest.
Here, Mr Jack, sir, just you come and try this," he cried the next
minute, and on the boy approaching eager enough, the man plunged a glass
into the first bucket and dipped it full of the most brilliantly clear
water possible, and handed it very seriously to his young master.

"Oh, this won't do, Ned," cried the boy; "it isn't cold--why it's hot."

"Hot it is, sir, but just you taste it. I did."

Jack took a pretty good sip and ejected it directly.

"Ugh!" he cried with a wry face. "It's horrible; hot, salt, bitter,
filthy, like rotten eggs; and yet it's as clear as crystal."

"Yes, sir, it's about the worst swindle I ever had."

"Here, father--Doctor Instow," cried the boy; and they came up and tried
the water in turn, and looked at each other.

"Regular volcanic water," said the doctor. "Why that would be a fortune
in England; people would take it and bathe in it, and believe it would
cure them of every ill under the sun, from a broken leg up to bilious
fever. There's no doubt where that comes from. Look how full it is o