d quite convenient when it comes to lemonade with water," answered
the boy. "It's queer Nat is like that too. He always knows things
about things when things are shy for a feed. Likely he'll bring back a
small-sized patch of the vegetable kingdom."

Meanwhile the explorers were making discoveries at every glade.

"There," called Tavia, triumphantly, "that's a spring. But the
announcement came a second too late to save Nat from a foot bath.

"So I have noticed," he declared, trying to shake some of the cold
water out of his low cut shoes.

"Oh, that's too bad," Tavia managed to say, although her joy at finding
the spring made any regret at the method of its discovery quite out of
the question. Being careful of her own footing she made her way along,
until the stone basin at the spring source came into view.

"Didn't I tell you?" she shouted. "And there is the watercress!"

She was on her knees now, leaning over like the goddess who saw her
face reflected in the water. Tavia knew the peculiarities of a spring,
and knew how to avoid the common penalty of wet feet when getting
either cress or a drink "by hand."

"Let me," asked Nat, gallantly, as he saw her stooping over the brink.

"I do want some of the cress," she said.

"So do I," declared the knight. But alas; as he stepped to the brink
he went down--down--down--

"Help!" he shouted, merrily, in spite of the second foot bath within a
few minutes.

But Nat kept on sinking, until what seemed like a joke soon assumed a
serious aspect.

"Give us a hand," he called to Tavia. "I must have struck quick-sand."

Tavia ran to the side of the pool where the boy was imbedded. He had
jumped right in, instead of feeling his way as Tavia had, to make sure
of his ground.

"Take my hand," said the girl anxiously, but the effort necessary in
reaching toward her only served to make the unfortunate youth sink
farther down.

"I guess you'll have to go for help," he admitted finally, the danger
of the situation forcing itself upon him.

"But suppose you should go under while I am gone?" faltered Tavia.

"Just pull that tree branch over to me," said Nat, "and I'll cling to
that. This must be a glue spring. My, but it has a grip! There goes
my shoe."

"I'll run for Ned," cried Tavia, after she had given the boy in the
pool a hold on the tree branch, and then she shot across the fields
like a deer, leaving Nat to "say his prayers," as he described the
situat