smoother, and
that, as they passed the waves formed by the water being hurled against
the opposing faces of the rock, there was less foam and turmoil; but
these places looked, if anything, more terrible than before, and the
water, as it surged up so much nearer his feet, looked to his excited
vision as if stealthily writhing towards him to lap round his legs like
some huge serpent, and snatch him down into the depths.

Conversation was impossible, but the guide shouted a few words of
encouragement to the mule, and from time to time waited for Saxe to come
close up, when he shouted an inquiry or two in his ear.

"Yes, all right," cried Saxe, who gained encouragement from the calm
matter-of-fact way in which the guide went on; while, just dimly-seen as
the gorge curved and wound, the mule trudged on, twitching its ears and
evidently caring nothing for the turmoil and rush just below.

"I half wish he had proposed the rope, though," thought Saxe, as they
went on, with the various familiar parts seeming terrible enough, but
very different to when he came through with the horrible feeling that
Melchior was lost, and that at any moment they might see his body
whirling round in one of the pools.

These were not so striking now, for in most of the places, as he peered
down through the gloom and mist, the water was above the overhanging,
cavernous holes, and the peculiar eye-like aspect of the one particular
spot which had fascinated him so deeply was entirely hidden.

"It wasn't such a very great thing, after all, for Melchior to do," he
thought, as they went on. "He has had plenty of practice, and had been
before. I believe I could go through by myself."

"But I shouldn't like to," he added, after a few moments' thought; for
he had to go along more carefully, in obedience to a sign from Melchior,
the rock being slippery as they descended lower in the part they had now
reached, and it suddenly dawned upon him that the water must have been
over where he stood not perhaps many hours before.

It had the effect of coming up higher, and he was startled for the
moment, fancying that the flood was rising; but he grew confident as he
saw the mule clearly now, where the gorge wound off to the left and then
turned again to the right, so that as the mule passed the corner and
disappeared the water was only a few inches below its hoofs.

Then Melchior passed round and out of sight, and Saxe's own turn came,
and he followed into