urneyed toward the land of Egypt called out to the wives
that they should enter in and fetch the bowl; and should fill it at the
well, even as they had spoken.

And it came to pass when the bowl was filled and set in their midst,
that the water that was in the bowl, by reason of its dripping so slowly
from the hole that was at the bottom of the bowl, abode in the bowl
between one mark and another the space of three hours by the shadow of a
spear that was set up outside the cavern.

So they that journeyed toward the land of Egypt, even they that lay in
the cavern, cried, saying, Behold, is it not even as we said, saying,
The water will abide in the bowl between one mark and another for the
space of more than an hour; and hath it not abode there the space of
three hours?

But he that was wise among them said unto them, Nay, but for a certainty
these marks that are in the bowl were made for the marking of the space
of an hour; howbeit the hours that were at the time of the making of
this bowl, were they not of the space of three hours, even of three of
the hours of the present time?

Then they that were aged and well stricken in years among them that lay
in the cavern in the heat of the day, these communed with themselves for
a space; and they spake, saying, Verily thus, and thus it seemeth unto
us; that the space of the passing of the hours that behold the whiteness
of our beards is verily shorter than the space of the passing of the
hours that did behold the increasing of our statures in the tents of our
fathers! And it seemed unto them even so, that this saying was true.

[Illustration: _Honour to thee, King Ammon, mighty as Pthah the god, son
of Osiris, to whom libations! A bowl wrought of hard stone set up at the
temple of Isis marking the time._]

But they that were young among them, even the young men, scoffed,
saying, The hole that is at the bottom of the bowl is clogged by reason
of dirt that is within the hole: shall we not, therefore, bore out the
hole, to the end that the water that is within the bowl shall drip
faster, even three times as fast; and shall set forth the hours?

So they that were young did according to that saying; and they bored the
hole round about, until the water that was within the bowl dripped out
three times as fast.

And they rejoiced, saying, Behold, now it is a good and useful clock!
And they bore the bowl with them into the land of Egypt; four wives and
an ass carried the bowl