The ground became rougher at every step and finally in despair I called
a halt. The sun was well up by this and the mist had cleared away from
the hills, though filmy vapors still lingered in what I knew must be the
hollows. In front was a causeway, strewn with boulders, and beyond that
what I took to be a sea of wattles. I could see no use in progressing
further in that direction, and I said so as succinctly as I could.
Cumshaw was inclined to argue, but the consensus of opinion was against
him. The outcome of it was that we decided to retrace our steps. Before
we did so I suggested looking about for something that would give us an
indication of our present position.

I stumbled on it quite by accident. Another step further and I would
have fallen down the funnel-shaped opening that gaped at my feet. I drew
back just in time to save myself, and for the second time that morning
my heart gave a jump. To think that we had gone so close to missing it
altogether! The thing, so to speak, had lain at our feet all the time. I
turned about and searched the landscape for my companions. Moira was
visible in the near distance; the wattles had swallowed Cumshaw.

"Cumshaw, Moira, I've found it!" I called at the top of my voice.

Moira whipped round at the sound of my voice. I waved to her and she
came running towards me. A second later I saw Cumshaw come out of the
shadows, and I yelled at him with all the power of my lungs. I don't
know what he must have thought of the yelling, dancing, frantically
waving figure that caught his eye. He must have fancied for a moment
that I had gone mad. Then, in a flash, so he says, the truth dawned on
him, and he in his turn sprinted towards me, the one idea uppermost in
his mind being that the valley must have been found. At the same instant
my soul was singing "Eureka!" and Moira was weeping and laughing at the
same time.

"Cumshaw," I cried, as he came within speaking distance, "if that's not
the funnel that your father and Bradby left the valley by you can call
me a goggle-eyed Chinaman."

And then somehow we all seemed to be talking together.

"That must be the valley down under the wattles."

"I knew we'd find it."

"It only shows that one should never give in."

"If we hadn't fallen down that slope last night...."

"If I hadn't kept going when you all wanted to turn back, you mean."

"It's found now and that's the best part of it."

I must confess that I lost my head just