"From the white man's country," I answered, "to seek adventure in this
land."

"Ye come far to seek little," she replied. "This land is desolate. None
may live upon it. It is waterless."

"Then we must look farther," I answered. "We are in search of water."

"I can show you where water is," she continued, "if you will come with
me."

I hesitated, and Hartog, when he caught the drift of her invitation,
bade me on no account trust myself alone with these savages.

"Our boats will be lowered directly," I answered. "Then you may show us
where to find fresh water, and we shall be grateful."

"I cannot wait for your boats," she replied. "Come with me now if you
are not afraid. Your boats can follow."

It would have shamed me to confess fear to go with these women, and,
not dreaming of treachery, I descended to the canoe, while Hartog and
the others made ready to follow in the ship's boats. But I had no
sooner set foot in the canoe than the four girls, who possessed the
strength of young men, began to paddle vigorously toward a point which
jutted out on the western side of the bay in which the "Golden
Seahorse" lay at anchor. We soon rounded the point, when we lost sight
of the ship. Thinking that all this was intended for a jest, I
remonstrated with my beautiful captor, and called upon her to bid the
girls cease rowing until my companions should come up with us; but at
this she only laughed, and at a word from her the girls redoubled their
exertions until the canoe seemed to fly over the surface of the water.
We now approached a precipice, which rose sheer out of the sea, and, as
we drew nearer, I observed a tunnel into which the water rushed with
the force of a mill-race. It then came to my mind that this was the
current I had read of which ran into the earth, and along which shipmen
had been carried, never to be heard of again.

I glanced at the woman who had kidnapped me in this strange fashion
seemingly with the object of enticing me to my doom. Her face was set
and stern; with both hands she grasped a steering paddle, with which
she guided the canoe into the rushing stream. The girls had ceased
rowing, and were crouched together in the frail craft, which now,
caught by the hand of Nature, was carried with incredible speed into
the darkness of the unknown.

How long we were in the tunnel I cannot say. It seemed an eternity, but
it could not actually have been very long. The speed at which we
travelled was so