eed in enabling him to
carry out the purpose of his heart.

The pixies' well proved very deep. Soundings taken by the rope
showed that only too clearly. The water flowed three feet over the
false bottom Robin had contrived the better to conceal his hiding
place, whilst below that there was fully ten feet of water; and
Petronella's face grew long as she saw the result of the sounding,
for she could not imagine how any treasure could be got at that lay
thirteen feet below the surface of the water.

"Never mind that, sister mine," said Cuthbert. "Belike it is to
that very fact that it owes its long safety. Even Robin must have
known that to bring it forth again must be a matter of time and
patience. He could not visit it in a moment of haste or fright, and
filch a piece away as he would. Doubtless the place was chosen by
the old Long Robin of past days for the very difficulty there must
be in bringing forth the prize. I have often thought that no buried
treasure could so long have escaped prying hands and covetous
spirits. Bit by bit some would have gone. It is the water that has
been the best protection."

Petronella saw the force of that argument; but as she leaned over
the wall, trying to peer into the dark depths whilst Cuthbert
talked of his scheme for draining it dry, she heaved a little sigh,
and said:

"And what if, after all that long labour, there be no treasure
there in spite of all we believe?"

He looked a little taken aback, but was struck by the practical
nature of the suggestion. He pondered awhile, and then he spoke.

"That is a thought worthy of consideration," he said. "It were a
foolish thing to waste the whole summer only to be deceived in the
end.

"Peter," he added suddenly, as if struck by a new idea, "I am no
fearer of water. I can dive and swim, and I have long wind, and can
hold my breath a great while. Thinkest thou that if I were to leap
into the well and dive to the bottom, thou couldst give me the rope
when I reappeared, and with the aid of the ass pull me forth again?
I can dive through the water, I trow, albeit the well is none too
wide. But I could not climb the steep stone sides; thou and the ass
must help me there."

Petronella was a little timid of the experiment lest harm should
befall her brother, and persuaded him at last to tie the rope about
him ere he dived, so that in the event of his striking his head, or
in any other way hurting himself, she would have power to pull