at his usual elephantine pace, probably suspecting that the pretended
discovery was a hoax. Morton and I raced along the hollow, "neck and
neck," till we suddenly reached a point where there was an abrupt
descent to the level of the shore. We were under too much headway to be
able to stop, and jumping together down the steep bank, we narrowly
missed alighting upon Max, as he lay extended on the ground, scooping up
water with his hand, from the basin of a small pool. I came down close
beside him, while Morton, sprang fairly over his head, and alighted with
a great splash in the centre of the pool. I had barely time to roll out
of the way, when the others, with the exception of Browne, came tumbling
in their turn over the bank, which took them as much by surprise as it
had us. Morton's lamentable figure, as he stood motionless in the midst
of the pool, drenched with water, and with a great patch of black mud
plastered over one eye, together with Max's look of consternation at his
own narrow escape, were irresistibly ludicrous, and provoked a laugh, in
which, after a moment, they both heartily joined.

"Very obliging of you, Morton," said Max, recovering his
self-possession, "I wanted to see how deep it was, and you are a good
enough measuring-stick; just stand still a minute, if you please."

"You have reason to feel obliged to me," answered Morton, extricating
himself from the mud, "it was on your account solely that I got into
this pickle. I had to choose between breaking your neck, as you lay
right in my way, or jumping into this hole, and not having much time to
deliberate, it isn't surprising if I came to a foolish conclusion."

"It would be less unfeeling," replied Max, "as well as more strictly
according to the facts of the case, to say a hasty conclusion, which
might be understood literally, and would then be literally correct."

The water, which we found to be good, though slightly brackish, was
contained in a narrow pit situated in the centre of a circular hollow,
or basin. It was not more than half full, but its sides showed a fresh
and distinct water-mark, more than a foot above the present level. At
the edge of the basin, a solitary palm shot upward its straight shaft,
to the height of nearly a hundred feet; the long, fringed leaves
drooping from the top, like a bunch of gigantic ostrich plumes, and
overshadowing the well. It seemed difficult to account for this supply
of fresh water in so unpromis