have none of me, and so I was not only thirsty but otherwise sad

and downhearted. I was glad when the new day broke the hideous

spell of a sleepless night.

The morning's search brought us no shred of hope. Caprona was

impregnable--that was the decision of all; yet we kept on. It must

have been about two bells of the afternoon watch that Bradley called

my attention to the branch of a tree, with leaves upon it, floating

on the sea. "It may have been carried down to the ocean by a river,"

he suggested.

"Yes, " I replied, "it may have; it may have tumbled or been thrown

off the top of one of these cliffs."

Bradley's face fell. "I thought of that, too," he replied, "but

I wanted to believe the other."

"Right you are!" I cried. "We must believe the other until we

prove it false. We can't afford to give up heart now, when we

need heart most. The branch was carried down by a river, and we

are going to find that river." I smote my open palm with a

clenched fist, to emphasize a determination unsupported by hope.

"There!" I cried suddenly. "See that, Bradley?" And I pointed at

a spot closer to shore. "See that, man!" Some flowers and

grasses and another leafy branch floated toward us. We both

scanned the water and the coastline. Bradley evidently

discovered something, or at least thought that he had. He called

down for a bucket and a rope, and when they were passed up to

him, he lowered the former into the sea and drew it in filled

with water. Of this he took a taste, and straightening up,

looked into my eyes with an expression of elation--as much as to

say "I told you so!"

"This water is warm," he announced, "and fresh!"

I grabbed the bucket and tasted its contents. The water was very

warm, and it was fresh, but there was a most unpleasant taste to it.

"Did you ever taste water from a stagnant pool full of tadpoles?"

Bradley asked.

"That's it," I exclaimed, "--that's just the taste exactly,

though I haven't experienced it since boyhood; but how can water

from a flowing stream, taste thus, and what the dickens makes it

so warm? It must be at least 70 or 80 Fahrenheit, possibly higher."