Page 243 (1/1)

Anstice laughed

"Well, I' "Lead on, will you--oh, this is the place, is it?"

They had entered a small circular cha the desert far below in search of possible foes; for the aperture in the hich corresponded to a er than any of the other slits in the building; and Anstice and the Australian were able, by a little , to lean out side by side and view the prospect beneath

"Pretty fair drop, eh?" Froht

"Yes--want a steady head But it could be done," said Anstice judicially "A long rope--a precious long one, too--fastened to soht And once down it should be easy to skirt round to the well you mentioned That's settled, then, and since you're disabled"--he glanced at the other's bandaged ar to be my job"

"Oh, I say, that's not fair!" The other's tone of indignation aestion, wasn't it? Oh, I believe you did say soht to be the one to go"

"But your arm----"

"Oh, damn my arm!" Garnett spoke vehemently "It won't hurt it a scrap--and honestly, I'd simply love the job!"

"I know you would--but really you'll have to let h he was sorry for the other man's disappointh you won't own up to it; and itit And if you got stuck down there, we'd have no water, and be a man short here as well"

For anotherthe point with a kind of fiery eloquence which showed how keenly he desired to undertake the adventure; but in the end he gave way, though he was too unsophisticated entirely to hide his chagrin

"Then that's settled" Anstice dared not betray his sympathy any further "Now it remains to settle the details; and by the ouldn't it be wise to keep it as quiet as possible? We don't want to alarm the woed pluckily into the discussion "I should suggest you go fairly early, as soon as the moon's up--so that with luck you'd be back before the ene round The well is a mile away, in a westerly direction" He pointed as he spoke "And there is not h I don't think there is a very great risk of the brutes spotting you"