ans of getting the diamonds. An empty
gourd, cut into the shape of a bowl, and lashed to a stick, solved the
difficulty, and with this primitive dredge I brought up diamonds
sufficient for a king's ransom; so many indeed that long before night
even I was satisfied. Large lustrous stones they were, of splendid
water, and several of them were blue, though none were as fine as the
one Inyati had given me. ...

So here was wealth far beyond my wildest dreams, and if I could but
escape then, even disfigured as I was, life might still hold pleasures
for me.

Even if the girl who had sent me to this turned away in horror from my
hideous disfigurements, there was much that money could bring travel,
adventure, sport, a thousand things and, at any rate, the companionship
of rational beings, for which I now craved as I had craved for water in
the desert. For God knows how long I had seen no human being no living
creature indeed but a few birds and I had almost forgotten the sound of
a human voice. Sunk in apathy I had become almost as a beast, but the
sight of the diamonds had aroused me, and I recalled how poor Inyati
had called them "magic stones." Magic indeed, for they had saved my
reason.

And with the sight of all this wealth the desire to escape grew
stronger, and with it grew a hatred of my hitherto pleasant prison
until the thought of remaining in it became intolerable to me. That
very evening I began a minute examination of my prison walls; but it
was not till several days had passed that I at length discovered a
route where here a crack, there a tiny ledge, and again a small
projection, offered a precarious chance of foot or hand-hold, and
where, if anywhere at all, a human being might essay the terrible climb
to the desert above, with a remote chance of success. My mind made up
on this point, I made what preparation I could for the climb, and for
the desert beyond it. My water bottle was still sound, and little as it
held it must suffice. For food I killed a number of the partridges and
roasted them, cutting away their plump breasts from the bone, for I
realized that in the terrible climb before me every ounce would tell;
my knife, revolver, and a few cartridges I made a belt for by plaiting
the strong coarse grass that grew near the water, and of the same
material I made a hat, for I remembered, only too well, that I should
find no shade in the desert should I succeed in my desperate attempt.

Shoes I had none, b