e of water; and they proceeded at a
brisker pace than Gregory had expected.

"Keep a sharp lookout for water. Even if the wells are dry, you will
see a difference in the growth of the bushes round them; and as it is
certain that this route has not been used for some time, there may even
be grass."

They rode on at an easy canter, and avoided pressing the horses in the
slightest degree, allowing them to walk whenever they chose. The heat
was very great, and after four hours' riding Gregory called a halt.

"We must have done twenty miles," he said. "The bushes look green about
here, and the horses have got something of a feed."

"I think this must be one of the old halting places," Zaki said,
looking round as they dismounted. "See, my lord, there are some broken
gourds, and some rags scattered about."

"So there are," Gregory said. "We will take the bridles out of the
horses' mouths, so that they can chew the leaves up better; and then we
will see if we can find where the wells were."

Twenty yards farther away they found a deep hole.

"This was one of them," the lad said, "but it is quite dry. See, there
is an old bucket lying at the bottom. I will look about; there may be
some more of them."

Two others were discovered, and the sand at the bottom of one of them
looked a somewhat darker colour than the others.

"Well, we will dig here," Gregory said. "Bring down those two half
gourds; they will help us to shovel the sand aside."

The bottom of the hole was some six feet across, and they set to work
in the middle of it. By the time they had got down two feet, the sand
was soft and clammy.

"We will get to water, Zaki, if we have to stay here all day!" said
Gregory.

It was hard work, and it was not until after four hours' toil that, to
their delight, they found the sand wet under their feet. They had taken
it by turns to use the scoop, for the labour of making the hole large
enough for them both to work at once would have been excessive.

In another hour there was half an inch of water in the hole. Gregory
took a gourd, and buried it in the soft soil until the water flowed in
over the brim.

"Give me the other one down, Zaki. I will fill that, too, and then we
will both start drinking together."

Five minutes later, the two took a long draught. The scoops were then
refilled and carried to the horses, who drank with an eagerness that
showed how great was their thirst. Three times the gourds were filled,