The effect of the eruption upon poor Nimbus was such, that after one glance at it he threw himself, face downward, flat upon the ground, where he lay kicking and screaming with fright long after it had subsided. The eruptions were continued at intervals through the night, and the sleep of the tired travellers was sadly broken by the heavings and groanings of the monster whom they had made so sick. Towards morning, in the midst of these, a heavy booming sound, apparently far down in the depths of the earth, was added to the other weird noises of this uncanny place, and a shout from the guide warned them that something important was about to happen. As they sprang from their tent there was a tremendous report, as of a park of artillery, and before them, sparkling in the red light of the newly risen sun, towered the vast watery mass of the Great Geyser. It was snowy white, in striking contrast to the blackness of the Strokhr, and sprang upward in a series of great domes. For ten minutes they stood fascinated by the superb exhibition, then, with a few gurgling gasps, the waters sank back into their underground boilers, and the show was over. There was nothing more to wait for. They had been so unusually fortunate as to see both the Great Geyser and the Strokhr within a few hours, and so long as they lived the marvellous fountains would remain with them as vivid mind-pictures. Now, to hasten back to the Saga, and leave this dreary land of fire and snow, ice, and boiling waters behind them as soon as possible was the one desire both of Lord Seabright and Breeze. The companionship and strange experiences of this trip had drawn the English lord and the Yankee fisher-lad together with a feeling that, had their stations in life been more equal, would have been a warm friendship; and on their way back to Reykjavik the one invited the other to be his guest for a while longer. “Come to England with us, McCloud,” said Lord Seabright. “There you can sell your ambergris, get the best market price for it, and go home by steamer whenever you choose. If you stay here you may have to wait in the beastly place a year before finding a chance to go to America.” Of course this kind offer was gratefully accepted by Breeze, who only asked that he might be set ashore at Queenstown, in Ireland. CHAPTER XXIV. A DORYMATE’S HOME.