“Do you feel better now?” asked Mark. “I guess so. Yes, I’m all right,” replied Jack, struggling to his feet. “What happened? Feels as if I had been tied up with a lot of rope.” “That’s about what you were,” Andy replied, “only it was the worst kind of rope I ever saw. Those snake-trees are terrible things. I’ve read of ’em, but I never saw one before. The book that told of them says they squeeze their victims to death just as a snake does. The only way to do is to make some smoke and fire at the bottom. This sort of kills the branches or makes them stupid and they let go. The trees are half animal, and awful things. I hope we don’t meet with any more.” “Same here,” added Jack fervently, as he grasped Andy’s hand, and thanked him for saving his life. “Do you think you can go on, or shall we return to the ship?” the professor asked. “Oh I can trail along, if you move a little slowly,” Jack replied. “I’m a bit stiff, that’s all.” So they resumed their journey. They had gone, perhaps, three miles when Washington, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and called: “Sounds like thunder.” The others listened. Sure enough there was a dull rumble and roar audible. It seemed off to the left, but they could see no clouds in the sky, nor any signs of a storm. “Let’s take a walk over that way and see what it is,” Mr. Henderson suggested. As they walked on the noise became louder, until in about half an hour it was like the sound from a blast furnace. “What do you suppose it can be?” asked Mark. “Perhaps some new freak of nature,” the professor replied. “We seem to have a good many of them here.” They were all on their guard now, for there was no telling into what danger they might run. As they went up a little hill the noise became much louder. The professor and Andy, who had taken the lead, kept a sharp lookout ahead, that they might not unexpectedly fall into some hidden stream or lake. As they topped the hill they saw before them a deep valley, and in the midst of it was that which was causing the roaring sound. From the centre of an immense mound of rock and earth there spouted up a great column of water, three hundred feet or more, as straight as a flag staff. It was about ten feet in diameter, and at the top it broke into a rosette of sparkling liquid, which as the vari-colored lights played on it, resembled some wonderful flower. “It’s a great geyser!” the professor exclaimed. “We have come to a place like Yellowstone Park. We must be very careful. The crust may be very thin here, and let us down into some boiling spring.” The others gathered around the professor, and, from a safe distance watched the ever rising and falling shaft of water.