"Morning, sir," cried Ned, springing up. "Your shower-bath's waiting, sir. Come along, sir. Do us no end of good to have a dip. We shall take in a lot of water that way, and get rid of the dust that choked us yesterday." Jack needed no farther invitation, and upon descending the sides of the stone river, there was the natural bath ready to send a thrill of strength through them, for the rivulet came down in a series of little falls each having its well-filled basin. There was the drawback that there were no towels to use, and Jack said so. "What, sir?" cried his man. "You don't mean to say that you would have used a towel if you had had one!" "Why, of course. Why not?" "Been waste of so much water. Let it soak in gradual, sir. You'll want every drop by and by. You wait till we get out in the sun. Just think of how we were yesterday." Ten minutes after they were seated beneath a tree, discussing their potatoes, eating away with a glorious appetite till about half of one sleeve-full had been demolished, when Jack cried, "Hold!" "Why, you ain't had enough yet, sir?" "No, but we will keep these till by and by when we are hungry again." "But I'm hungry now, sir," cried Ned; "and they'll be so much easier to carry after we've eat 'em--we shall have got rid of the skins." "Never mind, don't let's be improvident." "But I'm pretty sure to spear or shoot a pig to-day for supper, sir." "Then the potatoes will come in all the more useful as we have no bread," said Jack, smiling. "Let's go now, and climb to that little basin, to have a good draught of water." "All right, sir; what you say's best, but it's hard work leaving those beautiful little 'taters. They make you feel as if you could go on browsing like all day long." But the rest were carefully tied up in the sleeve, a good hearty draught of the cool refreshing water taken, and they descended once more to the natural road. "The breakfast makes one feel different, Ned. I am not nearly so low-spirited this morning." "Low-spirited, sir? Why, I could run and shout _Hooray_, I feel so well. Look at that arm, sir! Who's going to feel mis'rable when he's got his strength back like that. Ready, sir?" "Ready? Yes," cried Jack. "Now then, we must make up our minds to get back to the yacht to-day." "That's it, sir; but if you see me run mad-like, and go off with my spear, you come and help me, for it means pig." They started once more, following the course of the lava-stream, with its steady ascent, and at every turn Jack looked back longingly, feeling as he did that they were going away, but knowing that the longest might prove in the end the shortest road. They kept on, waiting for the time when they found that the great flow of fiery molten stone had encountered an inequality which had made it divide into two streams, the further of which might lead them down to the sands somewhere far from the yacht.