92 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



three-quarters of a mile from either shore, when 

 something very unpleasant happened. Geoff was 

 feeling his way on the right, driving six ponies, and 

 I on the left directing the other five pack-animals, 

 when suddenly the ponies in front began floundering 

 about and swimming in all directions. At the same 

 moment my nag seemed to sink under me. Divin- 

 ing the cause, I snatched his head round, and after 

 swimming a few strokes, struck bottom again. We 

 had walked into a quicksand and must either get 

 round it or retreat. At this time my sister, who 

 was behind with Thorgrimmer, became nervous, and, 

 fearing her pony would follow the others, jumped off 

 and stood in water up to her neck. It was disagree- 

 able for a moment, until we all began to laugh and 

 to consider a means of getting round the obstacle. 



It was now a question whether -it was wiser to 

 retreat or to find a way round the quicksands. 

 Evening had come, and from immersion in the 

 water we were getting cold. After some consulta- 

 tion we decided to make an effort to advance. 

 Geoff took a wide sweep to the right, Jon felt the 

 way slowly to the front, and I, by retreating a 

 hundred yards and coming round, tried the left 

 again. Presently we saw that Geoff was getting 

 along well on hard ground, so we all followed him, 

 and soon had the satisfaction of finding the depth 

 of the water decreasing. In ten minutes we had 

 reached the further shore, and, taking our water- 

 tight boxes from the ponies, changed our wet 

 clothes and continued our journey. 



Soon after getting under weigh again I heard a 

 strange, sharp, chattering cry that I had never 

 heard before, and, looking over the marsh-land 



