MARTIN IS FOUND BY A DEAF OLD MAN Martin kept his eyes shut for only about a minute, as he thought; but he must have been asleep some time, for when he opened them the False Water had vanished, and the sun, looking very large and crimson, was just about to set.

He started up, feeling very thirsty and hungry and bewildered; for he was far, far from home, and lost on the great plain.

Presently he spied a man coming towards him on horseback.

A very funny-looking old man he proved to be, with a face wrinkled and tanned by sun and wind, until it resembled a piece of ancient shoe-leather left lying for years on some neglected spot of ground.

A Brazil nut is not darker nor more wrinkled than was the old man's face.