The first night or two he came upon nothing worth remembering; saw only a little of the home-life of the cobs in the various caves they called houses; failed in coming upon anything to cast light upon the foregoing design which kept the inundation for the present in the background.

But at length, I think on the third or fourth night, he found, partly guided by the noise of their implements, a company of evidently the best sappers and miners amongst them, hard at work.

What were they about?
It could not well be the inundation, seeing that had in the meantime been postponed to something else.

Then what was it?
He lurked and watched, every now and then in the greatest risk of being detected, but without success.

He had again and again to retreat in haste, a proceeding rendered the more difficult that he had to gather up his string as he returned upon its course.