He was long gone, as it seemed to her.

She had been forced to take one deep respiration, and was almost tempted to pull at the rope in her hand, when the water suddenly became again disturbed and full of bubbles, and a head appeared above it again.
"Cuthbert!" she exclaimed, in a tone of glad relief, "O Cuthbert, what hast thou found ?" He was clinging to the rope with one hand; the other was beneath the water out of sight.

He raised his eyes, and said between his gasping breaths: "Draw me up; the water is chill as ice!" From the sound of his voice she could not tell whether success had crowned the attempt or not.

She turned without another word, and led the donkey onwards, gently drawing Cuthbert from the depths of the well.

As she did so he gave a sudden shout of triumph, and springing over the side of the wall, flung at her feet a solid golden flagon richly chased, with the arms of the Trevlyns engraved upon it.
"I scarce dared to look at what I had got as I came up!" he cried, as he sprang high into the air in the exuberance of his spirit; "but that will lay all doubt at rest.