Now，tojudgefromthecrumblingpowderofthefooting，thatcavehadbeendrysinceNoah。Infact，itsroofwasnearlyathousandfeetthick。Butsincewehadspreadourblankets，thepersistentwatershadsoakeddownandthrough。Thethousand-footroofhadasprungaleak。Threeseparateanddistinctstreamsofwaterranasfromspigots。Iloweredmytorch。Thecanvastarpaulinshonewithwet，andinitsexactcentreglimmeredapoolofwaterthreeinchesdeepandatleasttwofeetindiameter。
\"Well，I\'llbe，\"Ibegan。ThenIrememberedthosethreewendingtheirwayalongawetanddisagreeabletrail，happyandpeacefulinanticipationofwarmblanketsandalevelfloor。Ichuckledandsatonmyheelsoutofthedrip。
FirstcameJedParker，hisheadbenttoprotectthefireinhispipe。Hegainedtheverycentreofthecavebeforehelookedup。
Thenhecastoneglanceateachbed，andoneatme。Hisgrave，hawk-likefeaturesrelaxed。Afaintgrinappearedunderhislongmoustache。Withoutawordhesquatteddownbesideme。
NexttheCattleman。Helookedabouthimwithacomicalexpressionofdismay，andburstintoaheartylaugh。