"Do I not, indeed?" responded Leo, eagerly. "It is the sweetest, coolest
water on the estate. The moss around that spring is just like green
velvet. Many a time I have plunged my whole head in it. The birds know
it too, and always come there to drink. I sometimes find four or five of
them dipping in at once; it is a pretty sight to see them bathe; they
throw the water up under their wings until they drip, and then they are
hardly satisfied."
"Well," said Knops, "we have the supplying of that spring."
All the time they had been talking, Knops had been leading the way
through long passages and down steep steps, of which Leo's long legs had
to compass several at a stride.
Now they came to a low tunnel through which Leo had to creep for what
seemed to him miles. Strange to say, the weariness which so often
compelled him to rest or doze seemed to be leaving him. He felt an
altogether new impulse, a desire to explore these recesses, and a great
respect for Knops's learning also made him desirous of conversation,
which was something he had always avoided by answering questions in the
shortest possible way.
The tunnel was not only long and low, but it was dripping with moisture,
and the air oppressive with what seemed to be steam. Leo heard wheezing
and groaning sounds, which, though not frightful, were very peculiar,
and then the thump-thump, as of engines.
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