THE CAVE
THE bos'n's proposal was hailed with enthusiasm, for, curiously
enough, neither my father nor my uncle had given any thought to the
blasting powder the use of which is an everyday occurrence in the
mining districts of Cornwall.
"How much of the stuff have we?" asked my father.
"Mr. Herbert had over fifty pounds of it carried ashore before the
gale," replied the bos'n. "It's all in air-tight cases, so it won't
be damaged by being buried."
"It's a wonder the whole lot hadn't exploded during the storm!
There's enough rock brought down from the cliff to show that the
shock was exceptionally severe, to say nothing of the chance of it
being struck by lightning."
"But it hasn't, sir, so that is something to be thankful for.
However, it would be well to finish unloading the ballast from the
yacht, but not to take the silver aboard till we have blown up the
rock and made a clear passage through."
"For what reason, Mr. Wilkins?"
"Simply because we don't know what depth the new cutting will be. It
might be twelve feet, it might be only six; so the lighter we can
make the vessel the less draught she'll draw, and the greater chance
she'll have of slipping through."
"But there will be greater difficulty in loading up outside the
reef."
"Granted, sir; but we must take the risk, unless, of course, the
blasting-powder cuts a deep and unobstructed channel."
So, directly we returned to the "Fortuna," message was sent to the
wreck to defer the removal of the pigs of silver for the present.
On my uncle's return he reported that the twenty sows were correct in
number, but only ten chests full of pieces-of-eight were to be found,
so it was assumed that the remaining five chests had been broken open
and their contents shared out by Humphrey Trevena immediately after
the capture of the "San Philipo" by the "Anne."
Nearly five tons of ballast had been removed from the "Fortuna," more
than sufficient to compensate for the additional weight of the
specie; but, in view of the probable difficulty of taking the yacht
between the reefs to the open sea, it was decided to proceed with the
unloading of the iron ballast, till the "Fortuna's" draught would be
reduced to the least margin of safety.
"We've done very well this forenoon," remarked my father, "so we can
reasonably take a spell off till the sun is low down."
"As you like, but, personally speaking, I have a perfect craving for
hard work," replied Uncle Herbert, "so I'll beat up volunteers and
recover the blasting powder."
"You won't bring it aboard?"
"No, I will take it off to the reef, close to the channel you
mentioned."
"I'll go, too," I exclaimed, "for I want very much to have a look at
the great cave that we can see from here."
"I don't think so," objected my uncle. "A boatload of explosives,
powerful enough to blow, us to infinitesimal particles, is hardly a
safe cargo, so you will be safer on board the 'Fortuna.'"
"I know, but you can take the stuff off to the reef and come back for
me. It's only a ten minutes' pull, you know. Don't be hard on a
fellow, uncle. It's the first time I've had a chance to go ashore in
that part of the bay, and I want to explore the cave."
"Very well, then," replied my uncle ungraciously. "But mind, no
monkey-tricks, and don't run into mischief."
I ran below to the bos'n's locker, where I abstracted a ball of
seaming-twine and a couple of candles, and, putting these articles
into my coat pocket in company with a box of matches, I went on deck
and clambered into the gig.
The spot where the explosives had been buried was in a grove, a short
distance from a little bay, which was enclosed on either hand by tall
cliffs, and inaccessible from the rest of the lagoon except by means
of a boat, unless a path was cut inland through the dense scrub,
which apparently had never yet been penetrated by human beings.
The taller of the two cliffs was almost divided from base to summit
by the curiously shaped cave which Old Humphrey had laid particular
stress upon in his log, and directly the boat touched the sandy beach
I bounded off towards it on my trip of exploration, a final warning
from my uncle falling lightly upon my ears.
A heap of loose boulders, which had fallen during the shock,
encumbered the mouth of the cave; but these I easily surmounted, and
advanced cautiously over the smooth floor, my eyes dim by the sudden
change from the brilliant sunshine to the subdued light of the
cavern.
The walls were composed of blocks of basalt, the general regularity
of the vertical shafts broken here and there by gaping horizontal and
diagonal fissures, while at intervals a thin stream of water fell
from the roof with a cool and pleasing sound.
As I proceeded the roof gradually became lower, till, just as the
daylight failed, its height was less than twenty feet. Taking the
ball of twine out of my pocket, I made fast one end to a projecting
ledge. The candles, I found, had united into a soft bent stick of wax
by reason of the heat of the sun, but, straightening them out and
cooling them in a pool of water, I had a double-wicked torch in place
of the two candles.
As I went on, making a careful survey of the ground for fear of
pitfalls, I noticed that on either hand numerous side passages
branched out, some large, some small; but, keeping as straight a
direction as I could, I advanced slowly, paying out the twine as I
went.
At length the smooth floor gave place to a ridge of rock, about four
feet in height, leaving an opening of barely three feet between it
and the roof. Here I stopped, debating with myself whether it would
be wiser to retrace my way, but a feeling of uncontrollable curiosity
urged me to continue my investigations.
Having unrolled a length of twine, I threw the ball over the barrier.
Having one hand free, I began to clamber over the ridge, holding the
lighted candle carefully in my left hand. Beyond I could see that the
floor was even, though higher than on the side which I had left, so I
unhesitatingly slipped down the opposite slope of the rock and gained
the interior of the inner cave.
The light flickered on innumerable stalactites, which glittered like
pinnacles and pendants of dazzling gems, while, for the first time, I
became aware of the dismal silence and tomb-like solitude of the
cave. I tried to whistle, but no sound came from my parched lips;
then I called in a low tone, and to my surprise the echoes surpassed
my voice in the volume of sound and then gradually died away, till it
seemed as if, from the remote recesses of the cavern, came a mocking
laugh.
I repeated the call, and again yet louder, when suddenly there was a
rush and a roar, and I found myself lying on my back in utter
darkness.
For some considerable time I lay helpless, the utter blackness and
the terrifying solitude almost depriving me of my senses. Something
heavy was gripping my left foot, and I found that I was held by a
mass of fallen stone. The candle had been thrown from my hand, and
was extinguished by the fall; but with feverish haste I drew the box
of matches from my pocket and struck a light. Close at hand was the
candle, and by its renewed light I saw, to my horror, that a fall had
occurred from the roof, and my retreat was cut off by a tightly
wedged mass of stone.
By a supreme effort I wrenched my foot free and staggered upright,
stifling a desire to shout for fear that a further fall might occur.
Hastily I tried to find a communication through the barrier, but
there was no hope in that direction. Even the twine was held as
firmly, as if tied to a post, and, on attempting to pull it, the
thread broke off close to the rock.
I broke into a cold sweat, but after a few minutes I recovered my
senses to a certain extent, arguing with myself that I should be
missed before long, and that plenty of willing hands could remove
that mass of rubble which held me prisoner.
The light, however, gave me grave misgivings, for the double-wicked
candle was burning away rapidly, so, by the aid of my knife, I split
the wax cylinder lengthways, thus giving me two candles, as I had
originally. One I blew out and put in my pocket, with the feeling of
satisfaction of having a light for six hours at the least.
Slowly the time passed. Surely, I thought, my uncle must have taken
the explosives to the reef long before now; why had he not come to
look for me? Fearful thoughts flashed through my bewildered brain.
Supposing the blasting powder had exploded, blowing my uncle and the
boat's crew to atoms. My father would naturally conclude that I had
shared their fate, and I would be left to perish miserably in the
awful darkness of this lonely cavern. Probably it was the detonation
of the explosion and not the vibration of the sound of my voice that
had dislodged the roof of the cave.
At length, after hours, as it seemed, of weary waiting, I heard a
dull rumble in the direction of the mouth of the cavern, and
gradually the sound came nearer and nearer.
"Can't go no 'igher, sir," came a faint voice. "The string stops
'ere, an' the whole place is broken up."
"Reggie! Reggie! Are you there?"
"I'm here, uncle. Don't shout, or you will bring some more rock on
your head. I'm shut up and can't get out."
"Are you hurt?
"No."
"Wait a little longer and we'll fetch more help. We can't shift these
stones alone."
"Stay with me, uncle!" I cried despairingly. "It's so horrible alone
in this place."
"I'll stop here," replied my uncle reassuringly, and I heard the
footsteps of the men as they went off to procure help.
"Have you a light?" asked my uncle.
"Yes--have you?"
"No--we had only one box of matches between us; but never mind, it's
only a question of an hour or so."
"How long have I been here?"
"Less than an hour."
Less than an hour! It seemed six times that length of time. However,
I had a kind of empty satisfaction in knowing that Uncle Herbert was
in the darkness, while I, although penned in, had the benefit of a
feeble light.
Notwithstanding that my uncle kept up a desultory conversation, the
time passed very slowly; but before the rescue party returned I
learnt that the explosives had been safely transported to the reef,
and that, on my failing to return, the boat's crew had explored the
cave, finding the clue of seaming-twine and following it till it
disappeared between the debris. I then told him of my adventure,
relating the cause of the roof caving-in, and cautioning him to
prevent the others making too much noise.
At length the rescuers arrived, and, without delay, they attacked the
rocks with crowbars, trying to dislodge and remove the huge boulders.
For a long time they worked incessantly and energetically, but
finally they desisted, and I could hear a consultation taking place,
though the words were inaudible.
"I've sent for some blasting powder, Reggie," said my father. "The
rocks are too large and too tightly wedged together to shift
otherwise."
"Won't the explosion bring down more of the roof?" I cried out in my
anxiety.
"We must take the chance. Wait a little longer and I'll tell you what
to do."
There was a lull in the conversation, and I heard a dull, grinding
sound, as if some steel instrument was being bored into the rock.
Then, after a considerable time, my father spoke again.
"How far does the cave extend?"
"A long way, with passages on each side."
"Very well. Go about a hundred yards from this heap of rock and hide
in one of the side-tunnels. Take your coat off, and place it over
your head to deaden the sound. I am going to set fire to the fuse,
and the explosion will take place in five minutes."
I immediately set off to a place of safety, and walking as rapidly as
I could by the dim light of the candle, the floor, fortunately, being
even, I counted a hundred and twenty paces; then, turning abruptly to
the right, I set the candle on the ground, wrapped my head in my
coat, and waited.
Presently came the short sharp crack of the explosion and a dull
rumble of falling stones. A sudden rush of air, an appalling echo,
and the noise of a shower of rock falling from the roof, instantly
followed the detonation, and an acrid smell filled the cave.
Tearing away my coat from my head, I found that the air current had
extinguished the candle, and with considerable haste I struck a
match. Stones still fell at intervals from the roof, but my range of
vision was limited by the feeble glimmer of the light and the thick
haze of the smoke and dust caused by the explosion.
Then I heard the sound of returning footsteps, and my name was
called. Hastening back to the barrier that held me captive, I saw a
shaft of light from the men's lanterns glancing through a narrow hole
close to the roof. The aperture was less than eighteen inches in
height and slightly more in width, while its upper portion was
overhung by a sharp wedge-shaped piece of rock, that reminded me
forcibly of the knife of a guillotine.
"Tell him to hurry up, sir," I heard the bos'n exclaim anxiously. "A
fall may take place at any moment."
"Reggie," exclaimed my father, "climb up and squeeze through that
hole."
"But I can't, father!" I replied, regarding the opening with dismay.
"You must!" he repeated sternly--even harshly, it seemed. "Get up,
instantly!"
Carefully I negotiated the ascent of a bank of shattered rock, till I
was on a level with the hole, and, looking through, I could see the
heads and shoulders of the rescue party on the other side of the
barrier. But the sight of that fearful-looking piece of jagged rock
overhanging the way to safety caused my courage to ebb, for in my
imagination I saw it slowly, yet surely, descending to crush the life
out of my body.
"Now, then, hurry up!" repeated my father, in a voice that was
sterner than before.
With a despairing effort I tried to creep through the aperture, but,
being unable to use my arms or legs, the attempt was useless.
"Look here, Mr. Reginald," exclaimed the bos'n, "we are going to
pass a rope through to you. Put both your feet in the bowline, grip
the rope like grim death with your right hand as high above your head
as you can reach, and keep your left down close to your side. Give
the word when you are ready, and we'll haul you through in a jiffy."
The rope was thrust through the hole by means of a long pole, and I
did as I was directed, although, I am afraid, I gave the word to haul
away in a very undecided tone. A steady strain on the rope, and I
began to slide towards the narrow path that led to safety. Grazed by
the sharp edges of the jagged rock, my knuckles, hips, and knees
bleeding, and my feet jammed together by the strain on the bow-line,
I felt that the perilous journey would never end.
With wide-open eyes I stared blankly at the rock above me, at one
time less than six inches from my face. The confinement of the narrow
passage produced a feeling of suffocation, and with it the impression
that the walls of the tunnel were contracting; but at length willing
hands seized my outstretched arm, then my shoulders, and I was free.
"Back, all of you!" shouted the bos'n, and in the rush for safety I
was boldly carried off by one of the sailors. There was another
rumbling sound, and the place through which I had just emerged was
choked by a still greater fall of rock. I--nay, the whole party--had
escaped by the very skin of our teeth.
No time was lost in gaining the open air. It was night, but by the
glimmer of the lanterns I saw that my father's eyes were filled with
tears as he kissed me--even in front of all the men.
As we were rowed back to the "Fortuna," and I sat in the stern-sheets
with my father and uncle, I whispered, "What made you speak so
crossly to me, pater?"
"Necessity, my boy--stern necessity. Had I not compelled you to do
what I told you, your hesitation would doubtless have proved fatal,
though, believe me, Reggie, you will never be able to realize your
father's agony of mind when he spoke thus."