When the three ladies entered Staunton Cottage they were greatly
surprised to find Captain Staunton and Lance there, both busy scraping
lint; and still more surprised to see Dale bending over a fire with his
coat off, diligently stirring the contents of a small tin saucepan.
May was the first to throw any light upon the situation, which she did,
directly the door opened, by rushing up to her mother and exclaiming
excitedly--
"Oh, mama! what do you think? I fell into the water, and Bobbie jumped
in too; and a naughty shark hurt poor Bobbie and made his leg bleed; so
papa and Mr Evelin and some sailors brought him home and put him to
bed; and he's up there now, mama, _so_ poorly."
Mrs Staunton turned mutely to her husband for an explanation. For a
single moment she felt quite incapable of speaking intelligibly. Her
mental vision conjured up a picture of her child in some terrible
danger, and, in her anxiety, her mind refused to take in more than that
one awful fact, overlooking for the time the circumstance of Bob having
received an injury. The danger to which May had been exposed; that was
all she thought about--all she _could_ think about just then; and, until
she had heard the story, she had not attention for anything or anyone
else.
So Captain Staunton bade them all sit down, and then he related the full
details of May's adventure, with Bob's gallant rescue of her, and the
unfortunate accident which accompanied it. It is not necessary to
repeat the frequent exclamations of horror and admiration which were
elicited from the fair auditors as the various details of the occurrence
were related; nor to describe the convulsive way in which May was
clasped to her mother's breast, and fondled and cried over by all three
of the sensitive loving women together as they listened to the story of
her terrible peril. Suffice it say that, when the narrative was over,
the womenkind went with one accord up to Bob's bedside, and there so
overwhelmed him with thanks and praises that the poor fellow was quite
overcome, so that Lance had finally to interfere, and with mock severity
order their immediate withdrawal.
Later on, when the excitement had somewhat subsided, and while they were
all sitting down quietly to tea, the ladies produced their nuggets,
passing them round for inspection, and relating the manner in which they
had been found. Lance's experience as a gold-digger now served the
party in good stead, for he had no sooner taken the dull yellow lumps
into his hand than he pronounced them to be veritable nuggets of pure
gold; and after extracting from the fair finders as accurate a
description as they could give him of the locality in which the
discovery had been made, he declared his belief that one or more
"pockets" of gold existed in the immediate vicinity of the pool, and
said he would take an early opportunity of personally inspecting the
spot.
The somewhat exciting events of the day caused the party to sit up
chatting rather late that evening, and about midnight they were startled
by the sound of knocking at the door. Captain Staunton opened it, and
there stood Dickinson, who explained with some hesitation that, "Bein'
as he couldn't sleep very well, he'd made so bold as to come up, seein'
a light in the winder, to ask how the little missie was a'ter her
ducking, likewise the youngster as had got his leg hurt."
The skipper was able to give satisfactory answers to both inquiries, and
Mrs Staunton, hearing that someone was asking after May, came out
herself and thanked the ex-boatswain's-mate so sweetly for his interest
in her child that the poor fellow went away more dazed than ever, but
with a heart so light that he felt as if walking upon air; and during
the short journey between the hut and his quarters he solemnly and
silently registered sundry fearful vows as to what he would do to anyone
who dared so much as to _think_ any harm of the inhabitants of Staunton
Cottage.
For the next two days everybody was exceedingly busy; the men being hard
at work at the shipyard, while the women felt as though they could not
do enough for Bob, or make enough of him; indeed, in their anxiety to
show their gratitude and admiration, they--Violet and Blanche, at
least--let enthusiasm outrun discretion so far that they bid fair to do
the patient more harm than good, so that Mrs Staunton was fain at last
to take him under her own exclusive charge, forbidding the younger
ladies to enter the room more than twice a day,--once in the morning and
again in the evening,--and then rigorously limiting their visits to five
minutes on each occasion.
The third day following Bob's accident was Sunday. This day was always
observed as a holiday by the pirates; not, it need scarcely be said, in
deference to the Fourth Commandment, but simply because the men insisted
upon having one day of rest from work--a day on which the more sober and
steady members of the band were wont to devote some little attention to
the toilet and to the repairs of their clothing; while the remainder--by
far the greater number--gave themselves up to unrestrained riot and
drunkenness, a circumstance which, as may easily be understood, always
caused a considerable amount of anxiety to the inmates of Staunton
Cottage.
But however anxious they may have been--however fearful that, in their
unbridled licence, the pirates might at any moment break in upon the
privacy of the cottage and attempt some outrage--divine service was
invariably performed twice each Sunday in the lower apartment of the
cottage.
The day in question was no exception to the rule; and when the party
began to assemble for the morning service, they saw that Dickinson had
posted himself at a little distance from, but within easy hail of, the
door. He was accordingly invited in; and when he made his appearance,
with his hair freshly cut, his long bushy beard and moustache carefully
trimmed, and his person decently arrayed in a nearly new suit of blue
pilot-cloth, he looked not only every inch a sailor, but also a very
fine specimen of manhood. He entered with some show of diffidence, and
seemed half-inclined to beat a hasty retreat again, when Mrs Staunton
invited him to occupy a seat next her. However, he remained, conducting
himself with the greatest propriety during the service, and evidently
still having in remembrance the forms of the Episcopal ceremonial. When
prayers were over Captain Staunton delivered, according to his usual
custom, a short address, in which he strove earnestly to give a plain
and comprehensive answer to the question which Dickinson had propounded
to him in the boat. It is not within the province of such a book as
this to repeat what was said on the occasion; suffice it to say that the
skipper so far succeeded in his object that, when the service was over,
the strange guest went away a happier and a more hopeful man than he had
been for years. He presented himself again at the evening service,
remaining, at Mrs Staunton's invitation, to listen to the sacred music
in which the party generally indulged for an hour at the close of the
day. Thenceforth he was a changed man.
On the following morning Lance announced that he proposed to make, in
Blanche's company, a visit to the "gold mine," as they laughingly called
it. Blanche's presence was required ostensibly in order that she might
act in the capacity of pilot; but no one attempted to pretend that he or
she was blinded by so exceedingly transparent an excuse. Everybody knew
how eagerly the occasion was welcomed by the pair as affording an
opportunity for a long day's uninterrupted enjoyment of each other's
society, and everybody had accordingly something jocular to say about
it.
But what cared they, these two, happy in the first rosy flush of
mutually acknowledged love. They laughingly returned jest for jest, and
set off in high glee directly after breakfast, saying they were not to
be expected back at any definite time, as they should stay until Lance
had made a thorough examination of the entire locality. Deeply in love,
however, as they both were, they had the forethought to provide
themselves with a good substantial luncheon, and Evelin also slipped a
tolerably heavy hammer and a cold chisel into his pocket.
Blithely the pair stepped out,--for is not happiness always light of
foot?--and in due time, a much shorter time, by the way than was
occupied in the previous journey, they arrived at the brink of the
ravine, and looked down upon the tiny crystal stream and the pool
wherein the nuggets had been found.
Lance took in the geological characteristics of the place at a glance.
He recognised the rocks as genuine out-crops of gold-bearing quartz, and
the minute yellow specks therein as the precious metal itself, their
visible presence being an indication of the extraordinary richness of
the reef.
"Why, Blanche darling!" he exclaimed, all his miner's instincts fully
aroused as he chipped and broke off "specimens" here and there, to find
tiny pellets and nodules of gold thickly clustering in each, "this mine
of yours is worth a nation's ransom; I do not believe there is such
another reef as this in the whole world. With proper crushing machinery
we might all make our fortunes in a month. But let us take a look at
the pool; unless I am greatly mistaken there is a princely fortune lying
about here, and to be had for the mere picking up, without the need of
machinery at all."
They scrambled down the side of the ravine and stood by the margin of
the pool. Then Lance looked upward in the direction of the flow of the
rivulet, attentively noting the "run" of the strata. Glancing about
him, he saw a small broken branch lying on the ground at no great
distance; and securing it he cut away with his knife the sides of the
larger end so as to produce a flat surface, making of the branch a very
narrow-bladed wooden spade, in fact. Reaching as far forward as he
could, he plunged the blade of his extemporised spade into the sandy
bottom of the pool, pressing it gently down into the sand until he could
get it no deeper, when he "prized" it upward, so as to bring to the
surface a specimen of the subsoil. Raising it very carefully, the end
of the branch at length came into view, bringing with it a small
quantity of yellow glittering sand. Some of this, by care and patience,
he managed to get out of the water before it was quite washed away; and,
placing it in the palm of his hand, he gently agitated it to and fro
beneath the surface of the water until all the lighter particles were
washed away, when there remained in his hand a minute quantity of fine
yellow dust.
"There," he said, "what do you think of that, Blanche? It is gold-dust,
my dear girl; and if we could drain off the water from this pool--and it
might be done without much trouble--we should find plenty of it
underneath that fine white sand. Now, let us inspect a little further."
They accordingly began to walk slowly up the border of the stream, which
descended the ravine by a series of miniature cataracts a foot or so in
height, usually with small sandy-bottomed basins beyond. One of these
basins proved to be so small and so shallow that, standing on a
projecting ledge of rock, Lance was able to make a tolerably thorough
examination of its bed with the aid of the before-mentioned branch, and
he had not been very long stirring up the sand with it when he turned up
four very fine nuggets, varying in size from a hen's egg to a six-pound
shot.
"Just as I expected," he exclaimed. "Now, the spot from which this gold
originally came is at the head of this ravine. These nuggets have all
been brought down here by the water; and the higher we go the larger
will the nuggets be, because of course, the heaviest of them will have
travelled the shortest distance. But before pushing our investigations
further, I propose that we sit down here and have luncheon; this is a
picturesque spot; and, what is perhaps more to the purpose, I am
frightfully hungry."
They accordingly seated themselves upon a great moss-grown rock, and
partook of the contents of the basket with all the appetite of healthy
people who had passed a long morning in the fresh pure air.
Luncheon over, and Lance having, at Blanche's request--or perhaps the
word _command_ would be nearer the truth--lighted a cigar, the pair
proceeded with their investigations.
The characteristics of the stream continued to be the same; short
lengths of sparkling water flowing over a boulder-strewn bed; diminutive
rapids; tiny cataracts; and occasional quiet pools between. One or two
of the smallest and least difficult of these pools Lance cursorily
examined, finding in each case one or more nuggets, the sizes increasing
as the searchers made their way upward, and thus confirming Lance's
theory. He did not, however, devote much time to the actual search for
gold; his object was just then to trace the gold to its source, and, at
the same time, to note what capabilities existed for damming off the
most promising spots, with a view to future operations.
A happy idea, as Blanche thought it, suddenly occurred to that young
lady.
"Oh, Lance!" she exclaimed, "what geese we are?"
"Are we, darling?" said her companion. "Probably if anyone happened to
see us just now," sliding his arm round her waist and kissing her, "they
would be inclined to think so. Nay, you need not pout, it is entirely
your own fault; the fact is, that you looked so pretty the temptation
was simply irresistible."
"Was it?" she retorted. "Well, I think it very rude of you to interrupt
me like that, just at the moment I was about to give utterance to a
brilliant idea; but seriously, Lance dear, do you not think we could
collect a sufficiency of this gold to purchase our freedom from these
horrid men."
Evelin thought the matter over for a minute or two.
"I am afraid not," he said at last. "I have not the slightest doubt
about our being able to collect a sufficient quantity of gold; the
ground seems to be absolutely _gorged_ with it; but the difficulty would
be in the effecting of an arrangement by which these fellows would be
persuaded to release us after the payment of the ransom. They would
take the gold and afterwards simply break faith with us. No; our
services are of too much value to them, unluckily, for them ever to
voluntarily permit our departure; and we shall therefore have to follow
out our original plan of escape, if possible--unless a better offers.
But we will endeavour to possess ourselves of some of this enormous
wealth; and we must trust to chance for the opportunity to convey it
away with us."
They were now near the head of the ravine, which seemed to terminate in
a sort of _cul-de-sac_, a huge reef of auriferous rock jutting out of
the ground and forming an almost perpendicular wall across the end of
the ravine. On reaching the base of this wall, the tiny stream they had
been following was found to have its source a yard or two from the face
of the rock, bubbling up out of the ground in the midst of a little pool
some three yards across. It was near this spot, therefore, in all
probability, that the precious metal would be found in richest
abundance. Lance accordingly began to look around him for indications
of the direction in which he ought to search.
About ten feet up the face of the rock-wall he saw what appeared to be a
fissure in the stone; and, thinking it possible that an examination of
this fissure might aid him, he, with some difficulty managed to scramble
up to it. When he reached the spot he found, however, instead of a mere
fissure or crack in the rock, as he had imagined, a wide projecting
shoulder of the reef which artfully masked a low narrow recess.
Penetrating into this recess, Lance found that, after he had proceeded
two or three yards, the walls widened out, and the whole place had the
appearance of being the entrance to a subterranean cavern.
Thinking that, if such were indeed the case, the discovery might prove
of great value, as affording the party a perfectly secure place of
refuge in case of necessity, he emerged once more, and, discovering from
his more elevated stand-point an easy means of descent, hastened down to
Blanche, and, informing her of his discovery, requested her to sit down
and rest whilst he completed his explorations. He then looked about him
for something to serve the purpose of a torch, and at length found a
fragment of dry wood, which on being ignited promised to burn steadily
enough for his purpose. Armed with this he was about to reascend the
face of the rock when Blanche begged that she might be allowed to
accompany him, as she was sure she would feel lonely sitting out there
by herself. Lance accordingly gave her his hand, and without any very
great difficulty managed to get her safely up on the narrow platform in
front of the opening.
Relighting his torch, which he had extinguished after satisfying himself
that it would burn properly, Lance led the way into the cleft; holding
his brand well before him and as high as possible, and giving his
disengaged hand to Blanche, who suffered from the disadvantage of being
in total darkness, her lover's bulky form almost entirely filling up the
narrow passage they were traversing, and completely eclipsing the light.
Soon, however, they found the walls receding from them on either side,
the roof rising at the same time; and when they had penetrated some
fifty or sixty yards they were able to walk side by side. It was a
curious place in which they found themselves. The rocky walls, which
met overhead like an arch, were composed entirely of auriferous quartz,
the gold gleaming in it here and there in long thin flakes. The passage
sloped gently upward, whilst it at the same time swept gradually round
toward the right hand; and though the air was somewhat close, there was
an almost utter absence of that damp earthy smell which is commonly met
with in subterranean chambers.
As they continued on their way the rocks about them gradually underwent
a change, the gold no longer showing in thin detached thread-like
layers, but glittering in innumerable specks and tiny nodules all over
the surface, so that, as the flickering uncertain light of the torch
fell upon the walls, they glistened as though covered with an unbroken
coating of gold-leaf.
But this novel appearance, attractive as it was, was nothing to the
surprise which awaited them further on. They had penetrated some eight
or nine hundred yards, perhaps, into the bowels of the earth, and were
thinking of returning, when they suddenly emerged from the passage into
a vast cavern, so spacious in all its dimensions that their tiny light
quite failed to reveal the farther side or the roof. But what little
they _did_ see was sufficient to root them to the ground, speechless for
the moment with wonder and admiration.
The rocky floor upon which they stood was smooth as a marble pavement,
apparently from attrition by the action of water through countless
centuries, though the place was now perfectly dry. What chiefly excited
their admiration, however, was the circumstance that the floor was not
only smooth, it was as polished as glass, and in places quite
transparent, while it glowed and sparkled with all the colours of the
rainbow. They seemed to be standing on a surface of purest crystalline
ice, seamed, streaked, veined, and clouded in the most marvellous and
fantastic manner with every conceivable hue, through and into which the
faint light of their torch gleamed, flashed, and sparkled with an effect
of indescribable splendour.
"Oh, Lance!" whispered Blanche at last, "was ever anything so lovely
seen before?"
"A perfect palace of the gnomes, darling, is it not?" returned Lance in
his usual tone of voice; and then they stood awe-struck and enthralled,
as his words were caught up by countless echoes and flung backward and
forward, round and round, and in the air above them, in as many
different tones, from a faint whisper far overhead to deep sonorous
musical bell-like notes reverberating round the walls and echoing away
and away, farther and farther, fainter and fainter, until at last, after
an interminable time, as it seemed to them, the sounds died completely
away and silence reigned once more.
"It is marvellous! superb!" whispered Evelin, not caring to again arouse
the echoes of the place. "Come, Blanche, sweetheart, let us explore a
little further while our torch still holds out."
Hand in hand, and with cautious steps--for the floor was almost as
slippery as ice--they began to make the tour of this fairy-like cavern;
but they had not proceeded a dozen steps before they were again
arrested, spell-bound. The walls, as far as the feeble light of the
torch would reveal them, were of rock of the same character as the
floor; only that instead of being smooth and even they were broken up
into fantastic projections of every imaginable form, while here and
there huge masses started boldly out from the face, forming flying
buttresses with projecting pinnacles and elaborate carved-work, all
executed by Nature's own hand; while elsewhere there clustered columns,
so regular and perfect in their shape that they might have been
transferred with scarcely a finishing touch of the chisel to the aisles
of a cathedral. Where the light happened to fall upon these the effect
was bewilderingly beautiful, the rays being reflected and refracted from
and through the crystals of which they were composed until they shone
and sparkled like columns of prismatic fire.
Then a new wonder revealed itself; for, on approaching more closely to
the glittering walls, it became apparent that they were seamed with wide
cracks here and there, the cracks being filled with a cement-like
substance, so thickly studded with nuggets of gold of all sizes, that in
less than five minutes a man might have gathered more than he could
carry away. Passing along the walls, Lance found that it was everywhere
the same, and that in stumbling upon this subterranean palace of the
fairies they had also discovered a mine of incalculable wealth.
Hastily gathering a few of the finest nuggets within reach, they set out
to return.
They had apparently made the entire circuit of the cavern, for there
close to them yawned the black mouth of a passage. This was fortunate;
as the torch had now burned so low that Lance saw with consternation it
would be necessary for them to make the greater part of their return
journey in darkness.
"But never mind, Blanche darling," he said cheerfully, remarking upon
this unpleasant circumstance. "It is all plain sailing; there are no
obstacles in our way; and if we have to grope slowly along, still the
marvellous sight we have seen is well worth so trifling a penalty. Give
me your hand, sweetheart, and let us get into the passage, for I shall
have to abandon the light, it is scorching my fingers as it is."
Blanche silently gave her hand to her lover, a trifle nervous at having
to traverse so long a distance in impenetrable darkness, and buried--who
knew how deep--beneath the surface. _Buried_! The idea was a most
unpleasant one just then; and she shuddered as they plunged hand in hand
into the passage, Lance at the same moment flinging the charred stump of
the burnt-out torch back into the great cavern behind them.
Cautiously they groped their way onward, Lance feeling his way along the
wall of the passage, and making sure of his footing at every step by
passing his foot lightly forward over the ground before advancing.
In this manner the pair proceeded for what seemed to them a considerable
length of time--at least Blanche thought it so, for at last she said
with a slight tremor in her voice--
"How much longer do you think we shall be, Lance! Surely we cannot be
very far from the entrance now."
"No, we must be getting pretty close to it," said Lance; "but surely you
are not feeling frightened, little woman?"
"Not exactly frightened," answered Blanche; "but this terrible darkness
and this awful silence makes me nervous. It seems so dreadful to be
groping one's way like this, without being able to see where one is
going; and then I have a stupid feeling that the rocks above us may give
way at any moment and bury us."
"Not much fear of that," said Lance with a laugh, which went echoing and
reverberating along the passage in such a weird unearthly manner that
Blanche clung to her companion in terror. "These rocks," he continued,
"have supported for years--probably centuries--the weight above them,
and it is not at all likely they will give way just now without any
cause. I daresay the time _does_ seem long to you, darling, but you
must remember we are walking at a much slower pace now than we were when
we passed over the ground before. Of course we _might_ walk faster,
since we know the ground to be tolerably even and regular; still it is
best to be cautious; if either of us happens to stumble here in the dark
we might receive a rather severe blow. However, keep up your courage,
we cannot be very much longer now."
Once more they continued their way in silence, the ground sloping gently
downwards all the while, as they could tell notwithstanding the
darkness; and still no welcome ray of daylight appeared in the distance
to tell them that they were approaching their journey's end.
At length a vague and terrible fear began to make itself felt in Lance's
own mind. Recalling the incidents of their inward journey, he tried to
reckon the time which they had occupied in passing from the open air
along the gallery into the great cavern, and he considered that they
could not possibly have been longer than twenty minutes, probably not as
long as that. But it seemed to him that they had been groping there in
the intense darkness for two hours at least! No, surely it could not be
so long as that; the darkness made the time lag heavily. But if they
had been there only _one_ hour, they ought by this time to have reached
daylight once more, slowly as they had been moving. Surely they had
not--oh, no, it was not possible--it _could not_ be possible--and yet--
merciful God! what if they _had_ by some dreadful mischance _lost their
way_.
The strong man felt the beads of cold perspiration start out upon his
forehead as the dreadful indefinable haunting fear at length took shape
and presented itself before his mind in all its grisly horror. He had
faced Death often enough to look him in the face now or at any time
without fear; but to meet him _thus_--to wander on and on in the thick
darkness, to grope blindly along the walls of this huge grave until
exhaustion came and compelled them to lie down and die--never to look
again upon the sweet face of nature--never again to have their eyes
gladdened by the blessed light of the sun or the soft glimmer of the
star-lit heavens--to vanish from off the face of the earth, and to pass
away from the ken of their friends, leaving no sign, no clue of their
whereabouts or of their fate--oh, God! it was too horrible.
Not for himself; no, if it were God's will that thus he must die he had
courage enough to meet his fate calmly and as a brave man should. Thank
God, he had so lived that, let death come upon him never so suddenly, he
could not be taken unawares. Lance Evelin was by no means a saint; he
knew it and acknowledged it in this dread hour; but he had always
striven honestly and honourably to do his duty, whatever it might be,
with all his strength; and then, too, like the apostle, _he knew in Whom
he trusted_.
No, Lance was not afraid of death on his own account; it was for the
weak timorous girl by his side that all his sympathies were aroused.
Doubtless she too possessed a faith firm enough to enable her to meet
her fate undismayed--he believed she _did_; but what terrible bodily
suffering must she pass through before the end came.
But perhaps, after all, he was alarming himself unnecessarily; even now
they might be within a few yards of the outlet and yet not be able to
see it, because, as he suddenly remembered, the passage was curved from
its very commencement.
But then, he also remembered, the passage at its outer end was so narrow
that Blanche had to walk behind him, and here they were, walking hand in
hand and side by side, as they had been ever since they had entered this
interminable passage.
"Blanche," said he, steadying his voice as well as he could, "put out
your hand, dear, and see whether you can reach the right-hand wall."
He felt her lean away from him, and then came her reply in a broken
voice--
"No, Lance, I cannot."
"Why, pet," he exclaimed, "I really believe you are crying."
"Yes, I am," she acknowledged. "Forgive me, Lance dear, I really cannot
help it; I shall be better by and by, perhaps, but--oh! it is _so_
dreadful. You are very brave, and very good to me, but I know you must
have realised it before now--the dreadful truth that _we are lost
here_."
"Tut, tut; nonsense, child," Lance answered cheerily; "why, Blanche, you
will get quite unnerved if you suffer such thoughts to take possession
of you. There, lay your head on my shoulder, darling, and have your cry
comfortably out; you will feel better and braver afterwards."
He put his arm round her as he spoke; and the poor frightened girl laid
her head upon his breast, trustfully as a child, and sobbed as though
her heart would break.
Her companion let her sob on unchecked; he did not even say a word to
comfort her--what _could_ he say, with that frightful suspicion every
moment gathering force and strengthening itself into certainty? No;
better not to say anything; better not to buoy her up with delusive
hopes; and, oh! how thankful he felt that the terrible task of breaking
to her the news of their awful position had been spared him.
The sobs gradually grew less violent, and at length ceased altogether.
Then Blanche raised her head and said quietly--
"Now, Lance, I am better, and feel able to listen to the worst you can
tell me. I will not ask you to give me your candid opinion of our
position, because I know it is--it _must_ be the same as my own. But
what do you propose that we should do?"
"Well," said Lance, as cheerily as he could, "the first thing I intend
to do is to light a match and take a glance at our surroundings. It was
stupid of me that I did not think of doing so before."
He drew a box of matches from his pocket--being a smoker he was never by
any chance without them--and the next moment a sharp rasping noise was
heard, and a tiny flame appeared. The light, however, was too feeble to
penetrate that Egyptian darkness; they saw nothing but each other's
faces; hers pale, with wide-open, horror-stricken eyes; and his, with
contracted brow and firmly compressed lips, indicative of an
unconquerable determination to struggle to the last against this
dreadful fate which menaced them.
"This will not do," said he; "we must improvise a better torch than
this."
He fumbled once more in his pockets, and presently found a sheet or two
of paper on which he remembered jotting down some notes relative to
matters connected with the construction of the battery. These he folded
very carefully; so loosely as to burn well, yet tightly enough to burn
slowly and so give them an opportunity for at least a momentary glance
round them. Then he struck another match, applied it to one of the tiny
torches, and raised the light aloft.
As he did so, Blanche uttered a piercing shriek, and seizing him by the
arm, dragged him back against the rocky wall of the passage. Then,
pointing before her, she gasped--
"Look, Lance; look!"
Lance looked in the direction toward which she pointed, and grew faint
and sick as he saw that they had been standing on the very verge of a
precipice. A stone, dislodged by Blanche's hasty movement had rolled
over the edge, and they now heard it bounding with a loud echoing clang
down the face of the rock, down, down, down, the sound, loud at first,
growing fainter and fainter, until at last a dull muffled splash told
that it had reached water more than a hundred fathoms below.