clear soft effulgence of the
star-studded sky.

They were not long in reaching the shelter of the dense wood at the head
of the valley; and once fairly through it, they laid down the bulk of
their booty where they could easily find it again, and, returning to the
wood, selected a couple of young pines, which they quickly felled. The
branches were soon lopped off, after which they cut from the tall
slender trunks four spars about ten feet in length to serve for sheers.

Shouldering these, they sought out the remainder of their belongings,
and--by this time pretty heavily loaded--continued their way into and up
the ravine, arriving at last, under Lance's guidance, at the great rock
which veiled the entrance to the cavern.

Lance and Brook at once scrambled up to the narrow ledge before the
entrance, taking with them the ratline and such other small matters as
they could carry, while Captain Staunton and Rex remained below to "bend
on" and send up the remainder. Many hands--especially if they be
willing--make light work, and a quarter of an hour sufficed to transfer
everything, themselves included, to the ledge. Torches, chopped out of
the remainder of the pines, were then lighted, and, once more loading up
their possessions, they plunged boldly into the cavern, Lance as pilot
leading the way.

In about half an hour they found themselves standing in the great
central hall or cavern, which, lighted up as it now was by the glare of
four flaming torches, looked more bewilderingly beautiful than ever. A
hurried glance round was, however, all that they would now spare
themselves time to take, and then they at once set vigorously to work.
The first thing necessary was to mark in a legible manner--and in such a
way that the mark could be identified in the darkness if need be--the
inner extremity of the passage through which they had just passed. Rex
and Brook undertook to do this; and as they had already agreed what the
mark should be, these two began, with the aid of the sledge-hammer and a
spike, to chip in the face of the rock a circular depression on the
right-hand side of the passage, at a height of about three feet from the
ground, so that it could easily be found and identified in the dark by a
mere touch of the hand. Leaving these two busily employed, Lance and
Captain Staunton hurried away in search of the other passage. They soon
found an opening which proved to be the right one, though a third was
afterwards