hen aside, and the head and shoulders of a
man from beneath sprang into its place so suddenly as to have appeared
the work of magic. He leaned a little on one side, to permit Burrell to
descend; and the next minute the cavern seemed as if no human step had
ever disturbed its solitude. Six or eight rugged stairs brought the
knight into a low but spacious apartment, from which there was no
apparent exit except by an arched doorway, where the commencement of a
spiral ascent was visible, leading almost perpendicularly into the
secret room of the widow Hays' small hostelry, in which our acquaintance
Jack Roupall and his friends had been concealed, and which, it may be
here stated, served other purposes than to afford comfort and
entertainment to the wayfarer.

It may also be observed, that, if at any time the widow's house was
suspected of harbouring dangerous or outlawed persons, and consequent
search was made under its roof, those to whom concealment was either
convenient or necessary had a ready sanctuary in the cavern beneath,
where they might either tarry until assured of safety, or whence they
could easily escape on board one of the free traders which rarely passed
a week without a call of inquiry at some point along the coast. The
cavern was, therefore, known to many, for many were they to whom it had
been a shelter and a safeguard. Not so the inner temple (if we may so
apply the term), to which Burrell now sought admission through a door
with the nature of which only some half a dozen were acquainted. To them
the secret had necessarily been confided, but under the most awful oaths
of secrecy, and a terrible pledge that the life of him who might reveal
it, was to be at all times, and in all places, at the disposal of any
one of those who shared with him a knowledge so fearful.

The door before which Burrell paused, was, in its way, a masterpiece of
art: it consisted of a mass of clay and flint, so skilfully put together
that the most acute searcher, even though he possessed the certainty of
its existence somewhere, must have failed to discover it from among the
natural lining of the rude but extensive cave. A low and gentle whistle
was answered by a like signal, and the door was drawn gradually inwards,
until sufficient space was afforded to permit Burrell to pass into a
large space, but less raw and wild than that from which he had just
entered.

In one corner of this singular hall, rose a motley pile of musketry,