ty had
received orders to mount guard at the entrance to the subterranean way,
he followed closely upon Tom May's bulky form, ready to help protect
those who had gone before; and grasping his weapon very tightly he stood
at last at the foot of the stairs in a well-paved arched way just lit
faintly by the wax taper, and was able to see that the passage was
composed of the lava which had been quarried from one of the volcanic
masses thrown from a burning mountain ages before.

"Keep together, my lads, close up," said the lieutenant; and his voice
sounded whispering and strange as it seemed to reverberate down a
passage, and finally died away.

"Where does this lead to, I wonder?" said the midshipman softly, and the
walls repeated "I wonder" in a tone that sounded loud.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

"BERRY MUCH 'FRAID."

Julius Caesar, after getting over his first fear of the white strangers
and a natural dread of the fierce American slaver, whose threats seemed
to dominate his life, threw himself bravely into the enterprise upon
which he was engaged and proved himself to be an admirable guide, one
too with a full knowledge of the risks he ran. He grew more and more
confident now of the strength to protect him of the man-o'-war's men,
and every now and then, as the party continued its way along what proved
to be a carefully constructed tunnel, he stopped short and whispered to
Murray to shade the light while he hurried on into the pitchy darkness.

The first time he did this, after laying his black arm across both
Murray's and the lieutenant's breasts, he seemed to be so long gone that
the latter expressed it as his belief that he had tricked them and
escaped; but this opinion had hardly been whispered in the middy's ear
before there was a faint rustling as of bare feet heard, and then,
breathing hard, the black was close upon them.

"Come 'long now, massa," he said. "Show light now."

Thrice more this was repeated, and then all at once upon their guide's
return he exclaimed--

"Massa put out light now."

"What for?" said Murray sharply.

"Candle burn all away sure. Wantum go back. All dark."

"But how are you going to light it?" said Mr Anderson.

"July Caesar got lilly bottle o' fire; massa Allen lilly bottle, sah."

"But we can't see in the darkness," said Murray.

"Take hol' hand. Caesar show way. See with one hand run along top
wall."

Setting aside the seeing, the black soon proved to those who