rocks which surrounded
Tent House presented an unbroken surface, like a wall without any
crevice, and, to all appearance, of so hard a nature as to leave little
hopes of success. However, it was necessary to try to contrive some sort
of cave, if only for our gunpowder. I made up my mind, and selected the
most perpendicular face of the rock as the place to begin our work. It
was a much pleasanter situation than our tent, commanding a view of the
whole bay, and the two banks of Jackal River, with its picturesque
bridge. I marked out with chalk the dimension of the entrance I wished
to give to the cave; then my sons and I took our chisels, pickaxes, and
heavy miner's hammers, and began boldly to hew the stone.

Our first blows produced very little effect; the rock seemed
impenetrable, the sun had so hardened the surface; and the sweat poured
off our brows with the hard labour. Nevertheless, the efforts of my
young workmen did not relax. Every evening we left our work advanced,
perhaps, a few inches; and every morning returned to the task with
renewed ardour. At the end of five or six days, when the surface of the
rock was removed, we found the stone become easier to work; it then
seemed calcarious, and, finally, only a sort of hardened clay, which we
could remove with spades; and we began to hope. After a few days' more
labour, we found we had advanced about seven feet. Fritz wheeled out the
rubbish, and formed a sort of terrace with it before the opening; while
I was working at the higher part, Jack, as the least, worked below. One
morning he was hammering an iron bar, which he had pointed at the end,
into the rock, to loosen the earth, when he suddenly cried out--

"Papa! papa! I have pierced through!"

"Not through your hand, child?" asked I.

"No, papa!" cried he; "I have pierced through the mountain! Huzza!"

Fritz ran in at the shout, and told him he had better have said at once
that he had pierced through the earth! But Jack persisted that, however
his brother might laugh, he was quite sure he had felt his iron bar
enter an empty space behind. I now came down from my ladder, and, moving
the bar, I felt there was really a hollow into which the rubbish fell,
but apparently very little below the level we were working on. I took a
long pole and probed the cavity, and found that it must be of
considerable size. My boys wished to have the opening enlarged and to
enter immediately, but this I strictly forbade; for, as