poor girl, clasping his
hand tighter and drawing nearer to him.

This was too much! Nigel felt himself to be contemptible. He was taking
unfair advantage of her.

"Winnie," he began again, in a voice of forced calmness, "there is no
danger whatever. I'm an ass--a dolt--that's all! The fact is, I made my
father a sort of half promise that I would not ask your opinion on a
certain subject until--until I found out exactly what you thought about
it. Now the thing is ridiculous--impossible--for how can I know your
opinion on any subject until I have asked you?"

"Quite true," returned Winnie simply, "so you better ask me."

"Ha! _ha_!" laughed Nigel, in a sort of desperate amusement, "I--I--Yes,
I _will_ ask you, Winnie! But first I must explain----"

"Hallo! Nigel!" came at that moment from the other side of the
obstruction, "are you there--all right?"

"Yes, yes--I'm here--_not_ all right exactly, but I'll be all right
_some day_, you may depend upon that!" shouted the youth, in a tone of
indignant exasperation.

"What said you?" asked Van der Kemp, putting his head through the hole.

"Hi! I's a-comin', look out, dar!" hallooed Moses in the opposite
direction.

"Just so," said Nigel, resuming his quiet tone and demeanour, "we'll be
all right when the light comes. Here, give us your hand, Van der Kemp."

The hermit accepted the proffered aid and leaped down amongst his
friends just as Moses arrived with the lantern.

"It's of no use going further," he said. "The passage is completely
blocked up--so we must go round to where the mountain has been split off
and try to clamber up. There will be daylight enough yet if we are
quick. Come."

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE LAST.

Descending to the boat they rowed round to the face of the great cliff
which had been so suddenly laid bare when the Peak of Rakata was cleft
from its summit to its foundations in the sea. It was a wonderful
sight--a magnificent section, affording a marvellous view of the
internal mechanism of a volcano.

But there was no time to spend in contemplation of this extraordinary
sight, for evening approached and the hermit's purpose had to be
accomplished.

High up near the top of the mighty cliff could be seen a small hole in
the rock, which was all that remained of the observatory.

"It will be impossible, I fear, to reach that spot," said Nigel; "there
does not appear to be foothold for a goat."

"I will reach it," said the hermit in a