nd the lower ends held by a cord,
and this was then inverted, and a piece of thin cotton goods, of a
single thickness, only was wound around the little frame, leaving an
opening at the top, which was covered by the perforated tin disk.

"There, now we have an article which provides for the admission of air,
through the cotton goods, and the product of combustion can escape
through the perforated opening at the top."

The boys danced around with joy, when the cone was ignited, and a bale,
which was simply a string, attached, so it could be carried
conveniently.

This time they went on, far beyond the place where the poor dogs lay.
Occasionally John would lower the device, and when it descended too far,
the knot would begin to smoke, and this was explained by the statement
that as it went into the carbon gas, less and less air was supplied,
which caused the flame to die down.

The cave was similar to the others, being white from the lime deposits,
but in all their wanderings they had never seen anything to compare with
the beautiful hangings noted in the interior, particularly in the
chambers, which they passed, one after the other, four of which were
especially admired.

Ephraim was intensely interested. He never had taken the trouble to
visit any of these caverns, and was not disposed to take much stock in
the many tales that had been related about the weird interiors.

"I can now understand," he said, "why the natives possessed such a fear
of them. I have faced many perilous conditions, during my life here, but
I confess if I had any faith in the superstitions about these places,
they would have paralyzed me, now that I have seen their ghostly
appearance."

They suddenly emerged into a spacious chamber, so large that their
voices seemed to reverberate. The flash lights were directed to all
sides and to the immense vaulted and icicle-covered ceiling. John stood
the lamp on the ground. It was free from the dangerous gas. The floor
was fairly level, but it was covered with the broken hangings from the
ceiling.

"I see an outlet, directly opposite the one we came by," exclaimed
George.

The party hastened across the intervening space. They were traveling
along the greatest length of the chamber. Midway between the two
openings were two other side openings, and John stopped and exclaimed:
"It is true! We have found it!"

The boys had never seen John so agitated before. They pressed around and
requested an expl