It was here that the lovers paused and viewed the striking picture
spread out before their vision.

That which they saw might properly be considered the crater of the
volcano. It was four or five acres in extent, irregular in contour,
and so filled with gases and vapors that one could not see the bottom,
while the jagged boundary on the farther side came out to view only at
intervals, when the obstructing smoke was swept aside.

Spiral columns of black vapor twisted swiftly upward from the fiery
depths, sometimes side by side, and sometimes they would unite and
climb toward the opening above, like a couple of huge serpents
struggling together. The air quivered and pulsated in certain
portions, as if with fervid heat, and Ashman fancied once or twice that
he caught glimpses of a vast mass of molten stuff, far down in the
mountain, surging; seething and turning upon itself with terrific
violence. But the glare was so dazzling that it was like staring at
the sun, and he was compelled to withdraw his gaze.

The opening above, through which all this vapor and gas effected its
escape into the clear atmosphere outside, was of irregular outline and
no more than twenty feet across. It was at a great height above the
spectators, and ought to have been visible many miles in every
direction.

Now and then Ashman caught the odor of the sulphurous fumes rising from
the naming depth, and he could not help reflecting that if the
ascending vapors should swerve toward them only for a minute or two,
they would be asphyxiated before they could get away; but he could not
shrink, when his lovely companion stood so boldly by his side, unmoved
by the impressive scene.

When he had become accustomed in a degree to the sight, the like of
which he had never viewed before, he recalled that they could not
occupy a more conspicuous position, in the event of being pursued by
their enemies to the underground lake.

As we have explained, they were standing on the highest portion of the
rocky wall, separating the burning mountain from the subterranean
portion of the enchanted lake. In this situation, they were in sight
from every portion of the shore; any one entering by the tunnel, as
they had done, would descry them almost at once, because of the vivid
background against which their figures were thrown.

This fact led Ashman to turn to his love and suggest that they should
leave the spot. She nodded her head in acquiescence, and, stil