d ever behold
them.

Somewhat to Stukely's surprise, there was no game in the glade, yet it
was the one place of all others where he would have expected to find
antelope at least. He looked about him to see whether he could discover
a cause for the emptiness of the glade, and presently thought he had
found it in a cave, the opening of which in the face of the opposite
cliff he had already curiously noted while examining the sculptures.
Doubtless that was it; a panther or some other evil beast had made its
home in the cave, and had preyed upon the game that frequented the glade
until it had all been frightened away. He decided to go across and
investigate the place; possibly the panther, or whatever it was, might
be at home, and, if so, its skin would be very useful, for his clothes
were becoming much the worse for wear.

So he walked across the glade, and presently noticed, as he drew near
the mouth of the cave, that the soil round about it was damp, and that a
small trickle of water was issuing from the opening. By the time that
he had advanced a few steps farther he had also noticed that the grass
immediately about the entrance of the cave was very nearly all worn
away, as though by the feet of many animals, while the damp soil about
the opening was trodden into the consistency of thick mud that bore the
impress of the feet of many animals, among which he recognised those of
antelope, wild pig, monkeys, and a jaguar or two. These last confirmed
his theory as to the reason why the glade presented such an utterly
forsaken appearance; a pair of jaguars, knowing by instinct that such a
spot would be largely frequented by various kinds of game, had no doubt
taken up their quarters in the cave, and had fared sumptuously every day
until their repeated attacks had driven the game away.

Stringing his bow and drawing an arrow from his quiver, Stukely strode
forward until he stood in the mouth of the cave, when he halted and
looked in. He now saw that it was a very much larger place than he had
at first imagined it to be; for, looking inward, he was able to follow
the rough walls for a few yards, as they receded inward, when he lost
sight of them in the gloom. Also he became aware of a curious
charnel-house kind of stench that now and then issued from the cavern.
It was just the kind of odour that one would expect to meet with in the
den of a carnivorous beast, and Phil peered keenly into the darkness,
more than half-e