an labyrinth. Paul was like a
ghost; his very soul was steeped in terror, but he held bravely to his
master.

One day, amidst the confusion of the different winding passages in the
rock, they came to a place out of which there seemed to be no exit.
They struck the wall. It returned a hollow sound, so that they drew
the conclusion that on the other side there was a large cavern, or
space of some sort. The tumbled masses of slate-stratum fallen over
one another was a proof that the blockade had been recently made.

"We must clear a passage here," said Ivan, taking the pick in his
hand.

Paul cowered down, clinging to the wall. He trembled at every blow of
the pick given by the vigorous arm of Ivan, who worked with terrible
earnestness. So might a despairing soul beat against the gates of hell
and summon the devil to single combat.

At last the pick made a small hole, through which Ivan passed the iron
rod, and raised a whole mass of slates.

"Now, if the water is overhead the crack of doom has come."

The old man crossed himself, and recommended his soul to God.

Ivan, however, shouted with all the joy of a discoverer: "Do you hear?
The rubbish as it falls makes a splash. The lower basin I am in search
of _is here_, underneath us!"

But what if the one above is full? They had still to wait while they
counted a hundred beats of the pulse.

Never was a pulse felt under such terrible circumstances, not even
when Ivan had gone down into the burning mine. Not a sound was heard.
In the bosom of the earth all is quiet. Ivan was trembling with joyful
excitement.

"Found at last!" he cried. "Now bind the cord round me, and lower me
into the well cavern."

It was done. The old miner, as he held the rope, prayed fervently to
the Blessed Mother that she would forgive this heretic, who did not
know what he was doing. Meantime the lamp sank deeper and deeper.

Suddenly Ivan cried out, "Pull me up!"

His old comrade drew him slowly out of the depths of the earth. As he
held out his hand to help him, Ivan suddenly threw his arms round him
and embraced him.

"We have reached our goal," he said. "The plumb-line shows a monstrous
depth of water."

Paul's brain began to clear. For the first time he had a dim idea of
the aims of their labors.

"Now let us get into daylight."

As soon as Ivan got out of the pit he ran home as fast as he could. He
compared his measurements, and was well content with the result. At
night