ea, whither we knew it was folly to follow them. At last, one
afternoon as we were listlessly lolling (half-asleep, except the
look-out man) across the thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between
two cliffs that we must have passed before several times unnoticed. At a
certain angle it opened, disclosing a wide sheet of water extending a
long distance ahead. I put the helm up, and we ran through the passage,
finding it about a boat's length in width and several fathoms deep,
though overhead the cliffs nearly came together in places. The place was
new to us, and our languor was temporarily dispelled, and we paddled
along, taking in every feature of the shores with keen eyes that let
nothing escape. After we had gone on in this placid manner for maybe an
hour, we suddenly came to a stupendous cliff--that is, for those
parts--rising almost sheer from the water for about a thousand feet. Of
itself it would not have arrested our attention, but at its base was a
semicircular opening, like the mouth of a small tunnel. This looked
alluring, so I headed the boat for it, passing through a deep channel
between two reefs which led straight to the opening. There was ample
room for us to enter, as we had lowered the mast; but just as we were
passing through, a heave of the unnoticed swell lifted us unpleasantly
near the crown of this natural arch. Beneath us, at a great depth, the
bottom could be dimly discerned, the water being of the richest blue
conceivable, which the sun, striking down through, resolved into some
most marvellous colour-schemes in the path of its rays. A delicious
sense of coolness, after the fierce heat outside, saluted us as we
entered a vast hall, whose roof rose to a minimum height of forty feet,
but in places could not be seen at all. A sort of diffused light, weak,
but sufficient to reveal the general contour of the place, existed, let
in, I supposed, through some unseen crevices in the roof or walls. At
first, of course, to our eyes, fresh from the fierce glare outside, the
place seemed wrapped in impenetrable gloom, and we dared not stir lest
we should run into some hidden danger. Before many minutes, however, the
gloom lightened as our pupils enlarged, so that, although the light was
faint, we could find our way about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for
the echoes were so numerous and resonant that even a whisper gave back
from those massy walls in a series of recurring hisses, as if a colony
of snakes