oodley was actually going out of his mind. "No," I repeated in a
faltering tone, "I don't believe in ghosts."

"Neither do I, then," said George; and picking up his wooden spade, he
went on digging.

CHAPTER XVII.

DAYLIGHT AT LAST.

How that night passed, or whether it was night or day, I cannot say.
Worn out, I must have fallen asleep over my work; and when I awoke,
George was shaking my arm and informing me that he had crawled through
the hole and found the passage free on the other side. I seemed to be
burning hot now; there was a singing in my head, and as I rose to my
feet I staggered and almost fell. How many hours George had been at
work I had no idea. My notions of time were getting hazy and
uncertain; I felt that we had lived in that dark, windy passage for
ages.

The hole had been enlarged just sufficiently to admit of our crawling
through. The fall of earth did not extend many yards, and beyond it we
found ourselves in the continuation of the tunnel. On, on, on we went,
moving slowly, with only the uncertain light of the tiny lamp to warn
us of any dangerous pitfall which might lie in our path. Contrary to
my expectation, we encountered no further obstacle of a similar kind to
that through which we had just cut our way. Now we were passing once
more through solid rock, and now the tunnel was continued through
earth, supported by rough-hewn beams, black with damp and age. Owing
to our slow progress, the distance seemed much longer than it no doubt
really was; the path sloped upward with a gentle gradient all the way,
and so long did the ascent appear that at almost every step I wondered
that we did not arrive at the surface of the ground on a level with the
top of the cliffs. The passage made no turns, and we were evidently
striking straight inland. The air still kept fresh, and even at this
distance from the cave we could feel the upward blast of air as the big
seas entered the cavern.

I staggered along like one in a dream, sometimes steadying myself with
my hands as I lurched up against rock or beam; then all at once George,
who was going on a pace or two in front, started back so quickly that
he trod on my toes, and nearly knocked me down. At the same moment the
lamp fell from his hand, and we were once more in a darkness that could
be felt.

I heard it myself that time! Out of the inky blackness, from the
direction in which we were going, there came a most unearthly sound,
ha