crevice, and at once found myself in a
cave perhaps thirty feet wide and about fifty feet deep. And now comes
the strangest part of the affair. It is nearly half full of bales and
parcels, with several jars, apparently earthenware, their mouths tied
over with what looks like a coarse kind of cloth; but everything is so
thickly coated with dust and grime that it is quite impossible to guess
at the contents of these jars and bales without further investigation.
And in one corner there are stacked up a number of weapons--spears and
axes--so rusted and decayed that they may have been there for centuries.
There are also a number of what I took to be shields by the look of
them; but they, like everything else, are so coated with dust that I did
not touch them. But I must certainly give the place a thorough
overhaul, as it may serve us as a refuge and place of concealment at a
pinch. Would you like to go up and have a look at the cave and its
contents now?"

"I should like it very much, if you think I could climb the stairs,"
answered Sibylla.

"Oh, yes," answered Ned, "you can do that easily enough, I should think;
and I should like you to make the attempt, if only to find out whether
you could accomplish the ascent at some future time, if necessary. I
will go before and clear the way for you, using the axe if we meet with
any very serious obstacles; but I think you will be able to manage
without much difficulty. Ah, here, you see, is the landing at the
bottom of the flight"--and Ned indicated to his companion a flat ledge
about a yard square, close to the surface of the water.

The dinghy was carefully secured, and then, stepping on to the ledge,
Ned assisted his companion ashore.

There could be no doubt as to the fact that from this ledge or landing a
flight of step-like projections led diagonally up the face of the cliff;
and, thickly overgrown as they were, there could be as little doubt
that, if not entirely artificial, nature had been largely assisted by
the hand of man in their formation. The flight averaged pretty evenly
about a yard in width, each step being about six inches high; so that
but for the dense growth of shrubs upon them, the ascent would have been
exceedingly easy. Even as things were, Sibylla experienced far less
difficulty than she had anticipated; Ned going before and then pressing
the shrubs aside to facilitate her passage, using his axe here and there
to remove such growth as stood fai