d idly talking and pecking against the wall
with a sharp stone when, lo! it broke through. He continued to widen
the opening till, upon throwing down a blue light, there stood revealed
a perfect dome, exquisitely filagreed. It has been known ever since as
Goren's Dome, and a good-sized window, jagging the wall, admits one or
two lookers at a time. On their knees they crawled through the Valley of
Humility, and out into almost endless space, so varied are the landmarks
of this underground miracle. Here is a chamber too vast to be lighted
by the torches; there, a defile so narrow as to be passed only in single
file. Now they traverse a level valley to emerge at the foot of a
mountainous region that must be attacked with alpenstocks and helping
hands.

"Oh, look at that awfully dark place! It might be Pluto's hallway," said
a girl.

"Don't go that way," called the guide; "you must just follow me. There
is where that stranger strayed off and was never heard of again. He was
in bad health and came in here to breathe the pure air for a few hours.
He never came out."

"Goodness!" thundered a dozen voices; "let's move on before his ghost
appears. I hear the rattle of dry bones now."

"The Star Chamber!" shouted the guide, who, being in front, had often
much ado to send his voice to the rear of the party. "Ladies and
gentlemen, walk in, take your seats, and let me have your torches."

He was obeyed with much fluttering and chattering. He extinguished all
the lights but his own, and disappeared behind a ledge of shelving rock.
They were in total darkness. Gradually a ray of blue, then of red, then
of white light, flashed upon the vast concave roof, showing myriads of
star-like points resembling the Milky Way, a crescent moon, and finally
a comet appearing in full sail. The effect was magical.

"It is usual to have a song here, if you would like it," suggested the
guide.

"By all means," was the universal response. "A chorus! a chorus!"

Then the voices swelled upon the air in a thousand reverberating echoes.
At the close the guide reappeared and lit the torches. Once more they
sallied forth.

"Where is Minnie Dare?" suddenly asked a tall girl, whose tongue was too
voluble for the guide's equanimity.

"Here!" sounded the stentorian voice of Jason Hammond.

Upon turning back, however, he found not Minnie, but another small
maiden near him. He darted again into the Star Chamber just as the fleet
steps of Minnie Dare ra