ave looked upon with
contempt, for it showed him, just in time, a yawning pit, apparently
terminating the tunnel he was traversing.

Before him was a circular shaft. He held the candle above it and
peered downward. Below him, at a great distance, he saw the light
reflected back from the surface of a pool of water. He had come upon a
well. He raised the candle above his head and peered across the black
void, and there upon the opposite side he saw the continuation of the
tunnel; but how was he to span the gulf?

As he stood there measuring the distance to the opposite side and
wondering if he dared venture so great a leap, there broke suddenly
upon his startled ears a piercing scream which diminished gradually
until it ended in a series of dismal moans. The voice seemed partly
human, yet so hideous that it might well have emanated from the
tortured throat of a lost soul, writhing in the fires of hell.

The Belgian shuddered and looked fearfully upward, for the scream had
seemed to come from above him. As he looked he saw an opening far
overhead, and a patch of sky pinked with brilliant stars.

His half-formed intention to call for help was expunged by the
terrifying cry--where such a voice lived, no human creatures could
dwell. He dared not reveal himself to whatever inhabitants dwelt in
the place above him. He cursed himself for a fool that he had ever
embarked upon such a mission. He wished himself safely back in the
camp of Achmet Zek, and would almost have embraced an opportunity to
give himself up to the military authorities of the Congo if by so doing
he might be rescued from the frightful predicament in which he now was.

He listened fearfully, but the cry was not repeated, and at last
spurred to desperate means, he gathered himself for the leap across the
chasm. Going back twenty paces, he took a running start, and at the
edge of the well, leaped upward and outward in an attempt to gain the
opposite side.

In his hand he clutched the sputtering candle, and as he took the leap
the rush of air extinguished it. In utter darkness he flew through
space, clutching outward for a hold should his feet miss the invisible
ledge.

He struck the edge of the door of the opposite terminus of the rocky
tunnel with his knees, slipped backward, clutched desperately for a
moment, and at last hung half within and half without the opening; but
he was safe. For several minutes he dared not move; but clung, weak
an