hey clutched the ropes tightly and stared down into the hole.
Martin could not see their faces, but their postures were eloquent of
their terror. Beyond, by the light of the lantern at his feet, the
remaining Jap was plainly revealed. His face was visible--and
terror-stricken. But he still had the hauling line about him, and was
leaning backwards keeping the saving strain upon the lifeline.

The great steam roar died away to the rhythmic, whistling wail that had
preceded it. But another great noise was commencing. It was not the
shattering scream of steam, but a mighty rumble that came from an
immense distance. Coincidentally, the mountain itself came alive and
shook, not violently, but gently, shudderingly, as if Atlas, far
beneath, were hunching his burdened shoulders.

A dim light appeared, hovering over the great crack in the cave floor.
It seemed a reflection of some distant glare, in color a pale green.
Slowly it mounted and spread, diffusing a soft, eerie radiance, and
revealing to Martin's fascinated gaze the truly vast dimensions of the
cave of winds.

Something forced Martin's gaze to the other entrance. And, as his eyes
rested upon the figure of the rope-holding Jap, Martin's own body
stiffened convulsively with a shock of surprise. His heart skipped a
beat, and then began to furiously race, while cold chills crawled up
and down his spine.

For a second figure had suddenly materialized beside the figure of a
Jap. Another figure--a gnome, a wraith! The unholy light from the pit
painted it an unearthly greenish hue, and accentuated the haggardness
of face, and the gleaming eyes, the humped body, its crookedness
magnified by the crouched attitude. It looked like some demon come
floating up on the wicked light from the "deep place." It crouched to
leap, to strike, and a bared knife gleamed in an upraised hand; it
glared balefully, fixedly, at the living anchor of the lifeline.

The yellow sailor seemed to feel that fearsome presence at his side.
He did not turn his head, but he slowly rolled his eyes and regarded
the menacing apparition. An expression of complete horror and despair
swept into his face.

For an instant he remained motionless. Then his surrender to his
terror was complete. He leaped as though released by a spring, cast
the rope from him, covered his face with his hands, and backed away
from the figure. He backed into the big cave, toward the pit.

In another second they were