gh the narrow part of the passage. It was not a great distance,
fortunately, and when the path grew broader they put the buggy together
again and proceeded more comfortably. But the road was nothing more than
a series of rifts or cracks in the mountain, and it went zig-zag in
every direction, slanting first up and then down until they were puzzled
as to whether they were any nearer to the top of the earth than when
they had started, hours before.

"Anyhow," said Dorothy, "we've 'scaped those awful Gurgles, and that's
_one_ comfort!"

[Illustration: "WHY IT'S A DRAGON!"]

"Probably the Gargoyles are still busy trying to put out the fire,"
returned the Wizard. "But even if they succeeded in doing that it
would be very difficult for them to fly amongst these rocks; so I am
sure we need fear them no longer."

Once in a while they would come to a deep crack in the floor, which made
the way quite dangerous; but there was still enough oil in the lanterns
to give them light, and the cracks were not so wide but that they were
able to jump over them. Sometimes they had to climb over heaps of loose
rock, where Jim could scarcely drag the buggy. At such times Dorothy,
Zeb and the Wizard all pushed behind, and lifted the wheels over the
roughest places; so they managed, by dint of hard work, to keep going.
But the little party was both weary and discouraged when at last, on
turning a sharp corner, the wanderers found themselves in a vast cave
arching high over their heads and having a smooth, level floor.

The cave was circular in shape, and all around its edge, near to the
ground, appeared groups of dull yellow lights, two of them being always
side by side. These were motionless at first, but soon began to flicker
more brightly and to sway slowly from side to side and then up and down.

"What sort of a place is this?" asked the boy, trying to see more
clearly through the gloom.

"I cannot imagine, I'm sure," answered the Wizard, also peering about.

"Woogh!" snarled Eureka, arching her back until her hair stood straight
on end; "it's a den of alligators, or crocodiles, or some other dreadful
creatures! Don't you see their terrible eyes?"

"Eureka sees better in the dark than we can," whispered Dorothy. "Tell
us, dear, what do the creatures look like?" she asked, addressing her
pet.

"I simply can't describe 'em," answered the kitten, shuddering. "Their
eyes are like pie-plates and their mouths like coal-scuttles. But the