mighty
cauldron. The inky clouds, which seemed to heave like black masses of
cotton wool far down in the abyss, left the imagination to perform
acrobatic feats as it attempted to picture the possible depths that lay
below. The thing was weird, terrible, fear-inspiring. It looked like a
mighty crucible in which infernal things might have been manufactured in
the days when the world was taking shape.

The rays of the westering sun beat upon the sides directly opposite our
point of observation, and the colours seemed to leap from the rock. It
glowed in a manner that was indescribable. Sudden flashes came from it
as if the vermilion mass was studded with blazing carbuncles, but the
fascinating beauty of the part that was exposed to the rays was in
violent contrast to the cold depths where the mind pictured a body
falling through leagues of space.

For about five minutes no one spoke. The awful suddenness with which the
thing had appeared in our path throttled conversation. An inner self
connected the pit with the singular feeling of depression which had
gripped us the moment we landed upon the island, and we stood
breathless, wondering stupidly how we had sensed the vermilion-lined
horror into which the path led.

It was the Professor who broke the silence. The momentary awe which he
experienced when the strange freak of nature sprang up before his eyes
was dispelled by the vanity which prompted him to air his knowledge
concerning the cause of the vivid colours which seemed to radiate from
the walls. He prattled upon the effect of heat upon minerals till he
made us dizzy, and Holman broke in upon his chatter with a question that
he fired point blank at Leith.

"But what did we climb up here for?" asked the youngster. "Did we come
for the view alone?"

Leith grinned as he surveyed the questioner. "No, we didn't come for the
view," he answered. "It happens to be on the way to our destination."

Holman looked around at the basalt walls that hemmed us in on both
sides, and then glanced at the pit in front.

"But we can go no farther," he said.

Leith's smile spread across his ugly flat face. "You are too young to
know everything," he sneered.

The youngster's eyes opened as he looked again at the circular pit with
its brilliantly tinted sides. The answer perplexed him, and he waited
anxiously for an explanation.

"But how can we?" he asked.

Leith stood for a moment before replying, then he moved closer to the
e