pery as ice; she felt dreadfully helpless, and if it had not been
for the staying power of the rope, she would have shot down as if she
had been tobogganing. She managed to aid herself a little by grasping
angles of the wall, though one hand was incommoded by holding the
candle.

"It's all right. Don't squeak--you've got over the worst now," said
Eric, extending a welcome grip at the awkward corner. "Put your foot
against that ledge; now then, swing yourself round.--Hi! More rope, up
there!--Let yourself slide now--it's only a few feet. You've done it!
Hooray!"

Dorothy felt like a heroine as she scrambled to her feet and untied the
rope. She peeped anxiously up the chute to see how Gabrielle would fare.
The latter, after protesting vigorously that she daren't and couldn't
and wouldn't, was at length persuaded to try, and accomplished the
descent with many squeals of terror.

"Pooh! What a fuss you girls make!" said Eric. "There's nothing to be
frightened about."

When his sister was safely landed at the bottom, Percy managed to
descend unaided, and the four started once more on their march of
exploration. They were now in a long gallery, much loftier and wider
than the passage above. It extended for about a hundred feet, then
narrowed and lowered abruptly, so that for a few yards they were obliged
to stoop to get along. Suddenly they all stopped with a cry of
amazement: the passage ended with a natural arch, and they found
themselves staring into a vast subterranean chamber. The cavern was
oval in shape, and had probably once been an underground reservoir for
water. From the roof, like huge icicles, hung innumerable stalactites,
many of which, meeting with stalagmites that rose from the floor, formed
pillars as beautiful as the marble columns in a Greek temple. In the
faint light of the four candles the scene was immensely impressive. The
cave seemed to stretch before the spectators like the dim aisles of some
great cathedral. They could not see to its farthest extent, but from
somewhere in the distance came the noise of rushing water. Walking
carefully between the stalagmites, they commenced a tour of
investigation, holding the lights high above their heads, so as to gain
as good a view as possible.

"If we only had a piece of magnesium ribbon to burn, wouldn't it be
magnificent?" sighed Percy.

"Or even a motor lamp," added Eric.

Guided by the sound of the water, they reached the corner of the
chamber, whe