I did not think anything of it at the
time, concluding that he had gone to sleep. His back was resting
against mine, and it seemed to grow colder and colder, till at last it
felt like ice.

At length the air began to grow grey with light, then golden arrows
sped across the snow, and at last the glorious sun peeped above the
lava wall and looked in upon our half-frozen forms. Also it looked upon
Ventvoegel, sitting there amongst us, _stone dead_. No wonder his back
felt cold, poor fellow. He had died when I heard him sigh, and was now
frozen almost stiff. Shocked beyond measure, we dragged ourselves from
the corpse--how strange is that horror we mortals have of the
companionship of a dead body--and left it sitting there, its arms
clasped about its knees.

By this time the sunlight was pouring its cold rays, for here they were
cold, straight into the mouth of the cave. Suddenly I heard an
exclamation of fear from someone, and turned my head.

And this is what I saw: Sitting at the end of the cavern--it was not
more than twenty feet long--was another form, of which the head rested
on its chest and the long arms hung down. I stared at it, and saw that
this too was a _dead man_, and, what was more, a white man.

The others saw also, and the sight proved too much for our shattered
nerves. One and all we scrambled out of the cave as fast as our
half-frozen limbs would carry us.

CHAPTER VII

SOLOMON'S ROAD

Outside the cavern we halted, feeling rather foolish.

"I am going back," said Sir Henry.

"Why?" asked Good.

"Because it has struck me that--what we saw--may be my brother."

This was a new idea, and we re-entered the place to put it to the
proof. After the bright light outside, our eyes, weak as they were with
staring at the snow, could not pierce the gloom of the cave for a
while. Presently, however, they grew accustomed to the semi-darkness,
and we advanced towards the dead man.

Sir Henry knelt down and peered into his face.

"Thank God," he said, with a sigh of relief, "it is _not_ my brother."

Then I drew near and looked. The body was that of a tall man in middle
life with aquiline features, grizzled hair, and a long black moustache.
The skin was perfectly yellow, and stretched tightly over the bones.
Its clothing, with the exception of what seemed to be the remains of a
woollen pair of hose, had been removed, leaving the skeleton-like frame
naked. Round the neck of the corpse, which was froze