our inspection.

"Now, Gagool," said I, in a low voice--somehow one did not dare to
speak above a whisper in that place--"lead us to the chamber."

The old witch promptly scrambled down from the table.

"My lords are not afraid?" she said, leering up into my face.

"Lead on."

"Good, my lords;" and she hobbled round to the back of the great Death.
"Here is the chamber; let my lords light the lamp, and enter," and she
placed the gourd full of oil upon the floor, and leaned herself against
the side of the cave. I took out a match, of which we had still a few
in a box, and lit a rush wick, and then looked for the doorway, but
there was nothing before us except the solid rock. Gagool grinned. "The
way is there, my lords. _Ha! ha! ha!_"

"Do not jest with us," I said sternly.

"I jest not, my lords. See!" and she pointed at the rock.

As she did so, on holding up the lamp we perceived that a mass of stone
was rising slowly from the floor and vanishing into the rock above,
where doubtless there is a cavity prepared to receive it. The mass was
of the width of a good-sized door, about ten feet high and not less
than five feet thick. It must have weighed at least twenty or thirty
tons, and was clearly moved upon some simple balance principle of
counter-weights, probably the same as that by which the opening and
shutting of an ordinary modern window is arranged. How the principle
was set in motion, of course none of us saw; Gagool was careful to
avoid this; but I have little doubt that there was some very simple
lever, which was moved ever so little by pressure at a secret spot,
thereby throwing additional weight on to the hidden counter-balances,
and causing the monolith to be lifted from the ground.

Very slowly and gently the great stone raised itself, till at last it
had vanished altogether, and a dark hole presented itself to us in the
place which the door had filled.

Our excitement was so intense, as we saw the way to Solomon's treasure
chamber thrown open at last, that I for one began to tremble and shake.
Would it prove a hoax after all, I wondered, or was old Da Silvestra
right? Were there vast hoards of wealth hidden in that dark place,
hoards which would make us the richest men in the whole world? We
should know in a minute or two.

"Enter, white men from the Stars," said Gagool, advancing into the
doorway; "but first hear your servant, Gagool the old. The bright
stones that ye will see were dug out of t