light's rays on the
weird-looking walls of the place.

Dickenson went next, and the captain followed, to find those in front
waiting upon a fairly wide shelf, upon which the bottom of the tree was
propped, while beneath it, and sloping now, the well-like pit went down
into the black darkness, up from which the hollow, echoing rush of water
came in a way which made some of the stoutest present shudder.

The shelf was at the mouth of a low archway which proved, upon the
lantern being held up, to be the entrance to another of the
ramifications of the great series of caves with which the kopje was
honeycombed. Here within a few yards lay the first lantern, which had
rebounded on falling and rolled down into a narrow crack in the
flooring, a rift which ran from somewhere ahead, draining the interior
of the cavern passage, and bearing a tiny stream of water to join the
rushing waters below, these being undoubtedly the source of the
perennial stream which issued from the foot of the kopje.

One of the men pounced upon the lantern at once, to find that, though
the glass was much cracked, it was perfectly ready for use; and there
was a short delay while it was relit without application to the one the
sergeant had just detached, one of the men having now recalled that he
had a tin box of matches nearly full.

The moment this was done Captain Roby gave the order to advance. He
sent the lantern-bearers forward with orders to keep to right and left;
and at the end of about a hundred feet, where the cavern chamber was
beginning to contract, he called aloud for them to halt.

"Now, Mr Lennox," he cried, "advance with six men abreast in a line
with the lights, and make ready to fire if the man in front does not
surrender. Attention!"

His orders echoed along the roof of what seemed to be quite a narrow
passage in front, and the men listened till the last echoes died out,
when Captain Roby spoke again.

"Hoi, there, you Boer in hiding!" he cried. "Your comrade's a prisoner,
and if you wish to save your life, surrender too."

The captain waited, but there was no reply, and the word was given to
advance again, when suddenly from out of the darkness beyond the range
of the lights there came the sharp, clear _click! click_! of a piece
being cocked.

"There's the answer, Mr Lennox," said the captain. "Give your orders,
and clear the place."

"No, stop; I surrender," came from a hoarse voice speaking in broken
English. "Te