security when he heard footsteps, and then
the cheery voice of Branasko nearly opposite him across the chasm:

"Are you there?"

"Yes."

"It is well; I have discovered a good pathway down to the cave, and a
pool of fish besides. I have saved some for you. I was so hungry I had
to eat. Now, you must jump over to me."

"I cannot," declared the American. "I cannot jump so far; besides, you
failed."

Branasko laughed. "I did not leap in the right direction. It is this
point on which I am now standing that I should have tried to reach.
Come, I will catch you."

Johnston could not bear to be considered cowardly, so he stepped to the
verge of the chasm and prepared to jump. His head felt more dizzy as he
thought of the fathomless depths beneath, and the rush of hot air up the
side of the cliff took his breath away, but he braced himself and said
calmly: "All right, I am coming." The next instant he sprang forward.
Branasko caught him into his arms and they both rolled back on the level
stone.

"Good," cried the Alphian, trying to catch his breath, which Johnston
had knocked out of him by the fall. "You did better than I; you are
lighter."

"Where shall we go now?" asked Johnston, regaining his feet and feeling
of his legs and arms to see if he had broken any bones.

"Down this winding path to the place where I saw that light. I want to
understand it. But you must first eat this fish. It is delicious. They
are swarming in the pools below."

"And water?" said Johnston.

"An abundance of it, and as cold as ice."

As Branasko preceded him down the tortuous path, Johnston ate the raw
fish eagerly. Presently they came to a deep pool of water, and both men
threw themselves down on their stomachs and drank freely. After this
they proceeded slowly for several hundred yards, and finally reached
the entrance to the cave in which Branasko had seen the light. At that
distance it looked like the light of some great conflagration reflected
from the face of a cliff.

They entered the cave and made good progress toward the light, for it
showed them the dangerous fissures, sharp boulders and stalactites. They
had walked along in silence for several minutes when the Alphian
stopped abruptly and turned to his companion. "What is the matter?" asked
Johnston.

"It cannot come from the internal fires," replied Branasko, "for the
atmosphere grows cooler as we get nearer the light and away from the
chasm."

Johnston was too much