Part 77 (1/2)
”No go, sir; just like one of them fishy things we get alongside.”
”Try another.”
_Whisk_--_crick_--_crick_--_crack_--and a flash of light.
”Hooray!” cried Ned, as the tiny taper blazed up and burned steadily, showing that the holder was close to the edge of a huge chasm, down which a couple of strides would have taken him, and as the light burned lower Jack crept quickly to where Ned still crouched by the side of the pa.s.sage.
”Why, Ned, I could not see much, but this opens out here into a vast place.”
”Yes, sir; I got a glimpse of it. Shall I light another match?”
”No, no, save them.”
”But we ought to get out of here as soon as we can, sir.”
”Of course, but we shall see a faint gleam from the entrance directly our eyes have grown used to the change.”
”Shall we, sir?”
”Of course.”
”Well, I don't want to show the white feather again, but I can't help feeling that we ought to be out of this.”
”Wait and listen.”
”Can't hear nothing, sir,” said the man after a minute's pause.
”No, and I can see the faint dawn of light there gleaming against the wall yonder. Let's begin to go back very quietly in case the blacks are still there.”
”I'm more than ready, sir.”
”Then lead on, Ned.”
”Mean it, sir?”
”Yes, go on.”
Ned rose, and Jack followed suit, to begin stepping cautiously on, till by slow degrees they reached the sharp angle in the pa.s.sage, and could look straight out to the entrance and see that all was clear, while there before them was the bright sunny sky, and away in the distance the gleaming sea.
”I say, who's afraid?” cried Ned excitedly. ”But, Mr Jack, sir, what a rum thing darkness is! I felt twice as much scared over that as I did about the n.i.g.g.e.rs, and--Oh, I say, look at that!”
Before the lad could grasp what he was about to do, Ned ran forward toward the light till he was half-way to the mouth of the cavern, when Jack saw the dark silhouette-like figure stoop down again and again, to pick up something each time, and he returned laughing, bearing quite a bundle of spears, bows, and arrows.
”There, I was right,” cried Jack; ”they were frightened--so scared that they dropped their weapons and ran.”
”Yes, sir, and set us up with some tools. Oh, if it had only been our guns!”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.