"If you would only consent to keep still," said I, "we would take you down with us in ten seconds.""Hum!" returned Peterkin; "suppose a salamander was to propose to you 'only to keep still,' and he would carry you through a blazing fire in a few seconds, what would you say?"We both laughed and shook our heads, for it was evident that nothing was to be made of Peterkin in the water.But we could not rest satisfied till we had seen more of this cave; so, after further consultation, Jack and I determined to try if we could take down a torch with us, and set fire to it in the cavern.This we found to be an undertaking of no small difficulty; but we accomplished it at last by the following means:- First, we made a torch of a very inflammable nature out of the bark of a certain tree, which we cut into strips, and, after twisting, cemented together with a kind of resin or gum, which we also obtained from another tree; neither of which trees, however, was known by name to Jack.This, when prepared, we wrapped up in a great number of plies of cocoa-nut cloth, so that we were confident it could not get wet during the short time it should be under water.Then we took a small piece of the tinder, which we had carefully treasured up lest we should require it, as before said, when the sun should fail us; also, we rolled up some dry grass and a few chips, which, with a little bow and drill, like those described before, we made into another bundle, and wrapped it up in cocoa-nut cloth.When all was ready we laid aside our garments, with the exception of our trousers, which, as we did not know what rough scraping against the rocks we might be subjected to, we kept on.
Then we advanced to the edge of the rocks, Jack carrying one bundle, with the torch; I the other, with the things for producing fire.
"Now don't weary for us, Peterkin, should we be gone some time,"said Jack; "we'll be sure to return in half-an-hour at the very latest, however interesting the cave should be, that we may relieve your mind.""Farewell!" said Peterkin, coming up to us with a look of deep but pretended solemnity, while he shook hands and kissed each of us on the cheek."Farewell! and while you are gone I shall repose my weary limbs under the shelter of this bush, and meditate on the changefulness of all things earthly, with special reference to the forsaken condition of a poor ship-wrecked sailor boy!" So saying, Peterkin waved his hand, turned from us, and cast himself upon the ground with a look of melancholy resignation, which was so well feigned, that I would have thought it genuine had he not accompanied it with a gentle wink.We both laughed, and, springing from the rocks together, plunged head first into the sea.
We gained the interior of the submarine cave without difficulty, and, on emerging from the waves, supported ourselves for some time by treading-water, while we held the two bundles above our heads.
This we did in order to let our eyes become accustomed to the obscurity.Then, when we could see sufficiently, we swam to a shelving rock, and landed in safety.Having wrung the water from our trousers, and dried ourselves as well as we could under the circumstances, we proceeded to ignite the torch.This we accomplished without difficulty in a few minutes; and no sooner did it flare up than we were struck dumb with the wonderful objects that were revealed to our gaze.The roof of the cavern just above us seemed to be about ten feet high, but grew higher as it receded into the distance, until it was lost in darkness.It seemed to be made of coral, and was supported by massive columns of the same material.Immense icicles (as they appeared to us) hung from it in various places.These, however, were formed, not of ice, but of a species of limestone, which seemed to flow in a liquid form towards the point of each, where it became solid.A good many drops fell, however, to the rock below, and these formed little cones, which rose to meet the points above.Some of them had already met, and thus we saw how the pillars were formed, which at first seemed to us as if they had been placed there by some human architect to support the roof.As we advanced farther in, we saw that the floor was composed of the same material as the pillars; and it presented the curious appearance of ripples, such as are formed on water when gently ruffled by the wind.There were several openings on either hand in the walls, that seemed to lead into other caverns; but these we did not explore at this time.We also observed that the ceiling was curiously marked in many places, as if it were the fret-work of a noble cathedral; and the walls, as well as the roof, sparkled in the light of our torch, and threw back gleams and flashes, as if they were covered with precious stones.Although we proceeded far into this cavern, we did not come to the end of it;and we were obliged to return more speedily than we would otherwise have done, as our torch was nearly expended.We did not observe any openings in the roof, or any indications of places whereby light might enter; but near the entrance to the cavern stood an immense mass of pure white coral rock, which caught and threw back the little light that found an entrance through the cave's mouth, and thus produced, we conjectured, the pale-green object which had first attracted our attention.We concluded, also, that the reflecting power of this rock was that which gave forth the dim light that faintly illumined the first part of the cave.
Before diving through the passage again we extinguished the small piece of our torch that remained, and left it in a dry spot;conceiving that we might possibly stand in need of it, if at any future time we should chance to wet our torch while diving into the cavern.As we stood for a few minutes after it was out, waiting till our eyes became accustomed to the gloom, we could not help remarking the deep, intense stillness and the unutterable gloom of all around us; and, as I thought of the stupendous dome above, and the countless gems that had sparkled in the torch-light a few minutes before, it came into my mind to consider how strange it is that God should make such wonderful and extremely-beautiful works never to be seen at all, except, indeed, by chance visitors such as ourselves.
I afterwards found that there were many such caverns among the islands of the South Seas, some of them larger and more beautiful than the one I have just described.
"Now, Ralph, are you ready?" said Jack, in a low voice, that seemed to echo up into the dome above.
"Quite ready."
"Come along, then," said he; and, plunging off the ledge of the rock into the water, we dived through the narrow entrance.In a few seconds we were panting on the rocks above, and receiving the congratulations of our friend Peterkin.
