we left our rooms on this occasion we turned to the right hand instead of to the left and proceeded, by means of another flight of stairs, to a long corridor running below that in which we had hitherto dwelt. Whereabouts in the monastery this particular passage was situated, and how its bearings lay with regard to the staircase by which we had ascended from the valley on the previous day, I could not discover. Like all the others however it was innocent of daylight, was lighted by enormous torches, which again were upheld by iron brackets fixed into the walls. Once during our march an opportunity was vouchsafed me of examining these walls for myself, when to my astonishment I discovered that they were not hewn out of the rock as I supposed, but were built of dressed stone of a description resembling granite. This being so I realised for the first time that the cells and the corridors were the work of human hands, but how long it could have taken the builders to complete such an enormous task was a calculation beyond my powers, and the more I thought of it the further off I seemed to be from arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. But to return to my narrative.
From the corridor we passed down another long flight of steps, then across a narrow landing, after which came another staircase. As we reached this our ears were assailed with a loud noise resembling distant thunder.
“What sound is that?” asked Nikola of our guide.
The man did not answer, but leading us along a side passage stopped at a certain spot and, holding his torch above his head, bade us look.
For a moment the dancing flame prevented us from seeing anything. Then our eyes became more accustomed to the light, and to our horrified amazement we discovered that we were standing on the very brink of an enormous precipice. At our feet the wind, which must have come in through some passage from the open air, tore and shrieked, while across the way, not more than twelve yards distant, fell the waters of a magnificent cataract. Picture to yourself that great volume of water crashing, roaring, tearing down through the darkness into the very bowels of the earth. The fall must have been tremendous for no spray came up to us. All we could see was that mass of black water tearing past us. We stood and looked, open mouthed, and when our wonder and curiosity were satisfied as much as it ever would be, turned and followed our guide back to the place where we had been standing when we first heard the noise. At the other end of this landing was a large stone archway, more like a tunnel than anything else, and at its mouth stood a monk. The dwarf went forward to him and said something in a low voice, whereupon he took a torch from the wall at his side and signed to us to follow him. The dwarf returned to the higher regions, while we plunged deeper still below the surface of the earth. Whether we were really as deep down as we imagined, or whether the dampness was caused by some leakage from the cataract we had just seen, I cannot say; at any rate the walls and floors were all streaming wet.
The passage, or tunnel, as I have more fittingly termed it, was a long one, at least fifty feet from entrance to exit. When we had passed through it we found ourselves in the biggest cave I have yet had the luck to come across; indeed so large was it that in the half dark it was with the utmost difficulty I could see across it. Our guide led us through the first transept into the main aisle and then left us. No sign of furniture of any kind, either stool, altar or dais, was to be seen, and as far as we could judge there was not a living soul present. The only sound to be heard was the faint dripping of water which seemed to come from every part of the cave.
“This is eerie enough to suit anyone,” I said to Nikola. “1 don't know that I altogether care about it. I hope the performance will soon commence.”
“Hush!” he said. “Be careful what you say, for you don't know who may overhear you.”