In less than two minutes this was done, and all four were ready to enter the opening.
With Van at their head they pushed inside.
It was as dark as the grave itself, and they felt the need of a torch to light them on their way through the unknown place.
Dr. Pestle had enough oil left in a bottle to saturate a piece of his coat, and when this was twisted into a compact mass it was lighted.
The doctor walked by the side of Van, with his improvised torch, which served its purpose well enough.
When they had traversed a distance of probably two hundred yards, they found they did not need any light.
Before them they beheld a vast cavern of a circular shape.
In many places upon the ground small fires were burning, and these furnished enough light for them to see where they were going. Around the fires could be seen groups of the dwarfs, who were, by the way, the strangest people any of our friends had ever seen.
They wore short skirts, which seemed to be made of some sort of leather, the rest of their bodies being bare.
The tallest of them could not have been over three feet six inches in height, but they seemed to be very powerful, for all that.