Then it was that they first saw what caused the light.
A girl, who was almost as beautiful as the queen herself, had entered through a passage at the other side of the cave at about the same time they had.
She carried a blazing torch, which she waved to and fro in a weird sort of fashion.
A heavy band of metal was about her neck, and upon her wrists bracelets glittered and flashed in the rays of light.
She began walking in a circle about the six prisoners.
When she had made the circuit five times, a low, grinding music struck up from some unseen place near by.
Almost instantly a slight commotion was heard, and fully forty girls, attired the same as the first, entered the cave.
Each one carried a lighted torch, and the flame of each shed forth a light of different hue.
As soon as they had placed themselves in position, the hidden music changed to a quick air, and they began to dance in a wild, graceful sort of way.
For five minutes the girls kept up the dance, and then a change occurred.