The rope went steadily into the hole, and George knew that his comrade was making easy progress. Then it stopped, and he became somewhat worried. Suppose it had become untied and had slipped from Ed’s waist!
George drew it gently toward him and, when he had taken up the slack, felt the weight of his friend at the other end. Then he slackened it, but the coil lay there, and the rope was motionless! Something was wrong! He waited a minute longer, and was about to pull with all his might in an effort to extricate Ed from any difficulty he might have got into, when again the rope began to slip forward into the cave.
Ed had found, as he advanced, that the passageway widened. He crawled slowly on, pausing now and then to hold the candle well out in front, so that he could see his path and safeguard himself against accident. The passage continued in a direct line; and, as he was already some distance in, Ed began to wonder if he would come to the end of his rope before he reached the end of the tunnel. If he did, he determined to cast loose and go on, for, now he had started, the lad made up his mind to find out where this dark alleyway led and what was at the end of it.
He was glad to find that the passage continued to broaden, for this promised him safe and easy return. Furthermore, should he suddenly find himself confronted by a wild beast, he would have room to use his rifle. Also he was able to make swifter progress, and he was anxious to reach the end of his journey and learn what awaited him there. The air began to grow close and stifling as he got farther in, and several times he felt a bit dizzy.
At last he came to the end of the rope, and felt it tighten and hold him back. Pushing the candle far in advance, he saw close at hand a circular cavern. Evidently the passage ended there. Ed determined to find out, and, reaching his arms around behind him, he untied the rope from his waist. Then, cautiously, he crawled forward toward the mysterious underground chamber.
When he finally crept into this large rock-bound room, Ed was surprised to find that he was able to stand erect. Even by raising himself on his toes and stretching his arms aloft he could not reach within several inches of the rocky ceiling. The place seemed to have no other occupant than himself; and, assured on that point, the lad set about to examine it carefully. Suddenly he exclaimed, for, as he turned, the light of his candle brought out some strange signs on the walls.
Chiseled, or nicked, into the solid rock were strange figures and hieroglyphics, or picture-writings. Ed began to trace them with the tips of his fingers in an endeavor to make them out. There were many drawings or tracings of arrows. Again there were rude sketches of hands and feet. Then there were figures presumably intended to represent different birds and animals. All these were separated one from another by a series of straight and wavy lines.
Most of the drawings were over to one side of the cavern. From what he had read, Ed believed them to be the work of long-departed tribes of Indians. No doubt they had made use of this cave, and to reach it had wormed their way, as he had just done, through the dark, narrow passageway. The thought of it thrilled him, and he gave a half-startled, involuntary glance about the dimly lighted chamber, as though fearful that some of the prehistoric picture-makers still lurked in its shadows.
What he saw caused him to cry out in horror. He staggered back against the wall, his eyes fixed on the gruesome object before him. There, on the ground and but a few feet away, sat a whitened human skeleton, its back against the rough wall.
For a moment the shock of his startling discovery completely unnerved him. He dropped the pole, and his candle went out. Even in the inky blackness which followed, the lad could see, all too vividly, a vision of that awful thing against the wall.