"Oh, look at that awfully dark place! It might be Pluto's hallway," said a girl.
"Don't go that way," called the guide; "you must just follow me. There is where that stranger strayed off and was never heard of again. He was in bad health and came in here to breathe the pure air for a few hours. He never came out."
"Goodness!" thundered a dozen voices; "let's move on before his ghost appears. I hear the rattle of dry bones now."
"The Star Chamber!" shouted the guide, who, being in front, had often much ado to send his voice to the rear of the party. "Ladies and gentlemen, walk in, take your seats, and let me have your torches."
He was obeyed with much fluttering and chattering. He extinguished all the lights but his own, and disappeared behind a ledge of shelving rock. They were in total darkness. Gradually a ray of blue, then of red, then of white light, flashed upon the vast concave roof, showing myriads of star-like points resembling the Milky Way, a crescent moon, and finally a comet appearing in full sail. The effect was magical.
"It is usual to have a song here, if you would like it," suggested the guide.
"By all means," was the universal response. "A chorus! a chorus!"
Then the voices swelled upon the air in a thousand reverberating echoes. At the close the guide reappeared and lit the torches. Once more they sallied forth.
"Where is Minnie Dare?" suddenly asked a tall girl, whose tongue was too voluble for the guide's equanimity.
"Here!" sounded the stentorian voice of Jason Hammond.