They advanced through the long chamber, the only sounds audible being their own footsteps, and the hurried breathing of the excited men. Presently a narrow passage compelled them to stoop low and go in single file over a broken, crooked path, till they emerged into a second chamber, larger than the first, and the light of the lanterns came back to them from the mirror-like surface of a black pool, into which Butler had nearly fallen.
As he recovered himself with an involuntary exclamation, a loud, mocking peal of laughter sounded from the roof above them, and the sound, repeated by the echoes, came with a terrible effect to the ears of the explorers. As if to test their nerves to the utmost, there was a rushing in the air, close by, and a swarm of bats swished past them, brushing them with their wings and tangling in the long hair of several dragoons.
The confusion in the narrow passage was indescribable. The German dragoons cursed in guttural accents, the Indians uttered their startled “Hugh!” and all struggled together to flee, jammed up against the rocks.
The thundering voice of Butler recalled them to their senses.
“Halt, fools!” shouted the enraged partisan. “Do ye fear the empty laugh of a single man, and a few bats? Forward, and keep your rifles ready! We are hunting this juggler to his hole at last. He is here. Follow me, and we’ll soon find out.”
No sooner had he finished than the same demoniac peal of laughter echoed through the cave, seeming to come from overhead. The bold partisan shouted defiantly back, and his men, reassured, followed him onward into the cave, skirting the black lake as they went. It was a large chamber in which they found themselves, but its border was very narrow round the lake. After the second peal of laughter, all was silent.
Butler paused at a place where the white rock shelved out into the water making a broader platform. He cast the light of his lantern all round the cave, but could see no further path on the shore. The inky waters came up to the platform and another step would only plunge them into its icy depths.
Then he turned his gaze on the wall of rock and perceived a rude pathway leading up in a zigzag and reaching a platform above that on which he stood. Beyond it was a great black opening in the midst of which stood a sheeted ghost, gleaming snow white against the black background with all the startling effect of reality.
For a moment the blood rushed to the heart of the bold partisan, so weird was the vision. The men behind him had also caught sight of the fearful figure and uttered low exclamations of terror. Butler was the first to recover.
“Follow me, fools” he said. “’Tis only a stalactite after all. See it glitter.”