The painter patted them with his hand, caressed them, and tried to reassure them, and then continued his investigations.
The further he advanced into the gallery, the more the noise became intense. It was no longer cries and trampling that he heard, but the sound of firearms, and the clashing of sabres.
Doubt was no longer possible; a furious combat was being fought a few steps from the entry of the cavern.
This certainty, far from stopping the young man, increased his desire to know positively what was passing; he almost ran to reach the end of the gallery.
There he was obliged to stop; an enormous stone hermetically sealed the entrance of the cavern.
The young man, nevertheless, was not discouraged by this apparently insurmountable obstacle.
This stone could evidently be moved; but what means could he employ to obtain that result? He knew not.
Then, with the help of his lantern, he proceeded to examine the stone above, below, and on the sides, seeking how he might succeed in removing it.
For nearly half an hour he gave himself up to an inspection as careful as it was useless, and he began to despair of discovering the secret which evidently existed, when suddenly he thought he saw the stone slightly move.
He looked more attentively. Yes, the stone was gently moved, and was, by degrees, coming out of its cell.