“And then,” added Nikias cheerfully, “people will come after many years and find only our bones!”
“Stop that kind of talk, you horrid little pig!” cried Andromache.
Iason hesitated.
“If only I had not thrown the candle away! Oh, well, never mind! I suppose we had better turn back.”
And they retraced their steps in the same order. Pavlo who came last lagged behind for a moment. About half way, on the left side, was something he had not noticed when they had been going in; a bright spot, a speck of light, something white and shining in the dim twilight. But as he wondered what it could be, he saw that he was alone and hurried on to join the others; and as soon as he had taken two steps forward, the speck of light disappeared suddenly, as though someone had blown it out.
He caught up with the others at the entrance.
“Listen!” he said, catching hold of Nikias, who was just stepping out into the daylight, “Down there I saw ….”
But they never heard what he saw, for at that moment he heard a series of loud thuds, a scream from Chryseis who had been the first to get out of the entrance, and a muttered exclamation from Iason as he sprang forward and pushed both his sisters so violently backward into the cave, that they fell over the two smaller boys, dragging them down.
At the same moment Pavlo, lifting himself up, saw two large stones fall from above, right in front of the opening of the cave.
“What is it?”