"What is that?" asked the Professor.
"Barbara wants you to wait till the morning," replied Edith. "I think it will be better. This light doesn't make the place look attractive."
Leith moved his big hands in a manner that showed he was willing to wait till the following day, and Barbara Herndon gave a little gasp of relief. Soma coiled the rope that he had laid out in expectation of an immediate descent, and the whole party moved back about thirty yards from the obstacle in our path. As I analyzed my own feelings, on turning my back upon the spot, I felt that Barbara Herndon was not alone in desiring to make the trip when the wholesome sunbeams were pouring into the shadowy cauldron.
CHAPTER IX
INTO THE VALLEY OF ECHOES
Holman and I had sat up late discussing the Vermilion-lined crater on the night we halted upon its brink, and it was Leith's voice that roused us in the morning. He showed no signs of resentment over the difference with Holman on the preceding afternoon, and he attempted to joke with Barbara Herndon as we made a hasty breakfast.
"I hope you slept well?" he grinned.
"I didn't," she replied. "I had dreams of that place, and they were perfectly horrid dreams."