Eva's Adventures in Shadow-Land

by Mary D. Nauman; Clara F. Guernsey

IT was not without a moment’s fear that Eva saw the arch of the cavern close behind her, shutting her into silence; and surrounding her with a darkness which could not only be seen, but which was almost to be felt. At least so it seemed in contrast with the bright valley which she had left; but before many minutes had passed, or the boat had gone very far, her eyes became accustomed to the change, the intense blackness which surrounded her softened into a pale, dim gray; and then Eva saw that she was in a low arched place, like a long tunnel cut in the solid rock. Every now and then a drop of water would fall splashing into the brook from the roof, or else a little wave would break, rippling against the wall; but those were the only sounds to be heard.

Even the boat glided along noiselessly, with a smooth, uniform motion,—and the tiny waves, which occasionally ruffled the surface of the dark, still water, passed under her without Eva’s noticing them. Leaning over the side, Eva could just see in the water the dim outlines of the trout, which swam along noiselessly in their respective places. Then all at once it grew lighter, and in the two cups of the lilies in which the curved prow and stern of the boat ended, she saw that a pale, blue flame was burning, and she knew then that from these blue flames came all the dim gray light which illumined the cavern. And presently, without thinking, she dipped her hand into the brook, and right away the water all around it was full of bright sparkles, and yet these little sparkles did not burn her; and then one of the six speckled trout came and rubbed his head softly against Eva’s hand, and asked her what she wanted.

Eva stroked the trout’s back, and said,—

“Nothing.”

“Well, when you do want anything,” the trout said to her, “just dip your hand into the water, and one of us will come to you. Then you must ask for what you want, and if we can get it for you we will; and when you are hungry we will bring you something to eat.”

Eva thanked the trout, and said she would be sure to ask when she wanted anything. And then she took her hand out of the water, and the trout went back to his place, and Eva lay down quietly in the bottom of the boat, for she was tired of sitting up, and looked at the roof of the cavern. It was all rough and uneven, high above the water in some places and near it in others, with bright stones set here and there in it, which shone and sparkled like diamonds or little stars whenever the boat passed under them, or the light from the flames burning in the lily-cups, which Eva called her lamps, fell upon them. But there was no sign of life in the cavern, except that every now and then things like bats, frightened by the light, would fly out of holes in the wall away back into the darkness.

The boat went on and on, though there seemed no current in the water over which it glided, till, as Eva thought, they must have travelled for days. Sometimes she would sleep, and the boat went on just the same; when she was hungry, she would dip her hand into the water, and the trout would bring her a basket filled with the fruit which grew in the Valley of Rest. But Eva began to be very tired of the long journey through the cavern; and she was wondering to herself how much farther they would have to go, when all of a sudden the little blue flames burning in the lily-cups flickered for a moment, and then, seemingly gathering themselves together, shot up to the roof of the cavern and disappeared, leaving everything again in total darkness; and Eva was just going to ask the trout what this meant, when she saw, far away in the distance before her, what looked to her like a tiny, yet beautiful blue star shining.

This little star, which was yet far away, seemed so fair and lovely that Eva said, without intending to speak, “O little boat, if only you would sail faster, and go near the pretty star!” And, just as if the boat had heard and understood the words, it began to move faster,—or was it the star which grew larger and larger, and came to meet them? No! it surely was no star, for the blue spot became larger and still larger, and then the cavern grew lighter and lighter, till, when she was near enough, Eva saw that what she had taken for a star was the arched entrance into the rock, and the light it shed was the pure light of day pouring into the darkness of the cavern.

But it did not look so very inviting when the boat came nearer. Beyond the arch the air was full of curling mists and vapors, like those which Eva had seen at the foot of the precipice, and through these mists and vapors she caught dim glimpses of the same old hateful faces she had seen so often before. Just before the boat reached the arch, one of the six trout, putting his head above the water, said to her:

“Stop the boat.”