Edgar made no reply. He could not. For the first time he felt a strange fear creep over him. With a trembling hand he pointed to the white figure of Enooma.
They looked with wondering eyes, and on Yacka’s face was an expression of absolute terror. The slab on which Enooma rested cracked and split, and the white figure disappeared from view.
With a terrible cry of rage Yacka sprang to his feet, and looked down the opening into which the White Spirit of Enooma had disappeared.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE FORCES OF NATURE.
As Yacka stood on the height above them, his black figure seemed to grow and expand until he looked a giant in stature. His rage was terrible, and his whole frame shook with wrath. Shock followed quickly upon shock, but Yacka maintained his foothold, despite the violent concussions that rocked the cave.
A huge piece of rock crashed down at Edgar’s feet, the broken portions flying in all directions. They at once looked round for some place to hide in, and some protection from the falling stones. Crawling along on their hands and knees, they crept under a portion of the slab upon which the white figure had rested, and which had fallen upon two large rocks that upheld it. Under this they had a safe shelter, providing the ground held firm. Above the roar and din of falling rocks they could now hear the peals of thunder, which sounded like salvos of artillery. A crack in the roof of the cavern admitted the lightning, which darted in and out incessantly.
From where they were hidden they could see Yacka, who still stood a solitary black figure amidst this chaos. The black was lost to all sense of danger, even to the nature of the surroundings. One thought alone absorbed him—the sudden vanishing of the white figure of Enooma. He peered into the depths below him, but could see nothing; he waved his hands wildly, and uttered loud cries.
Watching him intently, Edgar and Will were afraid every moment he would jump into the fissure, or be hurled into it by a sudden shock. After a few moments’ pause in this battle of the forces of Nature, another shock was felt. They heard the same dull, rumbling sound, and felt the vibration of the earth beneath them. The movement increased in force, until they were rocked to and fro, and had to cling to the edge of the slab for support. Another rush of fallen rocks and stones took place, and after a terrific and prolonged peal of thunder a dead silence reigned. After the deafening noise the sudden silence could almost be felt; the change was marvellous.
‘It is all over,’ said Edgar. ‘Thank God, we are alive!’
They crept out of their hiding-place and looked for Yacka, but he was nowhere to be seen. Hastily they scrambled on to the fallen slabs, and looked down into the dark hole where the figure of Enooma had fallen.