"No; but we are not after a light, but they will do for testing purposes."
The accompanying sketches show how it was made. A plate was used for a base, on which the burning[p. 161] cone was placed. A half dozen twigs were then provided, and these were bent U-shaped, after being secured together at their middle portions, and the lower ends held by a cord, and this was then inverted, and a piece of thin cotton goods, of a single thickness, only was wound around the little frame, leaving an opening at the top, which was covered by the perforated tin disk.
"There, now we have an article which provides for the admission of air, through the cotton goods, and the product of combustion can escape through the perforated opening at the top."
The boys danced around with joy, when the cone was ignited, and a bale, which was simply a string, attached, so it could be carried conveniently.
This time they went on, far beyond the place where the poor dogs lay. Occasionally John would lower the device, and when it descended too far, the knot would begin to smoke, and this was explained by the statement that as it went into the carbon gas, less and less air was supplied, which caused the flame to die down.
The cave was similar to the others, being white from the lime deposits, but in all their wanderings they had never seen anything to compare with the beautiful hangings noted in the interior, particularly in the chambers, which they passed, one after the other, four of which were especially admired.
Ephraim was intensely interested. He never had taken the trouble to visit any of these caverns, and was not disposed to take much stock in the many tales that had been related about the weird interiors.
"I can now understand," he said, "why the natives[p. 162] possessed such a fear of them. I have faced many perilous conditions, during my life here, but I confess if I had any faith in the superstitions about these places, they would have paralyzed me, now that I have seen their ghostly appearance."
They suddenly emerged into a spacious chamber, so large that their voices seemed to reverberate. The flash lights were directed to all sides and to the immense vaulted and icicle-covered ceiling. John stood the lamp on the ground. It was free from the dangerous gas. The floor was fairly level, but it was covered with the broken hangings from the ceiling.
"I see an outlet, directly opposite the one we came by," exclaimed George.