Our eyes were expanding to the twilight.  We could make out the arch of the room, its shelves, and hollows, and niches.  Lying on them we could discern the seals, hundreds and hundreds of them, all staring at us, all barking and bellowing.  As we approached, they scrambled from their elevations, and, diving to the bottom, scurried to the entrance of the cave.

We lay on our oars for ten minutes.  Then silence fell.  There persisted a tiny drip, drip, drip from some point in the darkness.  It merely accentuated the hush.  Suddenly from far in the interior of the hill there came a long, hollow boo-o-o-m!  It reverberated, roaring.  The surge that had lifted our boat some minutes before thus reached its journey’s end.

The chamber was very lofty.  As we rowed cautiously in, it lost nothing of its height, but something in width.  It was marvellously coloured, like all the volcanic rocks of this island.  In addition some chemical drip had thrown across its vividness long gauzy streamers of white.  We rowed in as far as the faintest daylight lasted us.  The occasional reverberating boom of the surges seemed as distant as ever.

This was beyond the seal rookery on the beach.  Below it we entered an open cleft of some size to another squarer cave.  It was now high tide; the water extended a scant ten fathoms to end on an interior shale beach.  The cave was a perfectly straight passage following the line of the cleft.  How far in it reached we could not determine, for it, too, was full of seals, and after we had driven them back a hundred feet or so their fiery eyes scared us out.  We did not care to put them at bay.  The next day I rowed out to the Laughing Lass and got a rifle.  I found the captain asleep in his bunk, and did not disturb him.  Perdosa and I, with infinite pains, tracked and stalked the sheep, of which I killed one.  We found the mutton excellent.  The hunting was difficult, and the quarry, as time went on, more and more suspicious, but henceforward we did not lack for fresh meat.  Furthermore we soon discovered that fine trolling was to be had outside the reef.  We rigged a sail for the extra dory, and spent much of our time at the sport.  I do not know the names of the fish.  They were very gamy indeed, and ran from five to an indeterminate number of pounds in weight.  Above fifty pounds our light tackle parted, so we had no means of knowing how large they may have been.

Thus we spent very pleasantly the greater part of two weeks.  At the end of that time I made up my mind that it would be just as well to get back to business.  Accordingly I called Perdosa and directed him to sort and clear of rust the salvaged chain cable.  He refused flatly.  I took a step toward him.  He drew his knife and backed away.

“Perdosa,” said I firmly, “put up that knife.”

“No,” said he.

I pulled the saw-barrelled Colt’s 45 and raised it slowly to a level with his breast.