"Why not say through the world at once, and push your crow bar in till
you reach EU-ROPE, which, Ernest says, lies in a straight line from
our feet. I should like to have a peep down, such a hole, for I might
thus get a sight of our dear Swiss home."
Fritz and I went up to the wall and found that Jack was right, for he
had come to a clear space. His first thought was to jump in; but as I
knew that there might be foul air in the cave, I would not let him risk
his life.
The boys then set fire to some dry grass, and thrust it in the hole,
but it went out at once, which was a sure sign that the air was not fit
to breathe.
I knew that we had brought from the wreck a box full of fire works,
which were used on board to make signs to ships far out at sea. I sent
Fritz to Tent House for these, though I thought that they might be too
damp to make use of. When he came back, I set light to some of them,
and threw them in the hole. They flew round, and threw out a stream of
sparks that lit up the cave. When these were burnt out, we put in a
heap of straw and threw a light on it. This was now soon in a blaze,
and gave us a clear view of the cave; but it was too deep for us to see
the end.
Our joy was so great that we sent Jack off home to The Nest to tell the
good news, and to bring back some wax lights.
Pages:
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59