Out of
the blackness surrounding me came the words, in Harry's voice,
much lower, but distinct:
"Paul! Paul, where are you?"
"Thank Heaven!" I breathed; and I answered:
"Here, Harry boy, here."
"But where?"
"I don't know. On a ledge of rock at the edge of the water.
Where are you?"
"Same place. Which side are you on?"
"The right side," I answered with heartfelt emphasis. "That is to
say, the outside. If it weren't for this infernal darkness--Listen!
How far away does my voice sound?"
But the innumerable echoes of the cavern walls made it impossible
to judge of distance by sound. We tried it over and over;
sometimes it seemed that we were only a few feet apart, sometimes
a mile or more.
Then Harry spoke in a whisper, and his voice appeared to be
directly in my ear. Never have I seen a night so completely black
as that cavern; we had had several hours, presumably, for our
eyes to adjust themselves to the phenomenon; but when I held my
hand but six inches in front of my face I could not get even the
faintest suggestion of its outline.
"This is useless," I declared finally. "We must experiment.
Harry!"
"Yes.
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