There was a deafening roar under our feet, the ground rocked as
from an earthquake, and it seemed as though the wall against
which we stood was about to fall in upon us. Dust and fragments
of rock filled the air on every side, and one huge boulder,
detached from the roof above, came tumbling at our feet, missing
us by inches.
We were completely stunned by the cataclysm, but in a moment
Harry had recovered and run to the edge of the chasm opposite
thus suddenly formed. Desiree and I followed.
There was nothing to be seen save the blackness of space.
Immediately before us was an apparently bottomless abyss, black
and terrifying; the side descended straight down from our feet.
Looking across we could see dimly a wall some distance away,
smooth and with a faint whiteness. On either side of us other
walls extended to meet the farther wall, smooth and polished as
glass.
"The Incas didn't do that, I hope," said Harry, turning to me.
"Hardly," I answered; and in my absorbing interest in the
phenomenon before me I half forgot my pain.
I moved to the edge of one of the walls extending at right angles
to the passage, but there was little to be made of it.
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