第8部分(第2/7 頁)

ass　through。 Harry；　lamp　in　hand；　entered　unhesitatingly；　and　disappeared　in　the　darkness。　His　father；　mother；　and　James　Starr　waited　in　silence。　A　minute……which　seemed　to　them　much　longer……passed。 Harry　did　not　reappear；　did　not　call。 Gazing　into　the　opening；

James　Starr　could　not　even　see　the　light　of　his　lamp；　which　ought　to　have　illuminated　the　dark　cavern。

Had　the　ground　suddenly　given　way　under　Harry's　feet？　Had　the　young　miner　fallen　into　some　crevice？ Could　his　voice　no　longer　reach　his　panions？

The　old　overman；　dead　to　their　remonstrances；　was　about　to　enter　the　opening；　when　a　light　appeared；　dim　at　first；　but　gradually　growing　brighter；　and　Harry's　voice　was　heard　shouting；　〃e；　Mr。　Starr！　e；　father！ The　road　to　New　Aberfoyle　is　open！〃

If；　by　some　superhuman　power；　engineers　could　have　raised　in　a　block；　a　thousand　feet　thick；　all　that　portion　of　the　terrestrial　crust　which　supports　the　lakes；　rivers；　gulfs；　and　territories　of　the　counties　of　Stirling；　Dumbarton；　and　Renfrew；　they　would　have　found；　under　that　enormous　lid；　an　immense　excavation；　to　which　but　one　other　in　the　world　can　be　pared……　the　celebrated　Mammoth　caves　of　Kentucky。 This　excavation　was　posed　of　several　hundred　divisions　of　all　sizes　and　shapes。　It　might　be　called　a　hive　with　numberless　ranges　of　cells；　capriciously　arranged；　but　a　hive　on　a　vast　scale；　and　which；　instead　of　bees；　might　have　lodged　all　the　ichthyosauri；　megatheriums；　and　ptero…dactyles　of　the　geological　epoch。

A　labyrinth　of　galleries；　some　higher　than　the　most　lofty　cathedrals；　others　like　cloisters；　narrow　and　winding……these　following　a　horizontal　line；　those　on　an　incline　or　running　obliquely　in　all　directions……　connected　the　caverns　and　allowed　free　munication　between　them。