"Hold your breaths!" cried Yva, and we obeyed until we nearly burst.At least I did, but what happened to the others I do not know.
Fortunately it was soon over and the air began to grow cool again.By now we had travelled an enormous distance, it seemed to be miles on miles, and I noticed that our terrific speed was slackening, also that the shaft grew more narrow, till at length there were only a few feet between the edge of the stone and its walls.The result of this, or so I supposed, was that the compressed air acted as a buffer, lessening our momentum, till at length the huge stone moved but very slowly.
"Be ready to follow me," cried Yva again, and we rose to our feet, that is, Bickley and I did, but poor Bastin was semi-comatose.The stone stopped and Yva sprang from it to a rock platform level with which it lay.We followed, dragging Bastin between us.As we did so something hit me gently on the head.It was Bastin's lamp, which I seized.
"We are safe.Sit down and rest," said Yva, leading us a few paces away.
We obeyed and presently by the dim light saw the stone begin to stir again, this time upwards.In another twenty seconds it was away on its never-ending journey.
"Does it always go on like that?" said Bastin, sitting up and staring after it.
"Tens of thousands of years ago it was journeying thus, and tens of thousands of years hence it will still be journeying, or so I think," she replied."Why not, since the strength of the draught never changes and there is nothing to wear it except the air?"Somehow the vision of this huge stone, first loosed and set in motion by heaven knows what agency, travelling from aeon to aeon up and down that shaft in obedience to some law I did not understand, impressed my imagination like a nightmare.Indeed Ioften dream of it to this day.
I looked about me.We were in some cavernous place that could be but dimly seen, for here the light that flowed down the shaft from the upper caves where it was mysteriously created, scarcely shone, and often indeed was entirely cut off, when the ever-journeying stone was in the narrowest parts of the passage.Icould see, however, that this cavern stretched away both to right and left of us, while I felt that from the left, as we sat facing the shaft, there drew down a strong blast of fresh air which suggested that somewhere, however far away, it must open on to the upper world.For the rest its bottom and walls seemed to be smooth as though they had been planed in the past ages by the action of cosmic forces.Bickley noticed this the first and pointed it out to me.We had little time to observe, however, for presently Yva said:
"If you are rested, friends, I pray you light those lamps of yours, since we must walk a while in darkness."We did and started, still travelling downhill.Yva walked ahead with me and Tommy who seemed somewhat depressed and clung close to our heels.The other two followed, arguing strenuously about Iknow not what.It was their way of working off irritation and alarms.
I asked Yva what was about to happen, for a great fear oppressed me.