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THE STORY
Part I
Encouraged by his continued success, he
went deeper into the cave, wondering what he would encounter next and whether
or not he could keep right on without hesitating and turning back at every
fresh obstacle or supposed obstacle encountered.
He was beginning to feel quite confident
when his attention was arrested, this time by four men, also about a hundred
yards ahead, coming towards him, whose tools and dress indicated that they were
miners. They were evidently amused at something, as they chatted and laughed,
just as workmen are wont to do when their shift of toil is over. It all seemed
so realistic, and after all, just what one might expect under similar
conditions. He heard much of their talk and understood some of their coarse
jokes. "This surely is not magic," thought the Professor, "but life itself."
Still there was nothing like being prepared for surprises. Suddenly the earth
trembled! The men stopped joking and looked serious and fear–stricken, and
one asked his comrades in whisper "Was that an earthquake?" Almost immediately
a still more violent shaking of the earth followed, a large boulder fell from
the roof of the cave, crushing two of the workmen. The other two,
terror–stricken, came rushing toward von Scholtz, but before reaching him
they fell into a chasm that opened in the floor of the cave—this chasm
doubtless the result of the earthquake! Their cries as they fell were
heart–rending, but were soon hushed by the relentless fingers of Death.
"Here is a real phenomenon, unexpected, sudden, unavoidable, and beyond the
control of any magician," thought the learned man, "and this immense gap in the
floor of the cave makes it a physical impossibility for me to get over it."
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