My various efforts would be of little interest even if I could describe them in detail. It is enough to record that at the third or fourth attempt I found a way up. There on the top was the level space I had often climbed down to from above, but had never before scaled from below. Beneath me lay the pool of smooth water, so tempting with the sun blazing upon it, that, although I had never dived from such a height, without a thought I flung out my arms and shot downwards through a thrilling rush of air, while the blue pool seemed to leap up at me from below and engulf me with its closing waters. I rose to the surface panting and glowing and wonderfully excited. For the second time I climbed to the level platform to hurl myself once more into the pool beneath. * * * * * I think my success in climbing the great jutting rock heartened me for my real task. The next day I set forth in great spirit. I clambered down to the platform, stripped off my clothes, but as always, belted my knife about me, and plunged into the pool and under the arch. I was soon at the surface, puffing and treading water, closed about by the darkness of Drift-Wood Cavern. The tide was almost at full ebb; so not wasting a moment I was out of the water and had lit my lantern; for I kept a store of oil in the cavern with my food and other necessaries, so that I could resume work whenever convenient. I had soon roughly dried myself and pulled on some clothes, and stuffing some biscuits in my pocket I set off with all speed down the tunnel, not wasting time by feeling to left and right, but making straight ahead, intent on finding the skeleton. It wasn't very long before I was once more standing at the foot of the slope with the light of my lantern gleaming whitely on the clean-picked bones above. I had to climb to reach the thing, for the tunnel rose sharply. Reaching it I stooped to examine it. There was an earthenware bottle about its neck, and this immediately caught my eyes. It was tightly corked, I found; so tightly that when I had pulled the bottle away from the rotten string that held it, I had some difficulty in digging out the cork with my knife. But at last I had cut it away. Inside there was a folded slip of paper. Trembling with excitement I thrust my finger in, and eventually succeeded in working out the paper. But it was inconceivably old and yellow; and although the water had been kept away from it, it was sadly the worse for age, not to mention the damage caused by my excited fingering as I had worked it free. So it was only after a careful and close perusal that I began to understand something of the faded writing. But what I did understand set my blood madly beating at my ears and temples. The man hadn't been trapped, as I had thought, having penetrated over-boldly into the tunnel; he had been working from the other direction, from somewhere deep under the earth, and had never reached the sea.