Night was coming on fast; they dare not attempt to descend, and it began to be plain that they would have to be content with a resting-place on some stony patch from which the water had drained, when, as they staggered along, just within the sheltering gloom of the huge forest trees, they stumbled upon one of the ancient lava-streams, which stopped their progress like some mountainous wall, and a very few minutes' search was sufficient to find the shelter they required, a dark, cavernous place whose flooring was of volcanic sand. "It's dry as a bone, Mr Jack, sir," said Ned, after stooping down, "and as warm as warm. Well, sir, if this ain't sunshine after storm I should like to know what is!" Jack was too much exhausted to reply, and directly after he began to follow his companion's example by stripping off and wringing his clothes. "Black sunshine this, Ned," he said. "Well, sir, it is certainly; but you can't say it ain't warm. You put your hand down on the sand." "Yes; it's quite warm, Ned." "Why, is this only the back-door into the burning mountain, sir? Because if so, will it be safe?" "Ned, I'm too tired to talk. Pray be quiet and let me think. We must be safer than out upon the mountain side. Let's lie down and rest." CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. A BI-STARTLER. "What's that?" cried Jack, starting up into a sitting position, to face Ned, who rubbed his eyes and stared. "I dunno, sir; sounded to me like a horrid shriek." "Yes; that was what woke me, Ned," said Jack in an awestricken whisper. "It sounded like some one being killed." "There it is again!" cried Ned, as a harsh, shrill sound arose from close at hand, to be followed by a chorus of discordant cries, which seemed to run in by them to be echoed and made more hollow and strange. "Talk about sharpening saws," said Ned, as he hurriedly began to dress, "why that's lovely to it. Cockatoos, that's what it is. Good job it's daylight, or I should have been thinking that we'd come to sleep in an awful place." "I couldn't make out where we were, Ned, for some time. Did you sleep well?" "I dunno, sir. Don't know nothing about it, only that I lay down and snuggled the sand over me a bit. Next thing I heard was those birds. How did you get on, sir?" "Slept! oh, so soundly!" "And feel all the better for it, sir?" "Yes--no, my head aches and feels sore from the blow." "Ah, I should like to have a turn at those chaps, Mr Jack, sir; I owe 'em one, and you owe 'em one too. Perhaps we shall get a chance to pay 'em some day." "I hope not," said Jack, who was hurrying on his clothes. "You hope not, sir?" "Yes, of course. I hope we may never see or hear anything of them again. And perhaps they're waiting on the mountain side to seize us as soon as we go out of this cave." "Then we mustn't go out till they're gone, sir. Clothes pretty dry, sir?" "Yes, Ned, they seem quite dry; but I want to bathe."