Cautiously I removed the wedges and the logs. Carefully I clamored up the mighty image, studying it, examining it, testing it, until at last I found the secret of its mechanism and slowly, smoothly, with a slight jar it swung into place, sealing the entrance to the Cavern of the Bats. There was little difficulty in finding the symbol on the rock beside the stream. My memory of that mysterious vision in the house of Nohul Voh was very vivid. I recognized every landmark I had seen in that mystic smoke. The rushing brook was exactly as I had seen it. There was the placid shaded pool, and even before we saw the sculptured symbol, I felt sure it would be there, cut deeply into the water-worn surface of the ledge. Beside the pool we decided to rest for the afternoon and night. My nerves were still a bit shaky, and I knew that Itza, unaccustomed to long walks with a pack upon her shoulders, was tired, although she would not admit it. She was so delighted with everything, that I doubt if she knew whether she was tired or not. Even this first glimpse of the outside world was fascinatingly strange to her. The verdure, the rolling green hills, the distant hazy-blue mountains, the dense jungle, all were different from anything in her native valley. She insisted on bathing in the clear calm pool. It was an inviting-looking spot with its crystal water, its bottom of white and red pebbles, its little crescent of sandy beach. I longed for a swim myself and, having assured myself that there were no alligators or other dangerous inhabitants in the pool, we plunged in, and for an hour or more dove, swam, frolicked, splashed and had a glorious time. Refreshed, and with keen appetites, we emerged at last. I was anxious to conserve our slender stock of food for emergencies that might arise, and I felt certain that there were fish in the stream. So, while Itza dried herself--like the golden statue of a Dryad--in the sunshine, I tried my luck with my hand-made hooks and line. No skill was needed to capture the denizens of that brook, they seemed anxious to be caught, and in almost as many minutes I had half a dozen beauties flapping on the grass. We dined royally and, having rested and smoked, I busied myself rigging up a palm-leaf shelter for the night.