"Reggie! Reggie! Are you there?" "I'm here, uncle. Don't shout, or you will bring some more rock on your head. I'm shut up and can't get out." "Are you hurt? "No." "Wait a little longer and we'll fetch more help. We can't shift these stones alone." "Stay with me, uncle!" I cried despairingly. "It's so horrible alone in this place." "I'll stop here," replied my uncle reassuringly, and I heard the footsteps of the men as they went off to procure help. "Have you a light?" asked my uncle. "Yes--have you?" "No--we had only one box of matches between us; but never mind, it's only a question of an hour or so." "How long have I been here?" "Less than an hour." Less than an hour! It seemed six times that length of time. However, I had a kind of empty satisfaction in knowing that Uncle Herbert was in the darkness, while I, although penned in, had the benefit of a feeble light. Notwithstanding that my uncle kept up a desultory conversation, the time passed very slowly; but before the rescue party returned I learnt that the explosives had been safely transported to the reef, and that, on my failing to return, the boat's crew had explored the cave, finding the clue of seaming-twine and following it till it disappeared between the debris. I then told him of my adventure, relating the cause of the roof caving-in, and cautioning him to prevent the others making too much noise. At length the rescuers arrived, and, without delay, they attacked the rocks with crowbars, trying to dislodge and remove the huge boulders. For a long time they worked incessantly and energetically, but finally they desisted, and I could hear a consultation taking place, though the words were inaudible. "I've sent for some blasting powder, Reggie," said my father. "The rocks are too large and too tightly wedged together to shift otherwise." "Won't the explosion bring down more of the roof?" I cried out in my anxiety. "We must take the chance. Wait a little longer and I'll tell you what to do." There was a lull in the conversation, and I heard a dull, grinding sound, as if some steel instrument was being bored into the rock. Then, after a considerable time, my father spoke again. "How far does the cave extend?" "A long way, with passages on each side." "Very well. Go about a hundred yards from this heap of rock and hide in one of the side-tunnels. Take your coat off, and place it over your head to deaden the sound. I am going to set fire to the fuse, and the explosion will take place in five minutes." I immediately set off to a place of safety, and walking as rapidly as I could by the dim light of the candle, the floor, fortunately, being even, I counted a hundred and twenty paces; then, turning abruptly to the right, I set the candle on the ground, wrapped my head in my coat, and waited.