“See,” the scientist cried, “that is the English mission house. Can we but get down, we shall receive a warm welcome from the missionary, Mr. Travers; he is an old friend of mine.” “You remember the legends which we heard from the natives, Seymour,” he went on, “when we visited this island some years ago, respecting the strange race of white giants which once inhabited this place?” “Perfectly,” responded the baronet. “Well, I think our discoveries in the underworld bear out the truth of the stories. Ever since I knew that the subterranean city was called by the same name as this island my brain has been exercised to account for the coincidence. Chenobi’s statement, that there was a passage through a dead fire-mountain, by means of which his people entered this land, gave me a clue to the mystery, and I formed a theory as to the origin of the Ayutis. But I needed proof ere my idea could become fact, and for that I had to wait until the present moment.” “And your theory is?” questioned Wilson. “That the Ayutis once dwelt upon this island which is still named after them; but, for some reason or other--probably through the incursion of enemies--they were forced to take refuge in this crater. They would discover the tunnel through which we came, and, in the hope of finding a securer refuge, would explore it. The rest is obvious.” “But it must have been long ago,” said Seymour, “for the buildings of the subterranean city are certainly many hundreds of years old.” “Probably at the time the inhabitants of the British Isles were still savages,” returned Mervyn with a smile, “hunting the buffalo in the swamps and living in caves or mud-huts. But enough of this; let us see if there is any way down. I should like to see my friend, if possible, before we return to look for Garth.” “I guess that won’t be easy,” remarked the Yankee. “From what I can see, we shall need a considerable length of rope ’fore we can get down, and that’s a commodity we don’t happen to have on hand at present. Still, we might as well prospect a bit.” The Ayuti was strangely silent as the party moved round the crater rim in an effort to find a spot where the cliff was scalable, and Seymour--who walked beside him--rallied him at length upon his abstraction. “What ails you, Chenobi,” he asked, “that you are so silent?” “I am perplexed, Fairhair,” replied the other. “Ere ye came to my land I was content to lead the life of a hunter, to dwell alone, save for my steed and hounds. But now I long for a friend. The time we have spent together hath been very pleasant, but soon ye will return to your own land, and I shall be alone once more.” “Why not come with us?” burst out the baronet impulsively “there is nothing to keep you down there.”