they were ravenous. Probably all the pools of water that remained in the
abyss were infested with these fearsome creatures. He was thankful that
during his last swim in this pool he had not bled into the water.
He unwound the cotton kerchief from his neck and wrapped it round his
wounded hand. The eels were a deadly threat to any attempt to explore
the opening in the cliff.
A, il ' the pool of 1V But already he was considering ways of ridding
them and of gaining access to the underwater opening.
Slowly the frenzy in the pool quietened and its surface grew still
again, Nicholas looked up to see the bosun's chair descending, with
Royan's slim, shapely legs dangling below the wooden seat.
'What have you found?' she called down to him excitedly. 'Is there a
tunnel-' then she broke off suddenly as she saw the blood on his
clothing, and the bandage wathing his hand.
'Oh dear God,' she exclaimed. 'What have you done?
You are hurt. How badly?' Her feet touched the ledge beside him and she
slid from the chair and took his injured hand gently. 'What have you
done to yourself?'
'It's not as bad as it looks, he assured her. 'Lots of blood but not
deep.'
'How did you do it?' she insisted.
For an answer he tore a corner off the bloodstained kerchief. 'Watch!'
he instructed her, wadding it into a ball and tossing it out into the
pool.
Royan screamed with horror as the waters boiled with the long fleeting
shapes. One of them wriggled half its monstrous length out on to the
ledge, before flopping back.
It left a shining trail of silver slime across the black stones.
'Taita has left his guard dogs to see us A' Nicholas remarked. 'We are
going to have to take care of those beauties before we can explore the
entrance below the surface.'
/4P- -I he bamboo scaffolding that Sapper and Nicholas had built down
the cliff was L*, - anchored in the niches that had been cut into the
rock nearly four thousand years before. Taita had probably lashed his
framework together with bark rope, but Sapper had used heavy-gauge
galvanized wire, and the structure was strong enough to bear the weight
of many men. The Buffaloes formed a living chain and passed all the
material and equipment down the scaffolding from hand to hand.
The very first piece of equipment to reach the floor Of the cavern was
the portable Honda EM500 generator.
Sapper connected it up to the lights that he had rigged along the foot
of the cliff. The small petrol engine ran smoothly and quietly, but the
amount of power it put out was impressive. The floodlights chased the
shadows from the furthest corners of the cavern, and lit the deep rock
bowl like a stage.
Immediately the mood changed. Everybody became more cheerful and
confident. There was laughter and excited chatter from the chain of men
on the scaffolding as Royan climbed down to join Sapper and Nicholas at
the side of the pool.
