INSIDE r6I

of cells have been hollowed out by the hand of man in
the solid limestone, and in those cells these human beings
live.

Towards the east the arrangement of the cavern is
different. On that side hundreds of natural pillars, sloping,
perpendicular, and twisted, support the roof, like a forest
of stone trees spread out to the extreme limits of the cave.
Through these columns winding paths cross one another,
rendering the remotest part of Backcup accessible.

Judging by the cells of the Beehive, the companions of
Count d’Artigas must number from eighty to one hundred.
Before one of these cells, isolated from the rest, the Count
was standing. He had just been joined by the Captain
and Serké, and after some conversation, all three descended
towards the bank and approached the jetty where the tug
lay.

At that hour a dozen men, who had unloaded the
merchandise, were transporting it by boat to the other
shore, where large hollows, scooped out of the rock, formed
’ the warehouses of Backcup.

As for the orifice of the tunnel under the lagoon waters,
it was not visible. I observed, indeed, that the tug was
obliged to sink down some yards below the surface of the
sea, in order to enter it when coming in. The Backcup
grotto is not like the grottoes of Staffa or Morgate, where
the entrance is always open, even at high water. Is there
another passage communicating with the littoral, a natural
or artificial corridor ? I shall look, for it is important that
I should be certain on this subject. ie

M