darkness.

"It must be coming out tail-foremost!" he muttered, with a short laugh
at his semi-credulity.

Another instant and the hermit emerged into the blazing sunshine, and
stood pictured against the intense darkness like a being of
supernatural radiance, with the end of a long narrow canoe on his
shoulder.

As Nigel passed round a bush to reach him he perceived the dark form of
Moses emerging from the depths and supporting the body of the canoe.

"I see you are active and an early riser," said the hermit, with a nod
of approval on seeing our hero.

"I almost took you for a Krakatoa monster!" said Nigel, as they came out
in front of the cavern and laid the canoe on the ground. "Why, you've
got here one of the craft which we in England call a Rob Roy canoe!"

"It is fashioned on the same pattern," said the hermit, "but with one or
two alterations of my own devising, and an improvement--as I
think--founded on what I have myself seen, when travelling with the
Eskimos of Greenland."

Van der Kemp here pointed out that the canoe was not only somewhat
broader than the kind used in England, but was considerably longer, and
with three openings or manholes in the deck, so that it was capable of
holding three persons. Also, that there was a large rounded mass of wood
fixed in front of the three manholes.