get the gleam of moonlight in the crack of the inner cave? Is that
what you're afther, missy?"

"Yes," said Nora.

"Well, you stay quiet; you'll reach it right enough."

"Nora wants to see the Banshee, Andy," called out Biddy. "Oh, what a
flash! It nearly blinded me."

"The rain will soon be on us, and then the worst of the storm will
be past," said the man.

Mike uttered a scream; the lightning was now forked and intensely
blue. It flashed into every cranny in the cave, showing the barnacles
on the roof, the little bits of fern, the strange stalactites. After
the flash had passed, the darkness which followed was so intense that
the light of the dim candle could scarcely be seen. Presently the
rain thundered down upon the bare rock above with a tremendous sound;
there were great hailstones; the thunder became less frequent, the
lightning less vivid. In a little more than half an hour the fierce
storm had swept on to other quarters.

"Now, then, we can go forward," said Andy. He took up his oars. "You
had best stay quiet, missies; just sit there in the bottom of the
boat, and let me push ahead."

"Then I will hold the candle," said Nora.

"Right you are, miss."