continuation of the tunnel; but how was he to span the gulf?

As he stood there measuring the distance to the opposite side and
wondering if he dared venture so great a leap, there broke suddenly
upon his startled ears a piercing scream which diminished gradually
until it ended in a series of dismal moans. The voice seemed
partly human, yet so hideous that it might well have emanated from
the tortured throat of a lost soul, writhing in the fires of hell.

The Belgian shuddered and looked fearfully upward, for the scream
had seemed to come from above him. As he looked he saw an opening
far overhead, and a patch of sky pinked with brilliant stars.

His half-formed intention to call for help was expunged by the
terrifying cry--where such a voice lived, no human creatures could
dwell. He dared not reveal himself to whatever inhabitants dwelt
in the place above him. He cursed himself for a fool that he had
ever embarked upon such a mission. He wished himself safely back in
the camp of Achmet Zek, and would almost have embraced an opportunity
to give himself up to the military authorities of the Congo if
by so doing he might be rescued from the frightful predicament in
which he now was.

He listened fearfully, but the cry was not repeated, and at last
spurred to desperate means, he gathered himself for the leap across
the chasm. Going back twenty paces, he took a running start, and
at the edge of the well, leaped upward and outward in an attempt
to gain the opposite side.

In his hand he clutched the sputtering candle, and as he took the