The Underground Drainage 



It was now clearly too late to continue the explora- 

 tion that day, and as so much time was wasted in 

 travelling between the main chamber and the camp 

 every night and morning, we decided to bring our 

 sleeping bags on our next visit, and further, to establish 

 a food depot at the summit of the cone near the mouth 

 of the small passage. This occupied us the whole of 

 the next day, and the following one was taken up by 

 transporting a length of rope ladder through the low 

 passage, which we named the Creep, a process requiring 

 much exertion and no small amount of manoeuvring. 

 Eventually the ladder was hauled through and secured 

 in position at the upper end of the Creep, but by this 

 time we were far too fatigued to undertake the descent, 

 so we returned to the main chamber, partook of supper 

 and retired to our sleeping bags. 



When all lights were extinguished and we were 

 lying in absolute darkness, so heavy and oppressive was 

 the silence that even the smallest sound, such as the 

 falling of drops of water from the roof into the lake, 

 appeared startlingly loud, and we were finally lulled off 

 to sleep by a very faint murmur of running or falling 

 water, rendered wonderfully musical and soothing by 

 distance. 



After sleeping about eight hours one of the party 

 awoke, and roused the others to partake of breakfast 

 with hot coffee, which was very comforting, as we were 

 somewhat chilled and exceedingly stiff from the exercise 

 of muscles not frequently brought into play, but used to 

 their utmost capacity in our several journeys through 

 the Creep. 



After running several times round the platform to 



165 



