OUR ADVENTURE IN THE CAVE. 317 



while we went after the old one. Conwell sat down, 

 and soon quieted them by giving them a finger to suck. 



About ten feet from the lair the cave divided into 

 two passages of equal size. The fresh marks showed 

 that the bear had taken the one to the right. Presently 

 the cubs began to cry again with renewed force, which 

 rather alarmed us, for we should have been in an awk- 

 ward predicament if the bear had endeavored to hasten 

 to their help, and found the way blocked up by our 

 bodies ; for, with the best will in the world, she could 

 neither pass over us nor by our sides, and there was no 

 other way left than to kill us, and eat her way through. 

 While we were consulting together about this matter, 

 in a low voice, the cry suddenly ceased, and we 

 pushed on silently in better spirits ; for, from all that 

 we had seen, this bear was rather more cowardly than 

 usual. 



"We went on and on, to the great annoyance of our 

 ribs and elbows, and there seemed to be no end to the 

 cave. There was a peculiarity about it, which I never 

 found in any other, namely, several flat stones about 

 one and two inches thick, which rang like steel when 

 slightly struck with the finger. One place was very 

 remarkable. It was about fifty or sixty feet long, with 

 similar flat stones on each side, approaching to within 

 six inches of each other in the middle, so that one could 

 have passed through in a sitting posture, with the neck 

 in the narrow part, and the head in the upper com- 

 partment ; but to say the least, this would have been 

 a rather inconvenient position for receiving the attack 

 of an enraged bear. 



After clearing this double passage, we arrived at 

 27* 



