Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/340

 312 DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAfTAIN. ^H thcre was oo alteroatlve but that they must ail die «f asphyxia. ■■, - CarefuIIy considering the chances of fais uadertaldng^ Dick calmly and steadily set about hîs task. The bot instrument that suggestedîtseir for hispurpose wastheram- rod of a gun, which, having a sort of corkscrew at the end tôt extracting the wadding, would serve as an auger. Tbe hole would be very small, but yet lai^e enough for the requisite test. Hercules showed him ail the light be could by holding up the lantem. There were several candies left, so that they were not in fear of being alt<%ether in darknen. The opération hardly took a minute ; the ramrod. passed through the day without difficulty ; a muffled sound was dîstinguished asof air-bubbles nishing through. a column of water. As the air escaped, the water in the. cône rose pcrccptibly. The hole had been pîerced too low. A handful of clay was îmmediately forced into the orilïcc, which was thus cfTectually pluggcd ; and' Dick turned round quictly, and said, — " We must try again." The water had î^ain become stationary, but îts -last rise had diminished the amount of breathing space by more than eight inchcs, The supply of oxygen was beginnîng.to fail, respiration was becoming difficult, and the flame of the candie burned red and dim. About a foot highcr than the first hole, Dick now set about boring a second. The experiment might again prove a failure, and the water rise yet highcr în the cône ; but the risk must be run. Just as the auger was being inserted, a loud exclamaticm of dclight was heard proceeding from Cousin Benedîct's cell. Dick paused, and Hercules turned the lantem towards the excitcd naturalist, who seemcd beaming with satisfaction. " Yes, yes ; I see it ail well enough," he crîed ; " I know now why the termites left their home ; they were wide- awake ; they were more clever than we are ; they knew that the storm was'comingl" Finding that thîs was ail the worthy entomoI<^t had