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Rh Something hit me on the head and I became unconscious.

I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the ground, near a bed of enormous fungi that emitted a strange phosphorescent light.

By its aid I saw I was in a large cave, of what extent I could form no idea.

Irregular masses of lava, pumice stone, rocks, and many colored crystals, composed the walls, which rose sheer from the ground until lost in the appalling darkness overhead.

The ground was covered with broken fragments of the same composition as the walls.

The crystals shining from the walls and strewn on the ground, reflected the phosphorescent light given out by the fungi, and showed to my horrified gaze numbers of enormous reptiles, gliding, wriggling, and struggling in repulsive masses on the ground.

I withdrew my gaze, shuddering, and looked