It was formed of rough rock, hewn out by the silent work of the water, and its floor was strewn thick with loose pebbles and polished stones.
Entering it, he was able to walk upright for some few paces, then suddenly it seemed to shrink in size and to become darker.

The light from the opening gradually narrowed into a slender stream too small for him to see clearly where he was going, thereupon he struck a fusee.

At first he could observe no sign of human habitation, not even a rope, or chain, or hook, to intimate that it was a customary shelter for a boat.
The fusee went out quickly, and he lit another.

Looking more carefully and closely about him, he perceived on a projecting shelf of rock, a small antique lamp, Etruscan in shape, made of iron and wrought with curious letters.

There was oil in it, and a half-burnt wick; it had evidently been recently used.