He rose, opened the door, and stood without, listening for a little while to the roaring of the surf and the crash of the broken coral swept from reef and shore by the backwash.
The petty strife of the elements was soothing to him.

"They are snarling like whipped dogs," he said aloud.

"One might almost fancy her ladyship the Moon appearing on the scene as a Uranian Venus, cowing sea and storm by the majesty of her presence." Pleased with the conceit, he looked steadily at the brilliant luminary for some time.

Then his eyes were attracted by the strong lights thrown upon the rugged face of the precipice into which the cavern burrowed.
Unconsciously relieving his tired senses, he was idly wondering what trick of color Turner would have adopted to convey those sharp yet weirdly beautiful contrasts, when suddenly he uttered a startled exclamation.
"By Jove!" he murmured.

"I never noticed that before." The feature which so earnestly claimed his attention was a deep ledge, directly over the mouth of the cave, but some forty feet from the ground.