Not five feet before him appeared the mouth of a great perpendicular well.

It was perfectly round, about ten feet across, and when Henry and Paul held their torches over the edge, they could see no bottom.

Henry shouted, throwing his voice as far forward as possible, but only a dull, distant echo came back.
"We'll call that the Bottomless Pit," he said.
"Bottomless or not, it's a good thing to keep out of," said Paul.

"It gives me the shudders, Henry, and I don't think I'll do much more exploring in this cave." In fact, the gunpowder-making did not give them much more chance, and they were content with what they had already seen.

The cave had many wonders, but the sunshine outside was glorious and the vast mass of green forest was very restful to the eye.