Tales of Terror and Mystery

           "Becareful!"criedBurger,asKennedy,inhisimpatience,hurrieddownthem."Itisaperfectrabbits’-warrenbelow,andifyouwereoncetoloseyourwaytherethechanceswouldbeahundredtooneagainstyourevercomingoutagain.WaituntilIbringthelight."

           "Howdoyoufindyourownwayifitissocomplicated?"

           "Ihadsomeverynarrowescapesatfirst,butIhavegraduallylearnedtogoabout.Thereisacertainsystemtoit,butitisonewhichalostman,ifhewereinthedark,couldnotpossiblyfindout.EvennowIalwaysspinoutaballofstringbehindmewhenIamgoingfarintothecatacomb.Youcanseeforyourselfthatitisdifficult,buteveryoneofthesepassagesdividesandsubdividesadozentimesbeforeyougoahundredyards."

           Theyhaddescendedsometwentyfeetfromthelevelofthebyre,andtheywerestandingnowinasquarechambercutoutofthesofttufa.Thelanterncastaflickeringlight,brightbelowanddimabove,overthecrackedbrownwalls.Ineverydirectionweretheblackopeningsofpassageswhichradiatedfromthiscommoncentre.

           "Iwantyoutofollowmeclosely,myfriend,"saidBurger."Donotloitertolookatanythingupontheway,fortheplacetowhichIwilltakeyoucontainsallthatyoucansee,andmore.Itwillsavetimeforustogotheredirect."

           Heledthewaydownoneofthecorridors,andtheEnglishmanfollowedcloselyathisheels.Everynowandthenthepassagebifurcated,butBurgerwasevidentlyfollowingsomesecretmarksofhisown,forheneitherstoppednorhesitated.