This is where the slowly receding waters of the cave lingered in shallow
pools above the small crevices long after the main portions had become
dry. That the crust was formed on top of the water, instead of beneath
its surface, has been proved by the only body of water now standing in
the cave. This is called Silent Lake, and being situated on another
route will be described in its proper place, but when discovered no
water was visible nor its presence even suspected until the crust gave
way under the weight of an explorer. The thin sheet of yellow calcite
crystal thus broken was the same as that seen in great abundance in the
now perfectly dry eighth level. The gradually decreasing volume of water
has left a smooth yellow coat on portions of the walls where
irregularities or slopes were favorable, and at least one such place is
vividly remembered if once seen. A steep incline of about fifteen feet
leads to a small oval hole through the wall; towards this we crawled
with no great ease; but getting to the hole was far easier than going
through it into a tiny cubby not high enough to sit comfortably upright
in, and too small to permit an average sized human being to turn around.
Close on the left it is shut in by another wall pierced by two holes
similar to that just passed, and each revealing a miniature chamber
scarcely more than three feet in either direction and eighteen inches
high.
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