After
Three Miles Low Outcrops Of Limestone Appeared At Intervals, The Scrub In
The Trough Of The Ridges Became More Open With An Undergrowth Of Coarse
Grass, Buck-Bush Or "Roly-Poly" (SALSOLA KALI) And Low Acacia.
Hugging
the ridge on our left, we followed along this belt for another one and a
half miles; when,
Close to the foot of a sandhill, our guide, secured to
my belt by a rope round his waist, stopped and excitedly pointed out what
seemed on first sight to be three rock-holes, in a small, bare patch of
limestone not more than thirty feet across. Twenty yards to the right or
left and we would never have seen it; and to this spot King Billy had
brought us full speed, only stopping once to examine some rocks at the
foot of one ridge, as if to make sure that we were in the right valley.
On further investigation the three holes turned out to be entrances, of
which two were large enough for a man to pass through, leading
perpendicularly to a cave beneath. With the help of a rope Charlie and I
descended twenty-five feet to the floor of the chamber, which we found to
be covered with sand to a depth of two feet. In the sand we dug holes but
did not succeed in getting even moisture. Plunged as we were so suddenly
into darkness, our eyes could distinguish no passage leading from the
chamber, and it seemed as if we had been tricked again.
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