size, and wondrous forms of the stalactites far
exceeding what is generally met with elsewhere.
Of these, the one just mentioned is the finest;
and, as it branches off into various unexplored
cavities, no better place of concealment can well
be imagined. The probability, therefore, was
greatly in favour of the supposition that Tucker
had taken refuge in the Admiral's Cave, though
how he had managed to subsist for so many
days was a question not easy to answer. It
may be asked why so obvious a place of refuge
was not thought of in the first instance; but it
arose from the fact that when the troops were
sent out in search of him, on the night of the
murder, the party which proceeded to the
extremity of St. George's Island, which is
separated from the ''main" by a deep and rapid
channel of the sea, were assured by the ferry-
master that no one had crossed that evening;
and ever since a guard had been posted there,
whose duty it was to examine every one who
attempted to pass that way. Yet, if the assertion
of Forbes could be relied on, the murderer
had contrived to escape observation, and place
himself in comparative safety. To search the
great cave was therefore resolved on. About
twenty of the most active of our men were told
off for the duty, and, accompanied by a
constable, armed with a warrant for the murderer's
apprehension, and, guided by Forbes, who knew
the interior of the cabin, better than most
people, it being the place where he procured
fresh water for all his domestic purposes, the
party immediately set forth. I was of the number,
together with other officers. A government
boat was ordered for the service, in which we
sailed for Walsingham—the name of the locality
where Forbes dwelt. As it was believed, though
not positively known, that there was more than
one issue from the cave, the greater part of the
men were dispersed by files throughout the wood
at some distance around, with orders to close in
at the sound of the bugle, and with the rest we
proceeded on our search. Making our way
through a close thicket of sage-bush and low dwarf
cedar, we struck into a narrow, circuitous, and
scarcely perceptible path, which led to the
principal and only known entrance to the place where
we hoped to find the murderer. The approach
to the cave was not easy of access, its mouth
being almost entirely hidden by coffee and
pomegranate shrubs, and parasite plants of various
kinds, the passion-flower and Virginian creeper
being the most luxuriant. Orange and lemon
trees laden with fruit were also scattered about,
making the spot resemble a rich yet neglected
garden; but its beauty had no charms for us at
that moment, however much we might have
been inclined to linger and admire it at another.
Forcing aside the pendent leaves of a broad
banana, Forbes pointed to the entrance of the
cave, and, picking his way amongst the rocky
fragments, began the descent, whispering to us
to follow closely. It was no easy matter to do
so, the footing being very slippery and unsafe,
owing to the constant percolation of rain-water
through the porous soil, which dripped from the
long stalactites that, hung from the caverned
roof. There was light, however, from the outer
air for the first few yards of the rugged slope,
and we reached a level space without accident.
It was necessary now to proceed with greater
care, a dark abyss, which appeared unfathomable,
yawning before us. To enforce caution, our
guide displaced a heavy stone, which, after a.
few bounds, plunged with an echoing roar into
deep water beneath. Torches were lit here, and
once more we advanced. I might dwell on the
subterranean wonders that met us at every step
of our progress, but these were less heeded
than the object which brought us to the place.
For nearly half an hour we moved on, constantly
descending till we reached the margin of the
water, which was salt, from its communication
with the sea. It proved a sort of gulf, and rose
and fell with the tide.

As yet, no sign or sound had betrayed the
presence of any one but ourselves; and having
to all appearance reached the utmost limits of
the cave, we began to question the utility of
hunting further, when my servant, John Hurley,
who had been allowed to join the party, and
who, in his eagerness, had got considerably
ahead, shouted out at the top of his voice:
"I have him! Come on, boys! Here he is!
Give up, you scoundrel!" We raised our
torches, and, looking in the direction from
which the voice proceeded, descried Hurley on
his knees grappling with what appeared to be the
crouching figure of a man. But this vision was
only vouchsafed for a moment. The next thing
we saw was my unlucky servant rolling down
the steep, and immediately afterwards a
tremendous splash announced the fact of his
having tumbled into the water. We fished him
out, dripping wet, and spluttering. "I thought
I got him," he said, "but just as I laid a hold,
my foot slipped. He's up there still! It's
mighty cowld he is!"  Both these remarks were
true, for when our guide climbed to the place
from which Hurley had fallen, he discovered
that what we had taken for the fugitive vas
nothing but a large stalagmite, closely resembling
a human being. When our laughter at the
mistake had subsided, we asked if we could get
any further in that direction, and being assured
that there was no practicable path, we gave up
the search, and re-trod the windings of the rock
till we reached the light of day, coming to the
conclusion that if the murderer had made any use
of the cave, it was only for a temporary purpose
—probably when he believed that pursuers were
on his track. Reluctantly, therefore, after scouring
the neighbouring woods, and extending our
examination for some distance, the men were
called in, and we returned disappointed to the
garrison.

Whether stimulated by the offered reward, or
moved by the desire to avenge his own wrongs,
or piqued at the doubts thrown on his statement—
if a combination of all these motives did
not operate with him, Isaac Forbes was determined
to renew the search for Joel Tucker, and
instead of going out to fish that evening,