THE BOTTOM OF THE GULF
'I have,' said Curtius stolidly; 'I fully expected to die, and I was willing to die.'
'Just for one moment,' said the voice, 'when you had got all that mob of howling fools around applauding you. Applause is an intoxicant, and you got drunk on it. Now you are sober again, and you don't want to die at all. The man who can die alone, slowly and terribly, is courageous. But you've got no more courage in you than a piece of chewed string. You're as white as chalk.'
'That's the effect of the green light,' interposed Curtius.
'Rubbish!' replied the voice, 'green light doesn't make a man shake all over, does it?'
'That's just the shock from the fall,' said Curtius. 'But I can't stop here arguing with you; I'm off to explore the cavern. There must be a way out somewhere.'
'There isn't,' said the voice; 'but you can explore.'
96
