Giovanni obeyed. Franz took the lamp, and entered the subterranean
grotto, followed by Gaetano. He recognized the place where he had awaked
by the bed of heather that was there; but it was in vain that he carried
his torch all round the exterior surface of the grotto. He saw nothing,
unless that, by traces of smoke, others had before him attempted the
same thing, and, like him, in vain. Yet he did not leave a foot of this
granite wall, as impenetrable as futurity, without strict scrutiny; he
did not see a fissure without introducing the blade of his hunting sword
into it, or a projecting point on which he did not lean and press in
the hopes it would give way. All was vain; and he lost two hours in his
attempts, which were at last utterly useless. At the end of this time he
gave up his search, and Gaetano smiled.
When Franz appeared again on the shore, the yacht only seemed like a
small white speck on the horizon. He looked again through his glass, but
even then he could not distinguish anything. Gaetano reminded him that
he had come for the purpose of shooting goats, which he had utterly
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