Leaving Lake Room we enter a newly opened, long, dry passage to Slab Room, where a comparatively recent earthquake has shaken down the ornamental ceiling and spread it in great slabs over the floor; and having since remained perfectly dry it has the appearance of being the work of yesterday.  This room is remembered as the one in which a party of workers were lost, and one of their number gave a severe nervous shock to the junior proprietor by suggesting that as he was acting as guide and unable to lead them out, it was only right that he should be the first victim to satisfy their hunger.  A rescuing party with extinguished candles was listening behind a rock to the blood-curdling speech, and came forward to restore cheerfulness.

A long, irregular, frosty looking crevice called Jack Frost Streak, conducts us from Slab Room and ends at Mold Ladder, on which we pause to admire a wonderful growth of snow-white cave vegetation, before ascending into Santa Claus’ Pass, the longest passage in the cave.  It is a rough crevice named from the fact of being discovered on Christmas Eve, and ends at the Government Room on the main tourist route where a U.S. pack saddle and apparently portable bath tub are conspicuous.

Next beyond is a very large room named New Zealand, on account or its icy appearance and the undisputed possession of a seal.  This room in turn opens into Mold Chamber, where an old board platform, formerly used for the display of specimens, has fostered the most marvelously beautiful growth of mold:  it hangs in ropes five and six feet long, with tasseled ends, and in broad, looped draperies; but is most beautiful where it has taken possession of the rocks and spreads out on the flat surface like large open fans, with deep, soft feather borders.

Having been in the cave eight hours, we now followed the outward passage from Mold Chamber and soon reached an open trap door where the guide suggested to Herbert that he would be afraid to go down alone and allow him to close the door; but the child surprised him by quietly stepping down and then asking why he wished it, only to be told “because we are coming too.”  Which we did and found ourselves in the main entrance passage, and in due time returned to the outer world where a terrific wind was roaring through the tall pines and the early winter evening had already closed in dark.

The guide locked the cave, walked with us to the house where he lighted a lamp and left us to prepare for the return to town; but the lamp, belonging to a bachelor, was empty, so we made our preparations in imitation of the blind.  On the guide’s return he lighted a candle, but suggested that twenty minutes were generally allowed for reaching the station.

The house was accordingly closed and as we walked down the long, curving slope to the stairway, he told of a new and unknown bob-tailed wolf that has recently made its first appearance among the hills in considerable numbers and to the terror of stock.  It attacks and bites horses or cattle, and after waiting for the fatal poison inflicted to take effect, falls to and eats the victim.