He wished, though, that Ted were with them. A good pal certainly doubles one’s enjoyments.
They had gone what seemed like miles, (though cave miles are deceptive, so completely is one cut off from space and time), bearing always to the right, when Radcliffe’s light suddenly burned out, leaving them in primeval darkness. At first breath they tried to laugh at their predicament, then the utter blackness seemed to press upon them till it suffocated, and Ace suppressed a sudden desire to scream. His panic moment was dissipated by Radcliffe’s discovery of a bit of candle. Ace had, of course, that most important part of a camper’s equipment, a waterproof match-box, linked to his belt, and in it a few matches. But even then it meant going back the way they had come, for without a good light they could do nothing. Perhaps it was just as well, for they were bound on no hour’s adventure, and should have brought food as well. How Radcliffe wished he had his acetylene lamp!
To their surprise they found Norris at the cave mouth trying to arrange his coat under the sleeping Ted. And around him lay the coiled lariat he had taken from the saddle-horn of Ted’s recent mount, also three canteens, some cooked food, and a supply of hard candles from the fire crew supplies. There were also the boys’ sweaters,—Radcliffe, of course, had his woolen uniform,—and to cap the climax, a ball of twine and the Ranger’s pet lamp, with its tin of carbide powder.
To their amazed query Norris explained that he had explored dozens of caves in his time, including some hundreds of miles of that honeycomb formation that underlies a portion of Kentucky, to say nothing of the caverns of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the Ozarks. Of the caves of California, however, he as yet knew nothing.
Had he not been needed to head the fire crew, he would have loved nothing better than to have gone with them.
“I knew this was a cave region,” he told them as they ate and refreshed themselves before going back into the black depths—for they had been gone several hours, it seemed. “Fissured limestone—I noticed it yesterday when we were down here trying to backfire. Then what feeds the Kawa? Not these little flood creeks that dry up almost before the spring floods are over. Where does all that snow water go to? Some underground passageway, of course. It seeps through the porous rock to subterranean channels. By the way, I see there are tracks of muddy feet inside here, and your feet are dry! The mud must have been left by the Mexicans.”
“That’s a fact!” exclaimed Radcliffe. “Ace, did you notice any mud along that passageway? Then we surely took the wrong turn.”
“Not necessarily,” said Norris. “They might have come from some muddy cavern, but gone back another way. However, I was going to give you a little idea of the probable layout of a cave. This one, if—as I suspect—it feeds the Kawa—likely descends to other levels, till the lowest one is very nearly on that of the river. Seeping through, here and there, the rains and melting snows probably collect into a stream.”
“Wish you could go with us, old chap,” said the Ranger. “But––”
“You’ll get along all right, with these things,” sighed Norris, “and if you don’t show up again within a few hours, we’ll follow your twine,” and he tied one end of the cord ball to a manzanita bush, handing the ball to Ace. At that moment Ted awoke and insisted that he join them. Norris reluctantly returned to the fire crew.