The river swirled along fast. Sometimes the boat knocked against rocks and nearly upset. Once Mrs. Arnold almost fell overboard, and Captain Arnold only just snatched at her in time. Everyone wondered where the journey would end.
It ended in a most astonishing manner. The river suddenly became much less violent, and the current seemed to fall away to nothing. The boat almost stopped and Captain Arnold had to use the paddles to get it forward. They were in a fairly wide tunnel with a low roof, and not far ahead there seemed to be an archway, through which a bright light shone.
“We’re arriving somewhere,” said Captain Arnold. “Well, we can’t go back, so we must go forward! I wonder what that bright light is!”
They soon found out! The boat went slowly forward, passed through the archway — and the four found, to their enormous amazement, that the river flowed through what looked like a big and most magnificent room!
The floor was of great smooth stones, polished till they shone. The walls were covered with brilliant hangings, all the colours of the rainbow, and the ceiling which was domed in glittering stones, rose up high and beautiful. From it hung the great gleaming lamp that gave the bright light the four had seen through the archway.
Stone tables stood here and there, and there were piles of soft rugs on the floor. Great vases and pitchers stood about filled with the brilliant flowers of the countryside. Three parrots screeched in a golden cage and five little monkeys huddled together in a corner.
Through the middle of this strange apartment, hidden right in the heart of the mountain, flowed one of the many underground rivers that gurgled their way towards the openings in the mountain rock through which they could fall down the hillside.
“This reminds me of a fairy-tale!” said Mrs. Arnold in the greatest amazement. “What are we going to do? Get out and explore this extraordinary place? It’s like a palace or something, built underground!”
No one was in the enormous, beautiful room except the parrots and the monkeys. Captain Arnold wondered whether or not to let his little party get out of the boat, which was still flowing gently along. And then he caught sight of something just ahead of him on the river.
It was a great golden gate stretched across the water! How strange! The boat would certainly be able to get no further, unless they could open the gate. Captain Arnold had a queer feeling that it would be better not to land in the strange room, but to go on, and see if by chance he could open the gate and go on his way.