“I believe it does,” said Jack, as the raft floated swiftly down the current. “We are getting nearer and nearer!”
After some time the river was very near to the great forest. The boys could see how wide and thick and dark it was. Now it no longer looked merely a great stretch of green; they could see the trees themselves, tall and close-set together. The river flowed on and on towards it.
The raft reached the outermost fringe of trees, and the river then disappeared into the forest. The boys were swept along on the raft, and as soon as they entered the forest, the sunshine disappeared, and a dim green light was all they had to see by.
“How dark and thick the trees are!” said Jack, awed. “The river must go right through this forest.”
“I wonder where it goes to,” said Mike. “Rivers all go to the sea. How can this one get out of this closed-in valley? You would think it would make a big lake — all this water flowing down the mountain-side like this, with nowhere to escape to!”
This was a puzzle, too. The boys thought about it as the raft swung along beneath the arching trees. Then, quite suddenly, they were in a big, wide pool, like a small lake, completely surrounded by trees. The river flowed through the pool, and out at the opposite side.
The raft swung to the side of the pool, and Jack gave a cry of surprise.
“This is where the robbers live! Look at those strange houses, or whatever you like to call them!”
The boys saw that round the lake-side were strange, beehive shaped houses, made of branches of trees and dried mud. From a hole at the top smoke appeared. Then Jack knew that he had been right when he thought he had seen a spiral of smoke from the aeroplane! The smoke from the bee-hive houses joined together as it rose into the air, and made a straight streak of blue smoke that hung almost motionless, for no wind came into that still valley.
No one was to be seen. If there was anyone in the huts, they must be sleeping, Jack thought! Their raft swung silently to the bank and the three boys leapt off at once. They crouched down in the bushes watching to see if anyone had noticed them. But nobody had. Not a soul appeared from the curious huts.