Pilescu helped Mike and Jack, but it was a stiff struggle to get to the bank of the swiftly-running river. They sat there, exhausted, hoping that no robber would come by, for they had no strength to resist anyone!
They recovered after a while. The hot sun dried their clothes, and steam began to rise from them.
“I wonder what happened to the raft,” said Jack.
“We’ll go and see!” said Ranni. “The noise is so tremendous here that the waterfall, or whatever it is, can’t be very far ahead. I think it must be where that fine mist hangs in the air over there, like smoke.”
They walked on beside the river, over rough ground. The noise became louder and louder. Then they suddenly saw what happened to the mountain river!
They rounded a big rock and came to the place where fine spray flew. The great silver river rushed by them — and then disappeared completely!
No river lowed ahead. The whole of the water vanished somewhere in that little place. Ranni went forward cautiously. He called to the others:
“It’s a good thing we got off the raft when we did! The river goes right down into the earth here!”
All the others joined Ranni. The spray soaked them as they stood there, trying to see where the volume of water went to.
It really was most extraordinary. There appeared to be a great cavern or chasm in the ground into which the river emptied itself with a terrific roar. The water fell into the enormous hole and completely disappeared.