"Maybe it goes to the middle of the earth," said Andy from below. "No, here's the bottom at last."
Soon Hortense stood behind him. Gradually, as their eyes became accustomed to the dark, they could see a little.
"Here's the way," said Andy at last.
"But here's another passage," said Hortense.
"We'll try mine first," said Andy.
They had walked only a few steps when they came to a wooden panel.
"It's like the one that I crawled through the other day," said Andy. "Help me to move it."
It moved slowly, but finally they raised it until they could crawl through.
"I believe this is the chute I came down when you found me," said Andy.
He stood up.