“He was probably too sick with the fever,” said Oliver, partly to keep his own courage up. “Come on. Nil desperandum!”
In a few minutes they were back at the watercourse. Here they found a narrow passage, scarcely a foot in height, leading upwards.
“Shall we try it?” he asked.
“Certainly. Try anything.”
So Oliver crawled into the hole on his hands and knees, and Gus followed. They had not gone far before they found the rock giving way in many places to dirt.
“I take that for a good sign,” said Oliver. “I think we are near the top of the hill, but how far from the opening I cannot tell.”
For ten minutes more they continued on their painful journey. Then Oliver came to a halt.
“Nothing but rock ahead,” he said.
Both he and Gus were ready to cry with vexation. Had they taken all this trouble in vain?
“Are you sure?”