“You found it, did you?” asked Alex.
“Boys, boys,” said Captain Joe, “never mind the lost channel until we get this boy dressed and fed up.”
The processes suggested by the captain were quickly accomplished, and in a short time, Clay sat in the cabin telling of the adventures of the morning. The boys listened wide-eyed.
“Now let me get this thing right,” Captain Joe said. “You went into a whirlpool above the falls and came out into a cavern?”
“That’s just it, exactly,” Clay replied, still weak from his exertions. “I landed on a ledge, where I lay unconscious for a few moments and then followed down the channel of the underground river. There is plenty of room in the cavern,” he continued, “and plenty of fresh air, but the place is shy on light. I fell many times in the darkness.”
“I thought it wasn’t safe for me to be in there!” grinned Alex.
“I thought it wasn’t safe for me be in there!” Clay replied with a wink, “and so I made my way out as swiftly as I could. At this end of the channel, the water runs out just below the surface of the west river, and I thought I’d better reduce my weight as much as possible before going through the opening, so I took off my clothes and was pushed out by the current.”
“Looked mighty funny to see you come floating out of the river without ever having gone in!” laughed Jule.
“Now, boys,” said Captain Joe, after the boys had discussed all phases of the situation, “let’s size this thing up together. In the first place, Clay has undoubtedly discovered the lost channel.”
“It might have been found years ago,” Clay said, “if the men who tried to describe it had only said that it was a subterranean stream.”