“I see,” said Chot.
“Then,” continued Rick, pointing with his pencil, “we come to the opening of the second tunnel—I don’t exactly mean a second tunnel—”
“You mean the second opening of the tunnel, ’cause there’s only one tunnel,” suggested Chot.
“That’s it—yes,” assented Rick. “And at this second opening is where there was a division—the water seemed to flow down into Green Valley.”
“I see,” said Chot.
“And here,” went on Rick, “where I’ve marked it, is a pile of rocks. Now I claim these rocks were blasted out of the side of the hill and piled there, either by the blast or afterward. And, what’s more, Chot, I think those rocks hide another opening into the tunnel. You know, it branches off and goes under the hill again.”
“Like the letter Y?” asked Chot.
“That’s it. And I think Lost River came out of the left hand branch of the Y and flowed down inside our tunnel to a point near our camp. Then it came out into the open where Uncle Tod and Sam used it for the flume. Also, at the Y, some of the water flowed down into the valley at the place Uncle Tod calls a watershed, but not as much as went into our tunnel.”
“I see,” said Chot. “But what more is there to it?”
“That’s what we’ve got to find out,” said Rick. “If I’m right we may find Lost River somewhere in back of that pile of stones.”