The mention of snakes brought Katy with a scream to cling to her arm, but Jane was not to be daunted. They could hear her puffing and breaking off twigs as she progressed. Suddenly there was a complete silence and Alice’s heart jumped with fear lest something had happened to the child.
“Jane,” she called anxiously.
“I’m here, Alice, but there’s something funny—there’s a great big hole in between some rocks—only I can’t see much, ’cause there’s so many vines and it’s dark.”
“Oh, do you s’pose it’s a bear den? Oh, I want my mother!” Gertie began to whimper.
“Shut up, silly, there aren’t any bears ’round here!” said Katy unfeelingly. “It’s a woodchuck hole most likely.”
“I wonder if it could be that cave,” said Alice. “You wait here, girls, I’m going in there too.”
Alice fought her way in to Chicken Little’s side. Sure enough there was a dark hole about two feet high.
Jane encouraged by Alice’s presence was for exploring at once, but Alice caught her dress determinedly.
“Don’t you dare, Jane Morton, it wouldn’t be safe—there might be snakes—you can’t tell what’s in there. I believe whoever came in here went into that hole—see, here’s two foot prints. I think we’d better get out of this.”
Alice made Chicken Little precede her back to the spot where Katy and Gertie were waiting.