“You did entirely right,” Mr. Hatfield assured him. “Time the Cubs are home. Everything all right here?”
“We had one scare. It didn’t amount to much. What did you learn in the cave?”
Mr. Hatfield described the explorations, declaring that he was almost certain the underground stream emptied into Lake James.
“Just before we were hauled in, you made a discovery,” Dan reminded him. “What did you see?”
“The object of our search.”
“Not the paddles?”
“One of them. The other may be there too. I was pulled in before I had a chance to find out. The paddle I saw was back against the wall of the cave, behind the pile of balsam.”
“How’d it get out of the pool?” Dan speculated. “Someone must have fished it out.”
“Oh, someone’s using the cave all right,” Mr. Hatfield responded. “A rugged individual accustomed to living out-of-doors.”
“Maybe that mysterious fellow who’s been doing the carving at the ravine!” Red exclaimed.