“Sure,” the latter agreed, though without enthusiasm. “Lead on!”
By this time the canoe bearing White Nose and Eagle Feather had rounded the river bend and was out of sight.
Rolling up the trouser legs of their Cub uniforms, the boys removed shoes and socks, hiding the latter in the bushes.
Then with Brad leading, the three scrambled over the jagged rocks to the cave entrance. As they stood there a moment, gathering courage, a little puff of black smoke issued forth.
“Someone’s in there, all right,” Brad muttered. “You fellows follow behind me, and try not to make any noise. We want to find out what we’re running into before we reveal ourselves.”
The swift-moving underground stream felt icy cold as the boys stepped into it. Red, who never had been inside the cave, felt especially nervous. He kept close to Dan, occasionally bumping into him.
Without a light to guide them, the Cubs could neither see nor be seen. However, the bright mouth provided dim illumination for a short distance. After that, they were in complete and rather terrifying darkness.
Brad, who kept ahead of his companions, found the smoke increasingly unpleasant as he moved deeper into the tunnel. He covered his face with a handkerchief to ward off any inclination to cough.
Approaching the inner rock ledge above the stream, Brad signalled his companions to be very cautious.
The smoke had become thick, and ahead he could see the faint glow of a fire. From the odor of the smoke, he knew that game was being cooked.