“Aye, I figured you’d say that,” Captain Hager replied.
He then uncoiled a length of nylon rope, tying it first about his own waist, then around Kathleen, and finally about Judy, who would bring up the rear.
“We must keep close together,” he warned. “If we do, there is no danger. Even if we miss the passageway on the first try, we will find it. Full steam ahead, my hearties!”
For a few feet the girls followed along a rough, jagged wall before moving slowly out into the vast room. The silence and immensity of the cavern were momentarily terrifying, for Captain Hager’s light revealed only a dark void ahead.
By supreme effort Judy and Kathleen held their nerves in rigid check. Each step seemed to be taking them deeper and deeper into oblivion. A dozen doubts assailed them. Would Captain Hager ever find the narrow passage leading out of the chamber? And if they should be successful in reaching the siphon, would not the return be even more difficult?
The darkness seemed endless, but finally Captain Hager’s light revealed a rough wall ahead. A wave of relief washed over Judy and Kathleen. But it was short lived.
Their guide had paused to move the flash beam slowly along the solid wall, first to the right, then to the left. He muttered something, but his words were indistinguishable.
“Are—are we lost?” Kathleen asked.
The captain deliberately did not answer. After a moment, he started on again, groping along the wall. Kathleen did not repeat her question.
For awhile Captain Hager kept on, the girls directly behind, following blindly. Then suddenly the old man seemed to relax, and they heard him give a throaty chuckle.