CAPTAIN Hager’s remarks about the cave had stirred the imagination of the Scouts, and even Miss Ward thought it would be interesting to explore the cavern for a short distance.
“Would it be safe, do you think?” she asked, as Captain Hager seemed to be giving Judy’s request sober consideration.
“It’s safe enough, Ma’am,” he assured her. “The only danger lies in going too far without a guide.”
“No rock falls?”
“Never heard of one in all the years I’ve lived hereabouts.”
“Then do take us, Captain Hager!” Judy urged again, prancing excitedly about the dock. “We haven’t much time, because the camp station wagon is to come for us at ten thirty. Please, could we start right now?”
“Dash it, I was calculatin’ on anchorin’ for a comfortable snooze,” the captain complained good-naturedly. “But if them’s my sailing orders, we’ll cast off for the cave!”
The old man told the Scouts and their leader to meet him at the entranceway of Hager’s Hole. He promised to join them there as soon as he had gone to his nearby river shack to leave his fishing equipment and pick up a few items he would want for the trip.
Taking leave of the old man, the girls swiftly climbed the slope to the cave. Captain Hager did not keep them waiting long.
Within fifteen minutes, they glimpsed his bent figure coming along the path. He had changed his shoes, put on a blue jacket, and carried a lantern.