Fig. 32. The Cave, and how it was charted.
All the measurements were made on the plan outlined, and scratched on the sooted slab.
"One thing more we must observe. As we are marking the successive points, you will notice that I took particular care to observe the side walls of the passageway, so that I could roughly outline them, noting the distances from the various points, and in a crude way marking out the irregularities between the points."
The chart interested the boys so intensely that the disappearance of the light did not again recur to them until they emerged from the mouth of the cave, when it all came back again, with added wonder and speculation. How many more mysterious things would present themselves!
CHAPTER XIII
THE EXCITING HUNT IN THE FOREST
They returned to their home with conflicting emotions. It had been an eventful day. They had a glimpse of the outside world, and an experience below the surface of the earth. Both were unsatisfying. They could explain the one far away on the sea; but the other, close at hand, was a mystery.
"How do you account for the water being so far away from the mouth of the cave?" was George's inquiry after the evening meal.