It became damp and cold and dark immediately. They entered a sort of cave, made by two rocks meeting overhead, and dropped down several feet to what felt like a sandy beach, though they could, at first, see nothing. But they could hear the water running beside them.
“Look out here,” said the guide, “or you’ll step into the water. Follow me.”
Alice, however, didn’t follow him. She was a frisky girl, and she wanted to see all there was to see, so she stepped to the left, and suddenly screamed.
Peanut grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
“Sh,” she whispered. “Up to the knees! But Mamma’d make me go back if she knew!”
“What’s the matter, Alice?” called her mother.
“She stubbed her toe,” Peanut answered, quickly.
“Oh, you nice little liar!” chuckled Alice.
Peanut was beginning to like her!
The strange, underground path grew stranger and stranger. Sometimes they came out into daylight, and saw the sky and the walls of the cañon far above them, sometimes they stood in caves fifteen feet high, sometimes they had to cross the stream on planks, sometimes go up or down ladders. Finally they came to a place where the way was completely blocked, save for a small hole, which didn’t look more than two feet across.