UNDER THE CLIFFS
Tot scrambled to his feet and sat upon a seat of the boat, holding
fast to the sides with both hands. As he looked around and saw the
boat was far from land, he smiled and nodded his head, saying, "Now
we'll play ship, an' ride on 'e ocean. Won't we, Dot F'eelun'?"
"Oh, Tot!" exclaimed the little girl; "I'm afraid we'll be drowned.
How can we ever get home again?"
"Ride in 'e boat," said Tot, composedly.
"But the boat is carrying us farther away every minute. We're
floating downstream; and by-and-by we'll come to the ocean, where
there are big waves," declared Dot, who was really frightened.
But Tot refused to be afraid. As the swift current carried them
along, he clapped his hands together joyfully and gave a little laugh
of delight. "Nice ride!" he said again and again. "Hooray!"
Dot was older and wiser. She knew a boat could be rowed by means of
oars, and there were two oars lying on the bottom of the boat. She
decided to make an attempt to reach the shore, for then someone might
be found to help them back to Roselawn, which they had now left far
behind.
She drew out one of the oars and with difficulty, for it was heavy
for the child to handle, managed to push one end into the water and
rest the other against the row-lock of the boat. Then she began to
row as hard as she could; but her strength was not great, and all she
did was to push the front of the boat half around, so that it headed
toward the rocky cliffs on the far side of the river.
Her efforts pleased Tot, who laughed merrily as the oar splashed in
the water; but Dot was determined to get to land if possible and
struggled desperately at her task.
The boat was still headed toward the rocky cliffs, when suddenly the
oar flew out of Dot's hands and she fell backward off the seat.
She was not hurt, but when she got up she saw the oar floating in the
water, out of her reach; still she was reassured to notice that the
boat was now gliding swiftly along, and presently, to her joy, she
saw it was headed directly toward the fringe of trees, and getting
nearer to the bank every moment.
"It must be another current, Tot," she cried, "and this one is taking
us to the shore. So I did some good by rowing, even if I lost the
oar."
Tot nodded, but said nothing. He was still enjoying the novel boat
ride. Dot sat down on the seat beside him, and they watched the shore
grow nearer and more distinct every moment as the boat glided
steadily on.
The trees were bigger than they had thought, and grew close down to
the water's edge. Dot became worried when she noticed the speed of
the boat increasing as they drew nearer to the shore.
"If we bump those trees," she said, "we may be hurt, and the branches
will scratch our faces dreadfully."
Tot stopped smiling when he heard this, and took hold of Dot's hand,
which he clasped tightly in his own.
The next moment, still speeding onward, the boat reached the trees.
The two children were caught by the branches, swept quickly from the
seat, and sent sprawling at the bottom of the boat. But the boat
itself never stopped an instant. There was just room for it to float
underneath the thick branches, and instead of bumping into the shore,
the water carried it through a small opening in the face of the rocky
cliff, and then, in total darkness, it continued swiftly on its way!
Dot and Tot, who were both startled by this unexpected danger,
managed to get up and sit together upon the seat of the boat; but
they could see nothing before them and only a faint light behind,
where they had entered this hidden tunnel in the cliff.
For some moments they sat in silence. Then Dot reached out her hand
to see if she could feel anything; but the cool, damp air was all
around them. Then she reached upward, and her hand struck against a
piece of projecting rock which hurt her.
"Tot," she whispered, "I think we'd better lie down in the bottom of
the boat. The roof isn't very high up, and it may bump our heads if
we sit here."
Tot slipped off the seat at once and stretched himself out on the
boards underneath. Dot quickly followed him, and then for a time they
lay very still in the darkness, listening to the water as it rippled
softly along the sides of the boat.
Presently the girl asked, "Are you frightened, Tot?"
"Not, much," was the hesitating answer; and then, after a long pause,
he added, "but some."
"Oh, I'm some frightened myself," said Dot. "But I don't know what we
can do."
"I know," declared Tot, solemnly.
"What?" she inquired, in an anxious voice.
"Nuthin'."
Dot saw no need of replying to this, and another long period of
silence followed.
They did not seem to be in any immediate danger, for the boat swept
along with a free, easy motion that was very pleasant, and the air
was delightfully cool after the heat of the sun outside in the open
river.
But two things worried Dot. One was the fact that she was being
carried a long ways from home, and the other a fear of where the
underground river might lead them. She wasn't at all sure they were
not floating down into the middle of the earth, and the chances of
ever seeing Roselawn again were growing smaller every minute.
Nothing seemed to worry Tot, however. The darkness and the murmuring
of the water made him drowsy, and before long he was fast asleep,
with his chubby little arms clasped around Dot's neck.
The girl was also gradually recovering from her fright, since nothing
terrible seemed to happen. They were having a long journey under the
cliffs; but she knew there must come an end to it some time, and
probably they would float out of the dark tunnel into the daylight
sooner or later.
On and on sped the little boat, until at last, as Dot lay staring
into the darkness, she noticed a dim light about her, and began to
see the rocky roof of the cavern through which they were passing.
Then she sat up, and, far away in the distance, she saw a round,
bright spot that reminded her of a full moon. It seemed to be getting
nearer and bigger, and finally she gave a cry of joy and awakened her
companion.
"Tot! Oh, Tot!" she called. "We've got to the end at last and are
coming out of the tunnel!"
Tot sat up and rubbed his eyes. He gave one careless glance at the
opening, and then turned his eyes upon the lunch basket, saying,
sleepily, "I'm hungry!"