"Funny, isn't it, that this cave should be here just as if it was an
inflated bubble in a glass-blower's tube?" said Polly.
"I'll reserve my opinion till I see the end of the tube!" said Eleanor,
waiting for Polly to creep into the opening.
After considerable twisting and crawling, Polly first, with her torch,
and Eleanor second, they suddenly felt a current of fresh air.
"Oh! Oh, thank goodness!" gasped Polly. "I shoved the torch ahead! I'd
have fallen headlong into this abyss."
"What is it, Poll?"
"A pit ever so wide, and I can't see how deep it goes down. It's right
in the tunnel ground, cutting off all further investigations."
"It'll cut off investigations of a wild beast, too, won't it?" asked
Eleanor with relief in her tones.
"Of course--there isn't a chance of anything coming in this way. I can
hear water rushing, too, way down at the bottom, and the wind blows up
from this pit, so there must be an opening down there where the
subterranean river rushes out."
"Maybe this tunnel was a river, once, and emptied down into that pit,"
ventured Eleanor.
"I don't care if it was! I'm anxious to go back and eat, now that we
know the worst," replied Polly.
"We won't need both torches now, Poll, so drop yours in the pit and see
how deep it may be," suggested Eleanor.
"All right, but for pity's sake don't let yours go out!"
Polly waited to steady the flame and then dropped the torch.
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