Chapter XXIV: What Happened Underground

“You mean the Robertson mill?” asked Andy.

“Yes, the one mentioned by that Bert Field.”

“Have you heard from that boy, Pepper?”

“Not lately.”

“Shall we go to the old mill and see what it looks like?”

“We might pass it. We haven’t time to stop—not unless we want to get caught.”

Still walking swiftly, the chums went along the river until they came in sight of the Falls. Not far off was the old mill.

“Think we’ll meet that ghost?” asked Andy, as they paused at a distance to gaze at the ancient structure, some of the lower windows of which had been boarded over.

“I don’t know I’m sure. Want to go closer?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Come on then, and we’ll scatter some paper near the door. Maybe the crowd will think we entered the mill.”

Knowing they had no time to spare, if they wanted to keep out of the reach of the hounds, the two cadets hurried on until they stood beneath a shed adjoining the old mill.

“I don’t see anything unusual,” said Pepper, as he looked around. “Maybe this story about a ghost is all made up.”

“Yes, but what about that yarn of a ghost that was half man, half beast?”

“I don’t know. But I think——Hark!”

Both boys listened. From inside the old mill a grating sound had reached their ears.

“Why, I wonder if the wheel is going!” cried Andy. “It sounds like it.”

“Let us look in at the door and see—if the door is unlocked,” was Pepper’s reply.

The chums stepped closer to the doors of the mill. Scarcely had they done so when, without warning, some planking gave way and they found themselves dropping into some space below. Each tried to save himself, but it was too late, and down they went, into a lower apartment of the old mill. Then, as swiftly as it had moved before, the planking overhead closed, leaving the two cadets in almost total darkness.

They were completely bewildered by what had occurred, and for the moment could do little but clutch each other and try to pierce the darkness which surrounded them. Andy had gone sprawling, with Pepper on top of him. Now both arose.

“What do you make of this?” asked Pepper, trying vainly to control his voice.

“I—I guess we have been trapped!” gasped Andy. “I—I wish we had a pistol, or something!”

“Did we fall or was a trap-door opened, Andy?”

“I guess a door was opened. Anyway, the opening is closed again.”

“Well, I don’t believe any ghost did it, do you?”

“No, it was some human being. But that human being might be just as bad as a ghost.”

“Right you are. How are we going to get out?”

“That remains to be seen.”

The two boys felt around them. On every side was a stone wall. In two of the walls were doors. One was locked, but the other stood partly open.

“Now we are down here we may as well do a little exploring,” whispered Pepper. “But let us keep close together.”

“Take care that you don’t fall into another hole!” answered his chum.

“Wonder if we can’t find sticks, or stones, or something.”

They felt around but nothing but the bare walls and bare floor met their touch.

At a distance they heard a strange rumble, but could not make out what it was or where it came from. They advanced with caution and passed through the open door. All was as dark as before, but they heard a rushing close at hand.

“Is that wind?” asked Andy.

“No, that must be the river, or the falls, Andy. We can’t be very far from the water.”

The boys had reached a flooring of wood. They passed along on this for several feet. They were side by side, trying to pierce the darkness, which was intense. A foul, musty odor greeted them.

“I’ll be glad to see daylight again,” said Andy. “Do you think——”

He got no further, for just then the flooring upon which they stood tilted downward. Both tried to save themselves from another fall, but in vain. Down they rolled over the flooring and fell with a splash into the water.

Pepper went down several feet and his hand struck some rocks. Andy followed, and the chums grabbed each other by the shoulder. The ducking came so quickly that each swallowed considerable water.

“Hi, what’s this?” spluttered Pepper, when he could speak.

“We are in the river!” answered Andy. “Look out that you don’t hit your head on something!”

The water was flowing swiftly, and forward shot the two boys, in darkness that was as intense as before. They felt the passageway narrowing and felt the sharp rocks on either side of them.

“We can’t be in the river!” gasped Pepper. “We must be in some underground stream, an off-shoot from the river!”

“I guess you are right!” groaned his chum. “But if it is an off-shoot where is it taking us?”

“I don’t know.”

There was little opportunity to say more, for the water was now boiling and foaming all around them. The boys were jerked first one way and then another, and all but had the breath knocked from their bodies. Andy was hit on the head by a projecting rock and dazed.

“Save me!” he moaned, and Pepper clutched him and held fast. Then Pepper was struck and for several minutes knew no more.

When the two boys were able to realize what had happened they found themselves still in the dark, but almost out of the water, which was rushing madly beside them. On all sides were rough rocks, some of them of immense size. From far overhead came a glimmer of light.

“Are you all right, Andy?” asked Pepper, when he felt strong enough to speak.

“I—I guess so,” was the gasped-out answer. “But say, I don’t want to go through anything like that again!”

“Nor I! We came close to being drowned!”

“Yes, and close to having our heads pounded to a jelly!”

“Where do you suppose we are?”

“Somewhere among the rocks below the old mill. Instead of following the river we were caught in a side stream that flows under and between the rocks. I suppose we can be thankful that our lives were spared.”

“Yes, indeed!”

For several minutes the cadets were content to rest and gather their scattered wits together. The game of hare and hounds was completely forgotten until Andy chanced to glance at a big water-soaked paper still slung over his shoulder.

“Wonder what became of the other fellows,” said he.

“I hope they didn’t fall down the hole,” answered Pepper. “But if they did I reckon we would have heard it,” he added.

How to get out of the place in which they found themselves was a serious problem. On all sides were the great rocks. The opening through which the light was streaming was fully fifty feet over their heads.

“I guess the only thing to do is to climb out,” was Andy’s comment. “Think we can do it?”

“We can try. But we don’t want to break our necks.”

“Let us go to the upper end of the opening,” suggested the acrobatic youth. “It looks better to me there.”

They walked to the spot Andy indicated, and then the acrobatic youth commenced to scale the rocks. Pepper followed, and thus they managed to climb about half the distance to the top. But at that point little short of sheer walls confronted them.

“I guess we are stumped,” said Andy, in a disappointed voice.

“Wonder if the other fellows are in this vicinity,” said Pepper. “If they are they could help us out somehow.”

“Might call, Pepper.”

Both of the boys called out at the top of their lungs, not once but several times. At first no answer came back.

“Try again,” said Pepper, and they did so. The echoes had just died away when they saw a form appear at the top of the opening.

“Who is down there?” came the cry.

“Two boys,” answered Andy. “We want somebody to help us get out of this hole.”

“Oh, that’s it,” said the person at the top of the hole. “Well, maybe, I can do the trick. I happen to have a long rope with me.”

Something in the voice of the speaker struck Pepper as familiar. He strained his eyes, and then saw that the person who had spoken was the strange lad, Bert Field.