e water; slap some mud on
it. Is he dead?"

I knew now that he must be all right, because I heard him move. For
about half a minute he didn't answer. Then he called up:

"He's alive, but he isn't conscious."

"How about _you_?" I said.

"Alive and conscious," he said; "don't worry."

Then for about a minute he didn't speak.

"Do you want the paddle?" I called.

"Nope--chuck it," he said. "This is a place of mystery. Know where the
water went? There's a passageway down here; it's big enough to crawl
through. Ouch!"

"Tell me the truth," I said, "you're hurt."

"I'm in a very critical condition from a swollen wrist," he said; "shut
up, will you! There's a secret passageway or something or other down
here. Where do you suppose it goes?"

"Hanged if _I_ know," I said; "what about Skinny?"

"He's breathing, that's all _I_ know," he said.

For a couple of minutes I sat on the edge thinking and I could hear him
down there. I didn't know what he was doing.

Then I called, "You know Rebel's Cave, don't you? Above the shore south
of Nick's Cove--near the outlet? Maybe it comes out there--the passage,
I mean."

"What makes you think so?" he called.

"I don't say I think so," I said; "only there's a kind of a passageway
that goes into the hills there. It starts in the cave. None of us ever
followed it, because it's so dark and wet. A fellow found an old musket
stock there once."

"What do you say?" he called; "there's no time to lose, that's sure.
Shall I try it? It would take an hour to flood this pesky old hole,
even if I could stop up the passage."

Then all of a sudden I knew why he had told me to be ready with the
paddle. It was so I could open a little trench through the muddy land
and start the water flowing into the pit. That way he'd get to the top
with Skinny.

"But you can't stop up the passageway," I said. "The water flowed
through it and went out somewhere--maybe through the cave and back
into the lake. If it's big enough you could do the same. Both of us--"

"Stay where you are," he shouted, "and don't be a fool. Do you suppose
I want to carry two fellows through there? One's enough. By heck, I'm
going to try it--it's the only thing to do."

"Suppose it shouldn't bring you out anywhere?" I said.

"Suppose it should," he fired back at me.

Then he said, "Now, Blakeley, I'll tell you what to do. I'm going to
start through this place with the kid--he's alive, that's the most I
can tell you.