All was pitch black around and overhead; beneath was the silent and cold
water, and the only sound that fell upon his ears was the rushing along
of the stream.

As well as he was able, Allen put out his hands before him, to ward off
the shock of a sudden contact of any sort, for he did not know but that
he might be dashed upon a jagged rock at any instant. Then he prayed
earnestly for deliverance.

On and on he swept, the stream several times making turns, first to one
side and then to the other. Once his hand came brushing up to a series
of rocks, but before he could grasp them he was hurled onward in an
awful blackness.

A quarter of an hour went by--a time that to the young man seemed like
an age--and during that period he surmised that he must have traveled a
mile or more.

Then the current appeared to slacken up, and he had a feeling come over
him as if the space overhead had become larger.

"This must be an underground lake," he thought. "Now if I----Ah,
bottom!"

His thought came to a sudden termination, for his feet had touched upon
a sloping rock but a few feet below the surface of the stream. The rock
sloped to his right, and, moving in that direction, Allen, to his great
joy, soon emerged upon a stony shore.

He took several cautious steps in as many different directions and felt
nothing. He was truly high and dry at last.

This fact was a cheering one, but there was still a dismal enough
outlook. Where was he and how would he ever be able to gain the outer
world once more?

CHAPTER VII.

The Cave in the Mountain

Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously. He felt
for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several
yards.

His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood,
all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and
these at once made him think of a fire. What a relief a bit of light
would be!

In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox
very useful. He felt in his pocket and found the article still safe. He
opened it with fingers that trembled a little; but the matches were
still dry, and in a trice one was struck and lit.

He held the match under some of the driest of the brush, and had the
satisfaction of seeing it blaze up. He piled the stuff up, and on top
placed several heavy sticks. Soon he had a fire which blazed merrily.

The light illumined the cavern, casting a ruddy