“We can’t stop now,” Steve pleaded. “We’ve been looking for a possible way into the interior. We’ve found it. We can easily fit into the shaft.”

Pitch was silent for a moment; then he said thoughtfully, “And if we find nothing, we can always climb back up the rope. We’ll tie it securely around the top of the shaft here.” His voice had become eager again.

“Yes,” Steve added, “and we’ll have our flashlight to use below. We’ll have to go back to the dory to get it, and we should get our packs, too. If we find anything and decide to stay, we’ll need everything we have with us. We’d better make sure the dory will stay fast as well.”

Pitch nodded. “Yes, we’d better, as you say.”

But they still stood at the edge of the shaft, looking into the blackness below.

“We found what we were looking for, Pitch.”

“Much more, actually,” Pitch said slowly. “Much more.”

UNDERGROUND WORLD

6

Steve placed the lid on top of the can of Sterno, extinguishing the flame over which the midday meal had been cooked. Pitch had risen to his feet, wiped his tin plate clean with a paper towel, and walked over to the shaft. He stood looking down for a few minutes, then glanced up at the overcast sky and said, “We’re in for some rain, I’m afraid.”

Smiling, Steve snapped the lid tightly over the can and placed it inside his pack along with the small folded stove. “It won’t bother us, not where we’re going,” he said.

On the ground about them, besides the backpacks, were two coils of rope, one lying on top of the other, and Pitch’s pick and shovel, which he had insisted upon bringing along. It had taken them well over an hour to get everything from the dory. They had made their way slowly down the cleft in the wall and along the narrow ledge until they were again facing the sea-swept path to the large rock and the dory lying behind it. Then Steve had insisted upon making the two trips across the low coral rock for the equipment, and Pitch, knowing the boy was surer footed than he, had let him go. On the first trip, Steve had returned with one pack, and on the second he had tied the pick and shovel to the rope so Pitch could haul them across the turbulent waters. Steve had followed with the second pack fastened high up on his shoulders so it would not hinder him as he bent far over on his way across the slippery rock. The rest had been easier, for Pitch had gone up the cleft again and pulled up all the equipment by rope while Steve waited below.