bound up his wounds he crept into the tunnel and went into his bed.
Silent Poll returned with a scowling face when the old woman, whom
she had 'dosed' with brandy, went asleep, and resumed her yarn
balling Roland lay upon the ground and read. When Poll had finished
her thread she descended the cavern, and Roland and Nancy were left
to themselves.

'Suppose we go now and explore the tunnel, Nancy; I am anxious to
see the extent of this retreat of murder and crime.'

'We can descend by a hole close to the tallest of those three pines
yonder,' she said as she seized a small coil of rope and led the way.
Having fastened the rope around the trunk of the pine, she said:

'We descend by this. I go first; and I shall tell you to come when I
am down.' In a second she disappeared; and presently he heard her
telling him to come. The sensation, as he descended into the pitch
dark cavern, was not an agreeable one; but when his feet touched
bottom Nancy took him by the hand.

'We go this way; presently your eyes will be of some use.' She had
spoken the truth. After our hero was a few minutes under ground the
walls, roof, and floor of the tunnel became fairly visible. As for
the floor it was hard and level, the flood having carried all the
turf and earth away, leaving the rock bare. Here and there a mass of
turf and clay had fallen from above, almost impeding the progress of
the explorers; and Roland was well aware that the peril of walking
through the place was not small.

When the river sank into the soft swamp, it did not take a straight