ter, and Harry and I jumped off and shoved her to the
bank.

Desiree sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Harry explained while we beached the raft. Then we broke out our
provisions and partook of them.

"But why do we stop?" asked Desiree.

The words "Because we are not getting anywhere" rose to my lips, but I
kept them back.

"For a rest and some air," I answered.

Desiree exclaimed: "But I want to go on!"

So as soon as we had eaten our fill we loaded the stuff again and
prepared to shove off. By that time I think Harry, too, had realized
the hopelessness of our expedition, for he had lost all his enthusiasm;
but he said nothing, nor did I. We secured Desiree on her pile of
skins and again pushed out into the current.

The cavern was not large, for we had been under way but a few minutes
when its wall loomed up ahead and the stream again entered a tunnel, so
low and narrow that I hesitated about entering at all. I consulted
Harry.

"Take a chance," he advised. "Why not? As well that as anything."

We slipped through the entrance.

The current was extremely sluggish, and we barely seemed to move.
Still we went forward.

"If we only had a little speed we could stand it," Harry grumbled.

Which shows that a man does not always appreciate a blessing. It was
not long before we were offering up thanks that our speed had been so
slight.

To be exact, about an hour, as well as I could measure time, which
passed slowly; for not only were the minutes tedious, but the foulness
of the air made them also extremely uncomfortable. Desiree was again
lying down, half-unconscious but not asleep, for now and then she spoke
drowsily. Harry complained of a dizziness in the head, and my own
seemed ready to burst through my temples. The soroche of the mountains
was agreeable compared to that.

Suddenly the swiftness of the current increased appreciably on the
instant; there was a swift jerk as we were carried forward. I rose to
my knees--the tunnel was too low to permit of standing--and gazed
intently ahead. I could see nothing save that the stream had narrowed
to half its former width, and was still becoming narrower.

We went faster and faster, and the stream narrowed until the bank was
but a few feet away on either side.

"Watch the stern!" I called to Harry. "Keep her off with your spear!"

Then a wall loomed up directly ahead. I thought it meant another bend
in the stream, and