The Cavern Under the SeaThe circles were so much smaller at the bottom of the basin, and the boat moved so much more swiftly, that Trot was beginning to get dizzy with the motion, when suddenly the boat made a leap and dived headlong into the murky depths of the hole.Whirling like tops, but still clinging together, the sailor and the girl were separated from their boat and plunged down -- down --down -- into the farthermost recesses of the great ocean.
At first their fall was swift as an arrow, but presently they seemed to be going more moderately and Trot was almost sure that unseen arms were about her, supporting her and protecting her.She could see nothing, because the water filled her eyes and blurred her vision, but she clung fast to Cap'n Bill's sou'wester, while other arms clung fast to her, and so they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was made, when they began to ascend again.
But it seemed to Trot that they were not rising straight to the surface from where they had come.The water was no longer whirling them and they seemed to be drawn in a slanting direction through still, cool ocean depths.And then -- in much quicker time than I have told it -- up they popped to the surface and were cast at full length upon a sandy beach, where they lay choking and gasping for breath and wondering what had happened to them.
Trot was the first to recover.Disengaging herself from Cap'n Bill's wet embrace and sitting up, she rubbed the water from her eyes and then looked around her.A soft, bluish-green glow lighted the place, which seemed to be a sort of cavern, for above and on either side of her were rugged rocks.They had been cast upon a beach of clear sand, which slanted upward from the pool of water at their feet -- a pool which doubtless led into the big ocean that fed it.Above the reach of the waves of the pool were more rocks, and still more and more, into the dim windings and recesses of which the glowing light from the water did not penetrate.
The place looked grim and lonely, but Trot was thankful that she was still alive and had suffered no severe injury during her trying adventure under water.
At her side Cap'n Bill was sputtering and coughing, trying to get rid of the water he had swallowed.Both of them were soaked through, yet the cavern was warm and comfortable and a wetting did not dismay the little girl in the least.
She crawled up the slant of sand and gathered in her hand a bunch of dried seaweed, with which she mopped the face of Cap'n Bill and cleared the water from his eyes and ears.Presently the old man sat up and stared at her intently.Then he nodded his bald head three times and said in a gurgling voice:
"Mighty good, Trot; mighty good! We didn't reach Davy Jones's locker that time, did we? Though why we didn't, an' why we're here, is more'n I kin make out.""Take it easy, Cap'n," she replied."We're safe enough, I guess, at least for the time being."He squeezed the water out of the bottoms of his loose trousers and felt of his wooden leg and arms and head, and finding he had brought all of his person with him he gathered courage to examine closely their surroundings.
"Where d'ye think we are, Trot?." he presently asked.
"Can't say, Cap'n.P'r'aps in one of our caves."He shook his head."No," said he, "I don't think that, at all.The distance we came up didn't seem half as far as the distance we went down; an' you'll notice there ain't any outside entrance to this cavern whatever.It's a reg'lar dome over this pool o' water, and unless there's some passage at the back, up yonder, we're fast pris'ners."Trot looked thoughtfully over her shoulder.
"When we're rested," she said, "we will crawl up there and see if there's a way to get out."Cap'n Bill reached in the pocket of his oilskin coat and took out his pipe.It was still dry, for he kept it in an oilskin pouch with his tobacco.His matches were in a tight tin box, so in a few moments the old sailor was smoking contentedly.Trot knew it helped him to think when he was in any difficulty.Also, the pipe did much to restore the old sailor's composure, after his long ducking and his terrible fright -- a fright that was more on Trot's account than his own.
The sand was dry where they sat, and soaked up the water that dripped from their clothing.When Trot had squeezed the wet out of her hair she began to feel much like her old self again.By and by they got upon their feet and crept up the incline to the scattered boulders above.Some of these were of huge size, but by passing between some and around others, they were able to reach the extreme rear of the cavern.
"Yes," said Trot, with interest, "here's a round hole.""And it's black as night inside it," remarked Cap'n Bill.
Just the same," answered the girl, "we ought to explore it, and see where it goes, 'cause it's the only poss'ble way we can get out of this place."Cap'n Bill eyed the hole doubtfully"It may be a way out o' here, Trot," he said, "but it may be a way into a far worse place than this.I'm not sure but our best plan is to stay right here."Trot wasn't sure, either, when she thought of it in that light.After awhile she made her way back to the sands again, and Cap'n Bill followed her.As they sat down, the child looked thoughtfully at the sailor's bulging pockets.
