Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Chapter 20 -- More Boys Club Serials
"And what happened to us, Ned? Didn't the current drag us into a hole in the cliff?"
"Yes," said Ned, "that's it exactly, and we are now in an underground cavern. Don't be
alarmed," he added quickly, noting the sudden pallor on his companion's face, "our situation is
not so terrible after all. Caverns of this sort are always found among limestone hills, and they
usually have two outlets. This one is no exception to the rule, and I'll tell you why I think so. In
the first place you must remember that the creek was nearly four feet high before that dam
broke. The extra volume of water is what makes this terrific current through the cavern and the
very fact that the water goes on through without damming up proves to me that it has an outlet."
Without a ray of light to guide them it would be a difficult matter to find the main channel of the
stream again, and follow it to the outlet which must certainly exist. There was danger of falling
into deep holes, of striking sharp rocks, or blundering into other side passages with which the
cavern was doubtless honeycombed.
The Graydon bibliographer might recognize the above publication as On Winding Waters, A Tale
of Adventure and Peril (1902), or perhaps as On Winding Waters or The Cruise of the Jolly
Rovers, published ten years before that. A rousing story is worth a few titles.
In Graydon's The Wonderful Adventure on the Yukon Tributary (1898), Quin traverses an
underground river to a valley of gold.
Quin fell asleep with his head pillowed on a roll of blankets.
An hour later, waking with a start, he was alarmed and
bewildered to find himself in absolute darkness; he heard
the swift rush of water, and felt the cool, damp air.
"Where am I?" he cried.
Don't be scared, man," Cranes voice answered. "It's all
right. We're floating underground for a bit, but it won't be
long until we get into sunlight again."
Awed by their mystic surroundings, the voyagers were
silent for a time. Suddenly a gray glimmer of light was
seen in the distance. It rapidly grew larger and nearer,
expanding to a spacious archway. Then it seemed to hurl
itself forward, and the tossing craft was shot out into the
dazzling glare of day.
"Look!" shouted Crane. "The valley of gold!"
But as shown to the right, there's more than precious metals
at the headwaters!
On an excursion to Algeria -- our hero is quite the traveler -- Quin takes the opposite route, and
underground river ride to escape peril. From A Treacherous Rival (1900),
Before they could realize their peril they were sucked into a cavernous hole, and dragged on at
a dizzy speed through the fearful darkness.
A rounded boulder just beneath the surface forced them apart. A foaming wave submerged
Quin, and as he rose he heard a wild, desperate cry. Then, as he struck out with his arms and
legs, he grasped a pinnacle or rock and clung to it for a short time, while he gained breath and
strength.
When he could hold fast no longer he trusted himself to the stream, and after several minutes
he floated out from beneath the great mountain, into fresh air and sunshine. He swam clear of
the dangerous reefs, and at length, little the worse for the struggle, he was thrown ashore by a
circling eddy of smooth water.
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