"It looks a little like it," was Tom's reply. "Might as well go over and make sure."
Leaving the shelter of the tree, they made their way through the bushes, which were now beginning to drip from the rain. As they progressed Sam pushed a big branch from him and let it swing back suddenly, thereby catching Tom full in the face.
"Wow!" spluttered the fun-loving Rover, as he staggered back. "Hi! Sam, do you think I need a shower bath? I'm wet enough already." And Tom commenced to brush the water from his face.
"I didn't mean to let it slip," answered Sam. "But say----"
What Sam was going to say further will never be known, for just then he felt himself slipping down into some sort of a hole. He tried to leap back, and made a clutch at Tom's legs, and the next instant both rolled over and over and shot downward, out of the daylight into utter darkness.
They were taken so completely by surprise that neither said a word. Over and over they went, a shower of dirt, sticks and dead leaves coming after them. Then they brought up on a big pile of decayed leaves and lay there, the breath all but knocked out of them.
"Wha--what--where are we?" gasped Sam, when he felt able to speak.
"Say, is thi--this a ne--new shoot-the--the--chutes?" asked Tom who was bound to have his fun no matter what occurred.
"I don't think I am, but I reckon my liver turned over about ten times. How about you?"
"Shook up, that's all," answered Sam, after rising to his feet. "Say, we came down in a hurry, didn't we?"
"Yes, and got no return ticket either." Tom looked upward. "Gracious! the top of this hole is about fifty feet away! We are lucky that we didn't break our necks!"
"Now we are down here, the question is, How do we get out, Tom?"
"Unless we want to stay here and save the expense of a cemetery lot."
"Oh, I know it's no joke, Sam. But what is there to do? Here's a hole at least fifty feet deep and the sides are almost perpendicular. Do you think we can climb up? I am afraid, if we try it, we'll end by breaking our necks."
"It certainly is steep," answered the youngest brother, looking upward. "Say!" he added, suddenly, "do you suppose Dick went down in some such hole as this?"
"Perhaps; where there is one hole there may be more. If he went down let us hope he didn't get killed."