“It’s the same dog, I’m sure. Do you suppose he jumped off the milk truck and is lost?”
“He doesn’t act lost,” Ardeth rejoined as the animal started on ahead of Judy. “In fact, he seems to know right where he’s going.”
“Maybe we should catch him,” Judy said doubtfully. “He might get lost in the woods.”
The two Scouts started after Pete, but the faster they hurried, the more distance the dog put between them. Now and then, he would pause to look back and bark, as if to tell them that he thoroughly enjoyed the game.
Presently the weed-grown private road came to a dead-end in a loop which permitted a car to turn around and retravel the route it had come. A weather-beaten signboard read: “To Calico Cave,” its painted arrow pointing up a rocky trail.
“Come back here, Pete!” Judy called. “Why, you little scamp!”
Paying not the slightest heed, the dog trotted up the trail.
“He acts as if he’s been here before,” Ardeth observed. “Maybe he’s trying to guide us to the cave!”
“We really should turn back,” Judy said. “Oh, well, if we hurry, maybe we’ll have time to take a quick peek at the cave.”
Struggling up the sharp incline, the girls soon came to an opening amid the tall bushes. To their right was an expanse of limestone rock, badly eroded by the elements.
“There it is! The cave!” Judy cried as she discerned a small, dark opening.
Pete had gone directly to the entrance and stood there, barking and jerking his head, as if to beckon the girls.
“That dog has been here before all right!” Judy declared. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be so excited about the place.”
With Ardeth close behind, she picked her way across the rocky path to the projecting shelf. The cave opening was barely shoulder height and not more than four feet wide.
Curiously, Judy peered down into the dark interior. “It’s just a narrow passage leading gradually into a deep endless hole,” she reported. “I imagine though, that the cave may open up into a large chamber somewhere below. Want to explore?”
Judy laughed and turned to leave. Ardeth however, crouched down to direct her gaze into the opening.
“I can hear water dripping,” she reported. “Say, why do you suppose the name of this place was changed from Hager’s Hole to Calico Cave? Or are they one and the same?”