The boat came up against a solid projection of rock!

"I don't seem to see any way out!" George exclaimed.

"Well, it's there somewhere!" declared Will.

"I see it now!" cried George. "It's under water!"

"Under water?" repeated Will.

"Yes, under water!" answered George. "If we get out of this hole
before the pumps get to working we'll have to swim!"

Will turned his searchlight on the dip and saw that it was now full
clear to the down dropping roof.

"I guess we'll have to swim," he agreed.

"That black water doesn't look good to me," George exclaimed with a
little shudder. "It seems to me that I can see snakes and alligators
wiggling in it from here. Looks worse to me than the swamps of the
Everglades! And there was a quart of snakes to every pint of water
down there!"

"But we got to swim just the same!" urged Will. "In half an hour from
now the air in this chamber will be unbreathable. There is no vent
at all, now that the water fills the dip, and the coal gas is
naturally seeping in all the time."

"That's all right, too!" admitted George. "But I'm not going to jump