A large spreading cedar was selected as
the tree which should support the roof of our cave. It was situated on a
mound at the edge of the woods. First a passageway, or ditch, was dug at
the bottom, and then we begun tunneling in the side of the mound under the
roots of the tree. For a while the ground above held, and our tunnel had
reached a length of about four feet, when suddenly, without the slightest
warning, the sandy soil gave way and we were engulfed. Bill, who was
furthest within the cave, was almost entirely covered, while I was buried
to the shoulders. A crowd of boys came to our assistance and dug us out.
Poor Bill was almost smothered before they scooped the sand away from
around his mouth and nose. The boys made slow work of it, having to dig
with their hands and a couple of shingles, because the two spades we had
were buried with us at the bottom of the cave.
Of course, this little episode gave us a scare, but it was only temporary.
We swore everyone to secrecy, so that Mr. Clark, the principal, wouldn't
hear of the mishap and suppress any further cave building. It was obvious
that the only roof we could depend on for our cave would be a wooden roof.
If we had been at Willow Clump Island we would have gotten any amount of
slabs from the lumber mills across the river.
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