Chapter Sixteen DOWN TO THE CAVES
　　GEORGE went cautiously down the stone steps. They were steep and narrow.
　　'I should think they run right down in the middle of the stone wall,' thought George. 'Goodness,here's a narrow bit!' It was so narrow that she had to go sideways. 'A fat man would never getthrough there!' she thought to herself. 'Hallo -- the steps have ended!'
　　She had got her rug round her shoulders, and had picked up her bag on the way down. In herother hand she held her torch. It was terribly dark and quiet down there. George did not feelscared because she was hoping to see Timmy at any moment. No one could feel afraid withTimmy just round the corner, ready to welcome them! She stood at the bottom of the steps, hertorch showing her a narrow tunnel. It curved sharply to the left.
　　'Now will it join the dungeons¹ from here?' she wondered, trying to get her sense of direction tohelp her. 'They can't be far off. But there's no sign of them at the moment.' She went on down thenarrow tunnel. Once the roof came down so low she almost had to crawl. She flashed her torchon it. She saw black rock there, which had evidently been too hard to be removed by the tunnelbuilders long ago.
　　The tunnel went on and on and on. George was puzzled. Surely by now she must have gone byall the dungeons! Why - she must be heading towards the shore of the island! How very queer!
　　Didn't this tunnel join the dungeons then? A little further and she would be under the bed of thesea itself. The tunnel took a deep slope downwards². More steps appeared, cut roughly from rock.
　　George climbed down them cautiously. Where in the world was she going?
　　At the bottom of the steps the tunnel seemed to be cut out of solid rock - or else it was a naturalpassage, not made by man at all. George didn't know. Her torch showed her black, rocky wallsand roof, and her feet stumbled over an irregular rocky path. How she longed for Timmy besideher!
　　'I must be very deep down,' she thought, pausing to flash her torch round her once more. 'Verydeep down and very far from the castle! Good gracious - whatever's that awful noise?' Shelistened. She heard a muffled³ booming and moaning. Was it her father doing one of hisexperiments? The noise went on and on, a deep, never-ending boom. 'Why - I believe it's thesea!' said George, amazed. She stood and listened again. 'Yes -- it is the sea -- over my head! I'm69
　　under the rocky bed of Kirrin Bay!' And now poor George did feel a bit scared! She thought ofthe great waves surging above her, she thought of the restless, moving water

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