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described. Jack stood in the mud and rocks at the edge of the pool, ankle-deep in water. A narrow glint of daylight filtered up the passage and illumined part of the room, but they explored the rest of it with flashlights. The chamber was wide and low, so they had to stand slightly hunched, and a steady stream of water poured down from overhead through a number of cracks and crevices.
    Rudy had unpacked his minicam again and filmed the chamber.
    â€œCaves are very delicate ecosystems,” Ben was saying, “so we need to make sure we minimize our impact. There’s an old saying: ‘Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, and kill nothing but time.’”
    â€œYeah, well, we’re having an impact just by our presence,” Rudy said. “We’re producing carbon dioxide and perspiration, leaving epithelial cells, and introducing new bacteria. Even our footprints could have a butterfly effect in this place.”
    As they talked, Jack searched the walls for evidence of the N’watu or some of the writing Running Bear’s grandfather had supposedly seen. He waded around the edges, shining his flashlight along the walls, but found nothing.
    Ben inspected the ceiling with his flashlight. “I’m guessing that during the spring thaw this whole chamber gets flooded.”
    â€œIs this the tunnel you were talking about?” Rudy pointed out an opening off to one side, where a trail of water trickled down and disappeared into the darkness.
    â€œThat’s one of them.” Ben shouldered his pack. “There’s one on the other side that leads up.”
    He pointed his flashlight across the room to a smaller crevice. Jack could see Rudy shudder at that prospect. It did look like a tight fit. The one leading down was wide by comparison. And probably an easier climb.
    â€œWell—” Jack swiveled his flashlight between the two options—“I vote for the lower one. It looks more promising.”
    â€œAll right,” Ben said. “Let me take a look around first.”
    He crouched to squeeze himself through the opening and crawled a few yards down the passage. “Looks like it goes on a ways.”
    He continued on until his light disappeared altogether. A minute later, his voice echoed back up the passage. “Okay, come on down. It looks like a pretty easy tunnel.”
    Jack motioned for Rudy to follow. “I’ll bring up the rear,” he said.
    â€œGreat,” Rudy grunted as he crawled into the passage.
    Jack watched him go and followed a few moments later. While he had to hunch to get through the opening, he found that he was nearly able to stand upright just a few feet into the tunnel. It led downward at a steeper angle than the waterfall shaft outside but was also rougher. The trail of water at his feet had obviously not been enough to wear the rock smooth.
    Soon the passage tapered considerably and the incline grew steeper. Moreover, the ground was becoming slippery with mud as the water flow seemed to have increased, dripping down from the ceiling.
    Ben signaled them to stop. “It’s getting pretty steep here,” he said. “And slick. I think we should keep ourselves spaced out and link up.”
    Jack raised an eyebrow. “Link up?”
    Ben produced the rope they had used earlier and tied it to his belt harness, then to Rudy’s, and finally to Jack’s. “You’re the anchor.”
    â€œGreat.”
    â€œKeep a good ten to fifteen feet between us,” Ben said. “Just in case.”
    They continued on, weaving between sharp outcroppings. In the meantime, the floor was growing increasingly slippery. Jack found his boots losing traction repeatedly.
    Ben came to a halt. “Hold up. I want to set an anchor just to be safe.”
    Jack tried to stop but lost his footing and skidded into Rudy, knocking him off balance as well. They both landed on their backs but kept sliding down