Chapter 3 Scene 4

Mike suggests, "We can throw rocks against the wall and time how long it takes for them to fall back down. When a rock goes over the ledge we'll know its height is a little more than the previous rock reached."

"Watch out you don't get hit by the rocks," warns Tom.

"We'll stand off to the side. Now a rock dropped will fall about five meters in one second, and it takes the same amount of time to go up. Let's give it a try."

Mike finds a rock on the cave floor, and tries to throw it five meters high. It hits the wall and crashes down several meters away.

"Was that about two seconds total, from when I threw it till it hit the floor?" asks Mike.

"About that. I don't have a watch on me."

"Then the ledge is more than five meters high, and will be very difficult to reach. Let's try a few more."

Mike and Tom throw some more rocks, and eventually hear one land on the ledge.

"I think that's almost ten meters," announces Mike.

Quest 48 complete!

"That's too high," says Tom. "We'd probably break our necks if we tried to make a human pyramid. I think we should search for tunnels."

"Yes," agrees Mike. "But this cave system could be a maze. It is essential not to get lost."

Tom and Mike continue east along the north wall of the cave, and then come to a passageway in the northeast corner.

"We need to explore this," says Mike, "but we need a way to make a trail in case there are forks ahead."

"I got it! We can use some of the fruit Nicole had us collect and vegetables that she grew."

"Good idea. We don't want to eat them all right away anyway, and might eat some on the way back."

Tom and Mike go back to the blocked cave entrance, but on the way, Tom sees a bug in the torchlight.

"You found a Blue Boar-Bug!"

They reach the entrance and explain the situation to the others.

"Take whatever you need," says Nicole.

Tom answers, "We want to leave most of it with you just in case, but how about two bananas, two oranges, two lemons, and two limes?"

"That's fine. Good luck."

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