He emerged, and the others too, and they stretched their backs and the word 'krikey' fell from more than one lip.

It had indeed been a cramping adventure.
Bushes grew close to the mouth of the tunnel, so we could not see much landscape, and when we had stretched our backs we went on upstream and nobody said they'd had jolly well enough of it, though in more than one young heart this was thought.
It was jolly to be in the sunshine again.

I never knew before how cold it was underground.

The stream was getting smaller and smaller.
Dicky said, 'This can't be the way.

I expect there was a turning to the North Pole inside the tunnel, only we missed it.