It was what might be termed the doorstep to the cavern.

He had come to the exact spot for which he was searching.
Flinging the extinguished match into the waters at his side, he reached upward, and without difficulty drew himself upon the ledge.

He was now in front of the cavern which he had visited by daylight, and whose interior was impressed so vividly on his memory that he knew every foot of it.
"Is the younker in there ?" was the question he asked himself after regaining his feet.

To test the matter, he called his name.

The fierce torrent roared below and around him, but he was sure his words must have penetrated into the dismal recesses.