“Now, that’s all right!” exclaimed Dick. “Until you were ready to give
up, Clara, I didn’t want to say a word, but I think I can pilot the way
to the camp.”
“How, when you have never been there?” asked Clara. “Oh, I feel so
ashamed of myself. I thought I could lead you straight back to it.
Don’t be angry with me, Dick.”
“As though I could be,” exclaimed Dick. “You have done your best and
now if you give it up let me have my try.”
“What do you mean to do?” asked Charley. “Upon my word, I’m all turned
around myself.”
“I’ll show you,” replied Dick. “First we want to get back where we
started out. It’s easy enough to do that.”
“I couldn’t do it,” said Clara. “I’ll own up that’s what I’ve been
trying to do for the last half hour, but I just seemed to lead you
round and round in a circle.”
“I’ll fix it,” said Dick, confidently. “Come this way.”
He started off in directly the opposite direction to that which they
had been following.
“Oh, I see!” cried Clara. “I understand now. You are going toward the
light.”
“Exactly,” replied Dick. “The light comes down through that hole in the
roof and the underground river and the lake are right there and that’s
where we have got to look for the trail.”
“I saw no trail,” said Charley. “I looked for that when we started out.”
“It’s there and we’ll find it. Doctor Dan has given me some good
pointers on trails. Trust an Indian for that. He’ll find a footprint
where a white man could see nothing. We shall soon be back at the lake
and then I’ll show you how well I’ve learned my lesson.”
In a short time Dick brought up at the lake and soon found the spot
where he had encountered Clara.
“Now there you are!” he exclaimed, after bending down and examining the
sand, which was pretty hard to be sure, but still the faint imprint of
Clara’s footsteps could be seen.
“I’m afraid if you expect to follow my course you will have a hard time
of it,” said Clara. “I was wandering about a long time before I met
you, Dick.”
“I’m not going to,” replied Dick. “I think I can do it without the
trail. Tell me, was this camp against the wall of the cave?”
“There were big rocks right back of where we were, if that is what you
mean,” replied Clara.
“That’s it. How about the lake?”
“Oh, I saw nothing of the lake until I had been walking around for some
time.”
“Would you know the place when you first struck it?”
“I think I should. There was a black rock sticking up out of the water.”
“Very good! Then we’ll go to the black rock. That’s easy found.”
“I thought that I could strike right over to the place,” remarked
Clara, as they walked along. “I never had the faintest idea that I was
going to get lost.”
“We’ll strike off from the black rock,” said Dick. “When we were
following you we kept going around in a circle, but I think I can
strike a straight line to the wall; after that it will be dead easy,
for all we have got to do is to follow the wall around.”
They soon reached the black rock and Dick again showed them the trail.
Still he did not attempt to follow it, but started off rapidly in the
direction which he considered the wall ought to be, and hit it so
accurately that within ten minutes they came up against the rocks.
“Why, you are a splendid guide!” exclaimed Clara. “Now, what is to be
done?”
“Which way do you think the camp lies?” asked Dick.
Clara pointed to the left and Dick promptly started off to the right.
“I suppose you wonder what I’m doing this for?” he said, “but I happen
to know that you are wrong.”
“I’m sure I’m right,” said Clara. “How can you know that I am not?”
“Listen!” replied Dick.
“I hear something like the pawing of a horse,” said Charley.
“That’s exactly it. I heard the sound before we came to the wall. It’s
the camp, of course, and what’s more, Martin Mudd or one of his men has
returned.”
“For mercy’s sake, don’t expose yourself, Dick,” said Clara. “Tell me
what your plan is. I hate to even think of what might happen if you
fell into the hands of Mudd.”
“Then don’t think of it, for he is already in the hands of Mudd!” spoke
a sneering voice right ahead of them.
Clara screamed and Dick and Charley hastily drew their revolvers, for
at the same instant two men armed with rifles sprang out from behind a
turn in the rocks, and the foremost man was Mudd.