LOST UNDERGROUND.
The boys followed Belmont and Apollo, being aided in doing so without
danger of discovery by the gathering darkness; but they knew very well
that, in a short time it would become so dark that they might lose
track of the two.
Apollo seemed to be guiding his master to some spot, and they
clambered over the rocks with haste that indicated a desire to reach
the place without delay.
At last the dwarf paused and swept aside some matted vines from the
face of what seemed to be a cliff of solid stone.
A black opening, large enough to admit a man in a stooping posture,
was revealed.
Apollo urged Belmont to follow, and then they disappeared beyond the
vines, which fell down and hid the opening again.
"It's a cave, Merry!" whispered Rattleton.
"Yes," nodded Frank; "it may be one of the many entrances to the great
cavern of the 'queer' makers. This may lead into the cave occupied by
Carter Morris!"
"Then let's get in there quick!" exclaimed Harry, eagerly. "If we
don't, we may lose track of those men."
"We must use something like caution, my boy. If we were to rush in
after them, it might do us up, for they may be laying for us."
So the mouth of the cave was approached with caution.
When they had reached it, Frank listened.
From a distance inside he could hear voices, and, peering through the
vines, he caught the glimmer of a light.
"Come in quickly after me, Harry," he directed. "Be ready to fight for
your life if attacked."
Rattleton's heart was in his throat, and he felt that they were
plunging into unknown and terrible danger, but he said:
"Go ahead. I am with you to the end."
Gently and swiftly Frank made the opening in the vines larger, and
then he quickly stepped through, holding them aside for his friend to
follow.
The vines fell back into place, and the lad crouched close to the
ground.
"There," said Frank, "see that light? It is not a torch."
"No. It seems to be some sort of lamp."
"It is a miner's lamp. Look--another is being lighted."
A match flared up, and its bright glow revealed the pale and terrible
face of the gorilla man, who was lighting the lamp.
The lamps were arranged to be placed in the hats of those who carried
them, and this was what the two men did with them.
When everything was arranged to their satisfaction, Belmont and the
dwarf started onward into the cave.
"We'll follow them, Harry," said Frank.
The light from the lamps made it a comparatively easy task for the
boys to accomplish their purpose.
Deeper and deeper into the great cave went the two men. Once or twice
they stopped and listened. Once the boys distinctly heard Apollo say:
"Master, I think I heard a step."
"Nonsense!" returned the man, sharply. "You heard nothing."
"I am sure I heard something," the dwarf insisted.
"Then it was a rat, or, if there are no rats here, it was a piece of
falling stone."
"It may have been," acknowledged Apollo.
Onward they went.
Frank and Harry had stopped and were listening. Harry's hands grasped
Merriwell's arm, and he was filled with excitement. He drew a breath
of relief when the men moved on.
"Jy bove--no, by Jove!" he gasped. "I thought the trick was up then!"
"Still!" cautioned Frank. "We must not alarm that dwarf too much. He
has wonderfully keen ears."
The passage, in places, broadened into great chambers, while in other
places it narrowed till they were forced to make their way along one
at a time.
"If we lose sight of those lights we may have some trouble getting
out," whispered Harry.
"That's so," confessed Merriwell. "I have seen other passages besides
the one taken by them."
The thought of being lost underground in that great cave was enough to
turn them cold with fear.
And then, without the least warning, the lights in advance suddenly
vanished.
"Down!" whispered Merriwell. "I believe they have discovered we are
after them. Close to the ground and listen!"
Down they crouched, their hearts beating riotously in their bosoms.
Not a sound seemed to break the deathlike stillness of the cave.
"What's happened?" whispered Harry. "Where have they gone?"
"Give it up," answered Frank. "They have disappeared, but that is as
much as I know."
"Perhaps they are laying for us."
But, although they waited a long time, not a sound could they hear
save those sounds made by themselves.
"I am going ahead," declared Merriwell.
"We may run into them."
"Got to chance it, old man. That might be better than to have them run
away from us. Come on."
"I'm with you."
Keeping close together, they crept forward slowly, not knowing but
they might be attacked at any moment.
Of a sudden, Frank gave a gasp and cry. Harry tried to grasp his
companion, and then he found himself slipping, sliding, falling.
Down they went, getting hold of each other, but being unable to stop
their descent. It was impossible to see anything there in that
frightful darkness, and that made their peril seem awful indeed.
Fortunately their fall was not always direct. There were times when
they seemed to be sliding down a steep slope, while dust filled their
eyes and mouths, and they were bruised and scratched and robbed of
breath.
Finally, when it had seemed they would never cease falling, they
stopped with a great thump and lay panting side by side.
"Great humping misery!" gasped Rattleton, weakly. "Are we diving or
are we lead--I mean are we living or are we dead?"
"We seem to be living," said Frank, "but we might be better off if we
were dead. I think we are in a bad scrape."
"What happened to us, anyway?"
"We fell."
"Or were we pushed?"
"There was no pushing about it. We took the tumble ourselves."
"You don't suppose the chaps we were following fell down here ahead of
us?"
"No."
"Then what could have become of them?"
"They must have turned off into a side passage we did not see. That is
the only way I can explain it."
"Well, we may not be able to get out of this."
"We'll have to get out."
"What if we can't?"
"We mustn't think of that."
"All right; but I can't help it."
They sat up and felt of themselves, finding no bones were broken,
although they had been bruised somewhat.
Harry was about to get on his feet, but Frank would not allow that
till he had lighted a match, as there was danger of taking another mad
tumble.
Frank always carried matches in a watertight case, and he produced and
struck one. By the aid of the tiny blaze they first satisfied
themselves that they were not on the brink of another descent, and
there was no immediate danger of falling again. Then they tried to
look around.
"Murder!" gasped Harry. "We are in it--bad!"
Frank felt that Rattleton was right; without doubt they were in a very
bad scrape. But it was Merry's policy to keep up his courage and put
on a front, so he joked and laughed as if it were a matter to be made
light of.
"I don't know how you do it, old man," said Harry, gloomily; "but I
can't laugh while we are in this sort of a hole."
"We've both been in bad scrapes before. Keep a stiff upper lip. We'll
pull out all right. First, we must see if we can scale this place
where we fell."
Another match was lighted, and they made an examination. It was not
long before they were convinced that it was utterly useless to think
of trying to get out that way.
"Can't be done!" groaned Harry.
"Not that way," admitted Frank. "But we'll find a way."
"We came here to find the buried heiress, and now we are buried
ourselves. That's what I call hard lines."
With the aid of their matches, they made their way along slowly, both
fearing they might take another fall, and that it might be fatal.
"Perhaps it would be the best thing that could happen to us," said
Rattleton, dolefully. "It would be a great deal better than starving
down here underground."
Frank said nothing. He saw their matches were running out, and the
thought of being left there in the darkness of that great cavern, with
no means of procuring a light of any sort, was overcoming him and
making it impossible for him to assume an air of carelessness and
merry spirits.
Finally, when there were but a few matches left, Frank said:
"We'll have to feel our way along and take chances, Harry. I am not
going to use up all these matches, for there is no telling how
valuable they may be later on."
So, clinging to each other, they crept along inch by inch, lost in the
Stygian darkness of the great cavern of the Sierras.