THE MONEY IN SIGHT
"Not while they have possession of the boys," Canfield declared
dolefully. "They'll murder those boys if we shut off their supplies!"
"Oh, I don't know about that!" suggested Dick. "We've been mixed up
in a great many awkward situations but we always managed to save our
necks. We'll get the boys out in some way!"
"Look here, Mr. Canfield," Will said, "how well do you know this
mine?"
"Every inch of it!" was the reply.
"Every inch of every level," asked Will.
"Yes, sir!" replied the caretaker, rather proudly. "I can go into any
part of it without a light!"
"Then look here, Dick," Will directed. "You chase back to the old
tool house and bring back a long rope. And when you return, stop at
the second level. Some of us will meet you there."
"I hope you don't expect to pull these boys up through fifty or a
hundred feet of shale?" asked the caretaker.
"I don't know whether my scheme will work or not," Will answered, "but
it's worth trying! We have to leave at least two here, well armed and
take the others with us. You'll have to act as guide, Mr. Canfield,
and we'll meet Dick when he comes down to the second level with the
rope. As soon as we get the boys out of their trouble, we can leave
the three outlaws in full possession of the mine. If we watch the
shaft at the old tool house, they can never get out without our
knowing it!"
"I don't understand what you have in mind," faltered Canfield.
Leaving Sandy and Elmer in the gangway from which the wig-wag signals
had been shown, the others hastened up the ladder to the second level.
Then Dick ran away to bring the rope, while Will questioned the
caretaker regarding the fall between the two levels.
"You remember the old shaft, cut through years ago, and doubtless
deserted when the vein ran out, which at one time connected the two
levels, don't you?" asked the boy of the caretaker.
"There is such a place," replied the caretaker.
"Can you find it?"
"Of course I can."
"Does the fall open into the system of chambers in the center or to
the north? You understand what I mean! Is it possible to enter any
of the benches or chambers connecting with the north gangway on the
lower level by means of this deserted shaft?"
"I am not quite certain about that," replied Canfield, "but my idea is
that the north benches and chambers can be reached by means of that
opening. I am glad you thought of that," he went on.
Dick now returned with the rope, and the three proceeded down the
second level until they came to a confusion of passages and benches
which would certainly have bewildered any one not familiar with the
mine.
"Unless I am very much mistaken," Canfield went on, "this passage, the
one straight ahead, runs almost directly over Tunnel Six. If I am
right in this, the deserted shaft is here."
"And Tunnel Six is the haunted corridor, isn't it?" asked Dick.
"That's where the lights have been seen!" replied the caretaker.
"You never believed in the ghost stories told about Tunnel Six?" asked
Will. "I should think you'd begin to see now that the alleged ghosts
were pretty material things."
"Well, I don't know about the ghosts," replied the caretaker, "but I
really was getting a little bit nervous when you boys arrived. You
know," he continued, "that we all feel a little shivery when we butt
into anything which we can't understand."
"Well, suppose you follow this passage to the end and see if you
discover anything like the deserted shaft," suggested Dick.
"You're not going to venture into the lower level again, are you?"
asked Canfield. "I don't blame you boys for wanting to rescue your
companions, but, at the same time, I don't want to see you throw your
lives away. Those are desperate men in Tunnel Six!"
"If my idea is worth anything at all," replied Will, "we'll get the
boys out without ever letting the hold-up men know that we are within
a mile of them. You know we had very little difficulty in getting out
of the chamber where we left the boat."
"Trust you boys for inventing ways of doing things!" exclaimed
Canfield.
"Of course," Will said hesitatingly after a time, "it may be that this
deserted shaft doesn't connect with Tunnel Six, but even if it doesn't,
we'll find some way of getting to our friends from the new position.
We can only try, anyway!"
"I'm pretty certain that it connects with Tunnel Six," replied the
caretaker. "But you mustn't show your light when you approach the old
shaft," he went on, "because if it does connect with the chamber we
seek, and the chamber in turn connects with the north passage, the
robbers will see what we're doing."
"That's a valuable suggestion!" replied Will.
"I'll go on ahead," Canfield continued, "and find the old shaft. Then
you can follow on with the rope, and one of you boys can drop down and
see what can be discovered."
"It's dollars to apples," chuckled Dick, as the boys trailed along
after the caretaker, "that we, find the three kids trussed up like a
lot of hens ready for the market in the chamber where you came so near
getting wet. I hope we do, at any rate!"
"There's one thing we overlooked," Will said as Canfield whispered to
them that he had found the deserted shaft, "and that is this: We
should have directed the boys in the gangway to have attracted the
attention of the outlaws by a little pistol practice while we are
communicating with our friends. They may be all packed away in the
chamber together."
"Yes, we should have attended to that," replied Dick. "Perhaps I'd
better go back now and tell them to get busy with their automatics."
"We may as well investigate the situation here first," the other
answered.
The boys heard the caretaker creeping about in the darkness, and
presently a piece of shale or coal was heard rattling down the old
shaft.
"We'll have to get that blundering caretaker away from there,"
whispered Will. "If we don't, he'll notify the hold-up men that we're
getting ready to do something! I've heard that about three-fourths of
the people in the world object to doing anything unless they can take
a brass band along, and I guess it's true."
"Say," Canfield whispered, calling back to the lads, "when that stone
dropped down, I heard something that sounded like a paddle slapping
down on the water. That room can't be wet yet, can it?"
"The Beaver call!" whispered Will.
"Right you are!" replied Dick. "The boys are there, all right!"
"Now the next thing to do is to find out if those highwaymen are
watching them," declared Will.
"I'll tell you that in a minute," Dick whispered.
As the boy spoke, he passed one end of the rope to Canfield.
"Hang on to it, whatever takes place!" he whispered, "and I'll drop
down and see what's going on."
"You must be very careful," warned Canfield.
"That's all right," answered Dick, "but we can't stand here all day
figuring out precautions. We've got to know right off whether there's
anyone in that chamber watching the boys!"
"What a joke it would be to put on a ghost in Tunnel Six!" laughed
Will in a decidedly cheerful frame of mind now that rescue seemed so
near.
"Don't try any foolishness!" advised Canfield. "Let's rescue the boys
if possible and make our way out of this horrible place."
Will crawled to the edge of the shaft with Dick and whispered as he
lowered him into the dark opening below:
"Remember, that Ventner may have discovered the money. If so, we must
secure it before we leave the place! It will be just like him, to
stow the bank notes away in some chamber like the one you are about to
enter. When you strike bottom, if there is no one in sight except the
boys, turn on your searchlight and take a good look over the interior
of the chamber.
"We were in there not so very long ago, but at that time we weren't
thinking of making a search there for hidden money. You'll have to
use your own judgment about turning on the light, of course. The
outlaws may be out in the gangway, some distance from the entrance to
the chamber, or they may be within six feet of where the boys are held
as prisoners."
"Tommy ought to be able to tell me the minute I strike the heap of
shale whether the outlaws are close by or not!" Dick suggested.
"Of course!" answered Will, "if he knows. If the men are not in
sight, and he doesn't know where they are, you'll simply have to take
chances. If you get caught in there, you'll have to shoot, and shoot
quick!"
Dick dropped down into the old shaft and directly the anxious watchers
above heard the rattle of shale as it dropped from the pyramid under
the opening. Will, still clinging to the rope, lay on his stomach and
peered downward, watching with all anxiety for some show of light, or
some sound which might indicate the situation below.
Directly Will felt a soft, steady pull at the rope, and knew that one
of the boys was ready to be hoisted to the top.
Dick came up first, chuckling as he landed on the edge of the break in
the rock, and was immediately followed by Jimmie.
"Where's Tommy and George?" asked Will in a whisper.
"They're down there looking for the money!"
"Looking for the money in the darkness?"
"Sure!" was the reply. "You see," he went on, "those ginks tied us
up, good and tight, and then threw the money around promiscuous like!"
"So the money is there?" asked Will.
The news seemed too good to be true!
"It was there when we were first thrown into the chamber," replied
Jimmie, "but I have an idea that Ventner sneaked in and removed it so
as to prevent his mates getting any share."
A light flashed out from below, followed immediately by a pistol shot!