ements of the men
could be heard very plainly, every step, every stone that was dislodged
sending its echo whispering along the narrow passage as a voice runs
through a speaking tube.

At last all seemed so still that they took heart to whisper to each
other.

"What shall we do, Cinder?" said Mike.

"I don't know, unless we go through into the other cave."

"What's the good of that?--they'll come back soon and find us."

"Unless we can hide somewhere among the bales, or right up in the back,
where it's dark."

"That might do," said Mike. "But, I say, what have they gone after?"

"To try and find us."

"But they don't know us."

"Well, the people who are using this cave, and they must know of the way
up to the top. Ah! that's it."

"Yes; what?" cried Mike excitedly.

"Hist! don't speak so loudly. They've gone up there to loosen some of
the stones and block the way, so as to put an end to any one coming
down; or else to lay wait and trap us."

Mike drew a long, deep breath; and it sounded like a groan.

"Oh dear!" he said; "whatever shall we do? Perhaps we had better get
through into the other cavern. They'll search this thoroughly, perhaps,
when they come back; but they mayn't search that."

"That's what I thought," said Vince. "Yes, it's the only thing for us
to do, unless we go into the seals' cave and try and hide there."

"Ugh!" said Mike, with a shudder. "Why, it may be horribly deep, and we
should have to swim in ever so far in the darkness before we touched
bottom; and who knows what a seal would do if it was driven to bay?"

"Better have to fight seals than be caught by these men, Ladle," said
Vince. "But we ought to have something to fight the seals with.
There's the big stick in the other cavern, and your knife."

"And yours."

"Yes; there's mine," said Vince thoughtfully. "Ah! of course there's
the conger club with the gaff hook at the end."

"To be sure. But, oh no, we couldn't do that. It would be horrible to
wade or swim into that hole without a light."

"We'd take a light," said Vince.

"Yes, but we'd better try the other cave," said Mike hurriedly. "I feel
sure we could hide in the upper part. Draw a sail over us, perhaps:
they'd never think we should hide in an open place like that, where they
landed."

"Very well, then: come on. Here's the lanthorn and the tinder-box."

Vince secured these from where they lay half buried in the sand; and
then, rising quickly o