a faint scratch, and then the bit of candle, dirty and
mouse-gnawed, was lit.

It was not much of a light, but it was far better than nothing, and
both boys felt light-hearted when they could see each other once more.

"Let us make another examination of the hole," suggested Dick.
"Something may have slipped us before."

They went over each part of the walls with great care. On one side,
a portion of the stones was set in squarely.

"This looks as if they had at one time closed some sort of a passageway
here," remarked Dick. "I should like to know what is beyond."

"Can't we pick out one or two stones?"

"We can try."

The candle was set down on the stone flooring, close to the wall,
and the two lads started to work without delay. In a corner of his
jacket, Dick found an old jack-knife that had not been taken away
from him, and this he used on the mortar. Sam had nothing but a long,
rusty iron nail, so their progress was necessarily slow.

"Don't seem to be making much headway," observed Sam, after pegging
away for a while. "Wish we had a hammer and a cold chisel."

"If we used a hammer they could hear us, Sam."

At last they had one stone loose and pulled it out of the wall.
Holding up the light, they saw that there was a wall of plain dirt
behind it.

"Beaten!" muttered the youngest Rover, and a disappointed look came
over his face. "Dick, we have had our labor for our pains."

"I am not so sure of that, Sam."

"Why not, I'd like to know? That doesn't look much like a passageway."

"That is true, but we may be able to dig through the dirt without
great trouble, and if this spot is close to the outer wall of the
building--"

"Oh, I see," and Sam's face took on a more hopeful look. "But it
might take a long time, anyway," and his face fell once more.

They had just started to loosen a second stone, when the candle began
to splutter. They saved it as much as they could, but in five minutes
it flickered for the last time and went out, leaving them in a darkness
that seemed more intense than ever.

"We might as well continue to work," said Dick as bravely as he could.
"There is nothing else to do."

But, at the end of an hour, they had to give up the task. All of the
stones around the hole they had made refused to budge, and, as the
opening was not over eight inches in diameter, it availed them nothing.

"It is no use, Sam," said Dick finally. "We are simply wearing
ourselves out for nothing. Give i