m."

"Afraid?"

"Yes. If it is what I think, we may be doomed," went on the eldest
Rover seriously.

"Dick! What do you think it is?"

"The crackling of flames. They have set the ranch on fire."

"Would they do that--and leave us here? It is--is inhuman."

"Those men are desperate characters, Tom, and they'd stop at nothing."

They continued to listen, and soon the roaring and crackling grew
plainer. Then came a dull thud as some timbers fell, and a current
of air carried some smoke into the cell.

"We must get out--somehow, some way!" cried Dick. "If we don't, we'll
be caught like beasts in a cage." A sudden thought struck him. "Tom,
take up one of the stones."

Dick lit what was left of the candle-wick as he spoke and placed it
on the bench. Then he took up the other stone.

"Now, aim for the lock of the door," he went on, "and both throw
together. Ready?"

"Yes."

"One, two, three!"

Crash! Both large stones hit the door with tremendous force. The
barrier was split from end to end, but still held firm.

"Again!" cried Dick, and once more the stones were hurled in mad
desperation. There was an-other crash, and the door tottered and came
away from the lock. Then Tom threw his weight against it and it burst
open fully.

A rush of hot air and smoke greeted them as they leaped into the
passageway. Looking up, they saw that the flooring above was already
burning.

"We can't go up through the trap-door," said Dick. "We have got to
find some other way out."

"Is there another way?"

"I don't know. Come."

The passageway ran in both directions. They felt their way along for
ten feet, to find themselves against another wall.

"The other way!" sang out Tom. "Phew! it's getting pretty warm down
here, isn't it?"

"And smoky," answered his brother, beginning to cough.

They passed the cell again and started down the passageway in the
opposite direction. Twenty feet further on they reached a wooden
door, bolted on the other side.

"Stumped again," muttered Tom. "Dick, what shall we do now?"

"Try to break it down. Now, then, with all your might, Tom!"

It was their only hope, and with increased energy they hurled themselves
at the door, which bent and creaked. Then, at the fourth onslaught,
the door flew open and they went sprawling into the underground
chamber beyond.

Here the light from the blazing building could be plainly seen, and
by this they made out that they were in a regular printing