ter him and looked down on the two men.

"Where did you get 'em?" he asked.

"We didn't get 'em," was the reply. "The earthquake got 'em."

"Then I'll bet they were trying to do something to Bert!" Tommy
declared.

"Right, little man!" replied Will. "But we haven't got time to talk
about it now. This, I suppose," he added, turning to the surgeon, "is
the doctor you brought from Cordova?"

"That's Doctor Pelton," Tommy answered, "and this," he continued,
pointing to Sam, "is Sam White, Bulldog Patrol, Portland, Oregon. He
isn't as hungry as he looks to be, for we fed him up good and proper on
the way out!"

During this brief introduction, Sam and Ed had been eyeing each other
with half concealed grins.

"You boys seem to know each other," Tommy said.

"That's my chum," Sam replied, pointing to Ed. "I saw fit to seek my
fortunes in town while he made a break for the mines."

The boys greeted each other warmly and then all turned their attention
to that portion of the cliff where the caverns had once stood.

"They're still alive," Frank exclaimed as he reached a little fissure in
the rock and bent downward. "I can hear some one talking!"

"Did you say that George and Sandy and Bert were all in there?" asked
Tommy, turning to Will. "How did they get in there?"

"They were all in there just before the earthquake," replied Will. "I
can't stop now to tell you how it all happened. They were signalling to
us when the shock came."

"Signalling, how?" asked Tommy.

"Morse code, red and blue lights!" replied Will. "It's all the work of
the miner and his bum friend," Will continued. "The boys were barricaded
in the cave when the earthquake stirred things up, and the same
convulsion which wrecked the cave injured the two men who were
responsible for the condition the boys were in. Now you know all about
it that I'm going to tell you until we get the lads out and get back to
the cabin!"

"They're not dead, anyway," Frank exclaimed "I can hear Sandy's voice!"

CHAPTER XXI

EXPLAINING CORDOVA INCIDENTS

"I've found the door to the hole in the ground!" shouted Tommy, a few
moments later, as he sent a great rock rolling down the slope.

The boys rushed to the opening so made and were overjoyed at seeing a
light in the cavity thus exposed.

"Your door isn't big enough!" laughed Frank. "A good-sized cat couldn't
get through there!"

"What are you boys talking about?" came a voice from the inside.

"Anoth