a nuisance to have Billiard linger so long when he knew the others
were just dying to go down.

At last Toady could resist temptation no longer. "I'm going, too," he
announced with determination.

"Before Billiard comes up?"

He nodded grimly.

"But s'posing you're too heavy for just Irene and me," suggested
Mercedes.

"I shall slide down the rope. I'd rather do that than have you drop me
or let the rope out too fast."

"But--how can you?" Mercedes demurred.

"It's so far down there," said Irene.

"Aw, in gym work at school we slide down poles and bars and all sorts
of things. It oughtn't to be any harder with a rope. I'm going to
try, anyway."

Silently but enviously, the girls watched him spit on his palms, test
the rope, and finally let himself slowly down into the shaft, with legs
wrapped tightly about his slender, swaying support, and hands grasping
the rough strands with a desperate grip, for, too late, he realized
what a horrible fate would be his if he should fall; but when he would
have gone back, he could not.

"How in the world will we ever get them up?" whispered Irene
wonderingly; but before Mercedes could frame a reply, there was a crash
from below, a cry, a grating sound of falling rock and then hideous,
horrible silence.

"Toady!" shrieked the girls in frenzy, "did you fall?"

"No," came back a muffled answer. "I'm all right, but we have knocked
down some boards and can't get out."

"Can't get out!" they repeated dully.

"No. Run for help! Our candle has gone out and it's as black as pitch
in here."

"Who'll I go for?" wailed panic-stricken Mercedes, while Irene danced
frantically around the shaft and wrung her hands as she chanted,
"They'll smother, they'll smother, they'll smother!"

"Anyone, but hustle up!" yelled Toady impatiently, for his companions
in the disaster had uttered not a sound since their first wild scream,
and a horrible fear that they were hurt or even killed gripped his
heart.

However, little Rosslyn was already half-way down the mountain, fairly
skimming over the rocks and rubbish, and almost before the distracted
girls had recovered their senses enough to be of any aid to the
prisoners, the little fellow stumbled across the threshold of the
Eagles' Nest, gasping, "They've caved in--Bill and Toady and the girls.
I guess maybe they're dead by now!"

Tabitha was on her feet in an instant and the pan of potatoes which she
was peeling went spinning acros