"It won't be any lighter in the daytime," reminded the boy. "It's always
dark down here." He was getting further and further away from her.

"Thomas Presby, you come right back here," commanded Barbara. "I won't
go another step."

"'Fraid cat!" jeered Thomas.

"I'm not!" retorted Bab, starting forward. She knew she could easily
find her way back again. She bumped her head against the roof of the
passage several times. The place smelled stuffy and mouldy, though the
girl realized that a faint current of air was passing through the
tunnel. All at once she discovered that the passage had grown larger.
She was able to stand up without difficulty. She then made a further
discovery. Tom and his light had disappeared.

"Tom! Oh, Tom!" cried Barbara.

There was no answer. The silence was so deep that it made her ears ring.
At first the girl was panic stricken, then she reasoned out her
situation more calmly. She had only to retrace her steps to return to
the dining room. Tom no doubt had eluded her and left the passage
through an exit known only to himself. She would show him that she was
as good as any boy.

"I'll go straight back," declared Barbara. But somehow the "going back"
was not accomplished with the ease that she had hoped for. The way
seemed much longer than had been the case when she was on her way in.
Bab was peering ahead of her, expecting every moment to catch sight of
the light from the dining room. She would have called out to her
companions, only she did not want them to know that she was in trouble
or that she was afraid.

Barbara had been in the low-ceilinged passage for some time when she
came in contact with a solid wall. She gave a glad little exclamation,
believing that she had reached the panel that led into the dining room.
She had now but to rap and her companions would open the panel. The wind
must have blown the panel shut. Barbara put out her hands and began
groping for the panel. To her horror, there was no panel there. Her
hands found nothing but earth. Some moments had elapsed when Barbara
Thurston realized that she was in a predicament.

"I am lost!" she groaned. "Oh, what shall I do?"

The girl decided to call for assistance. There seemed to be no other
way. She raised her voice and shouted, but, to her amazement, the shout
was merely a feeble call that could not have been heard many feet away.
The low walls deadened the sound of her voice.

A little investigation convinced her