h another cave,
choosing the biggest entrance on the opposite wall. As he went through
it, he was certain he saw a movement, as though the quarry had just
rounded a corner. He let out a yell and lengthened his stride. In a
second he reached the corner, rounded it, and found himself in an odd
cave with countless pillars, formed when stalactites from the ceiling
and stalagmites from the floor had joined together. It was a veritable
labyrinth. He started through it, got perhaps fifty feet, and stopped.
The man he had chased surely knew his way around the caves. There was no
hope of overtaking him now. Better rejoin the others, Rick thought. It
was senseless to get too far away from his companions.

He turned and started back, then hesitated, not sure of the way he had
come. The corridors formed by the limestone pillars led in all
directions.

"I must have come this way," he muttered, and started off. Then he
stopped again, playing his light around. He couldn't be sure. Suddenly
worried, he ran forward and was brought to a halt by a solid wall. He
turned and hurried along it, seeking an opening. He found one, but
smaller than the one through which he had come. He plunged on, found a
big opening, and went through it into an irregular cave unlike any he
had seen before. He turned to retrace his steps, and his eyes met a wall
where the openings were separated only by glistening partitions of
limestone. He couldn't even be sure of the one through which he had just
entered.

He licked lips that were suddenly dry. "I can't lose my head," he told
himself sternly. "I've got to stay calm."

But in spite of his warnings to himself, he felt panic rising within
him.

He was completely, hopelessly lost!

CHAPTER XVI

The Lake of Darkness

Rick sat with his back against the cold surface of a stalagmite column.
His head drooped with weariness and his throat ached from yelling. He
had retraced his steps a dozen times or more. He had lost count. But
none of the passages took him back to his friends, nor had his yelling
of their names brought a response.

He forced himself into a semblance of calmness and tried to think. What
was he to do? He eyed the beam of his flashlight and realized that he
ought to conserve the batteries. He turned it off, and dead, silent
blackness closed in about him.

True blackness is rare. It cannot be found by closing shutters or
curtains in a room, even at night. Some light always penetrates