appeared upon the scene.
Somewhat breathlessly, both speaking at once, they tried to describe
their uncanny experiences.

"Hold on a minute," said Jim. "Let's get the straight of this. We were
just about to follow you in, for we found nothing in the little mounds.
Let's know what to expect."

"I will have to go back anyway," said Jo. "I dropped my gun."

"Sure. We'll go with you," replied Jim. "Now what was it grabbed you?"

"It?" replied Tom. "I should say there were three or four of them."

"What were they like?" broke in Juarez. "Spirits?"

"Well, I don't know just what a spirit is like," replied Tom. "But it
was a pretty solid kind of thing that he had hold of me."

"Me, too," added Jo. "And it snorted and puffed like a grampus."

"Well, I suppose we are lucky to get off as easy as we did," said Tom,
"though I should like to know what they were. I thought the whole lot
of skeletons were coming after us, but I don't believe they could do
any puffing or snorting. It's time we were getting along."

"We will be ready for them this time, whatever they are," determined
Jim, who had been lighting torches so that each could be supplied with
one.

"Come on then," said Jo. "We must keep together and be on the lookout."

Arming themselves each with a heavy fagot which made a serviceable club,
the four bent their footsteps in the direction of the chamber of weird
experiences.

The silence in the cave was profound, the occupants, if any, not
betraying their presence by the least sound. Cautiously the boys
advanced, pausing now and then as they approached the place where the
surprise had occurred, to listen and gaze as far as they could into the
heavy darkness; but all was silence.

"I think they have gone," said Jo at length, in a voice in which there
was a tremor of excitement.

"No, there they are," replied Tom in a whisper.

"Where?" asked Jim.

"There!" responded Tom, indicating several suspended skeletons of full
length which were held against the walls, and which the light now
revealed.

"Oh," said Jo, "it wasn't them."

"Well, one of them was," returned Tom, "for I felt his hand on me."

"Must have been this one, then," said Jim, kicking a group of bones with
his foot. "Here is one of them lying on the floor. You must have knocked
him out, Tom."

"Here, Jo, is your gun all right," interposed Juarez.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE CAVE.

The place in which the boys stood was a circular room about