" whispered Hamp. "Do you?"

"Not a sound," replied Jerry. "Wait a second. I'll settle the matter."

He pulled out his metal box of matches and scraped one. As the light
flared up, the lads glanced anxiously around them.

They saw at once that they were in an underground cavern. To right and
left stretched a gloomy passage, ten feet wide. The sides and roof were
of jagged, slimy rock, dripping with moisture.

Deep footsteps crossed the snow and led into the yawning blackness to
the right. They were of recent origin, for the white imprint was visible
in half-a-dozen places on the smooth, rocky floor.

"Do you see that?" Jerry whispered, hoarsely. "There is some person
here, sure enough."

"Who can it be?" said Hamp. "Perhaps it's Brick."

In a clear, distinct voice he called the missing lad's name several
times. But there was no reply. Jerry shook his head.

"It's not Brick," he muttered. "How would he get separated from his
companions? We were following only one trail toward the last, so this
may be Sparwick."

"Then why did Brick and those men give up the chase and branch off?"
asked Hamp. "It's too deep a mystery for me."

"It is sort of puzzling," admitted Jerry, "but we won't bother about
that now. Whoever it was that fell into the cavern, I believe he has
found a way out by this time, and that's the first thing we want to do."

"I hate the idea of crawling through the dark," muttered Hamp.

"The matches will last if we use them sparingly," Jerry replied. "We've
got to take this stuff with us, though. No; we'll leave the venison
behind. Here's the rifle. Be careful, for it's loaded."

He gave Hamp the weapon and some of the dishes. The rest he took
himself. When he picked up the tin coffeepot, it rattled. He lifted the
lid, and found two sperm candles.

"Here's luck," he exclaimed. "How did they get here? We're sure of light
now."

"Brick put them in the coffeepot this morning," said Hamp. "He had them
in his pocket, and didn't want to carry them."

"Brick ought to have a medal for that," declared Jerry, as he lighted
one of the candles. "Have we got everything? Yes; come on."

They trampled over the snow and went cautiously and slowly along the
gloomy passage. The yellow gleam of the candle danced ahead of them and
threw grotesque shadows on the slimy walls and roof. They advanced ten
feet. The distance increased to twenty. As yet, not a speck of
daylight could be seen.

Suddenly a rustling no