"Why, father," cried Dick; "he is not here!"

"Nonsense! absurd!" cried Mr Rogers. "Here, Dinny!" he shouted.

"Ny-ny-ny-ny!" came softly repeated like a mockery of his cry.

"Dinny!" cried Mr Rogers again; and once again the echo was the only
answer.

"Dinny!" shouted Dick and Jack together, with all their might; but the
echo was the only response; and a cold chill of horror began to run
through the little party as they stood there.

"Poor fellow!" exclaimed Mr Rogers; "surely he has not sunk down
fainting from fright. Oh, surely not; the idea is too horrible!
Dinny!"

He shouted with all his might, and the boys took up the cry, but there
was nothing but the echo to reply.

"Has anybody ever been lost here?" said Mr Rogers, turning sharply on
the Boer guide.

"Dot one dat I know," said the Boer lad. "Dere was leedle mans lost one
days, bud dey found der leedle mans again fasd ashleep on der rock."

"He has grown tired, boys; quick!" said Mr Rogers. "Let's make haste
back, and we shall find him sitting down somewhere."

Though he said this, he did not feel at all hopeful; but still there was
the chance of finding that Dinny, taking advantage of being behind, had
climbed on to one of the big shelves of rock to await their return,
though Mr Rogers felt that it was very doubtful, and that the poor
fellow would be too great a coward to sit there alone in the dark.

It was then with sinking hearts, and a horrible sense of finding that
their expedition had a terrible ending, that they hurried along the dark
passages of the weird grotto, pausing every now and then to shout, as
they searched the side-turnings with their light, and shouted down them
in case the poor fellow had strayed away by mistake, though the chances
were very small, for it seemed impossible that Dinny could have followed
any route but the one indicated by the light in front.

No, think of the matter how they would, there seemed no other
explanation of Dinny's disappearance than that he had sunk down in the
water where it was deeper than usual, and been drowned from sheer
fright.

"It seems so shocking," said Dick, in a whisper, that, low as it was,
seemed to run on before them; "that after going through all that
journey, and escaping from lions and crocodiles, and all sorts of
dangerous beasts, we should lose one of our party in such a miserable
way."

Dick had unconsciously spoken his father's thoughts as they went on
redoubling their