didn't order them out!" grinned Thede. "It amounts to the same
thing," George responded. "They've gone away, and are likely to
freeze to death."

"If you think they've gone away," Thede replied, "just turn your
light toward the entrance. They're not going to give up their warm
nest without a scrap, and I can't say that I blame them for it."

It was considerably warmer in the cave and, out of the tempest, the
boys were quite comfortable in their thick clothing. They huddled
together at the far end of the cavern, and George kept the light
turned, on the two bears, who were now growling savagely.

"Why don't you shoot?" asked Thede.

"What's the use of shooting until I have to?" demanded George.
"They can come in here if they want to, if they'll only behave
themselves."

"If they try to come in here," declared Thede, "I'll go up in the
air about nine hundred feet."

Although they did not attempt to re-enter the cavern, the bears
kept close to the entrance. It was clear that only the light of
the electric kept them from attacking the boys.

"They'll stay right there till morning," exclaimed Thede, "and
we'll have to shoot them anyway before we can get out. They are
kicking themselves now," he continued with a grin, "because they
let us in here without a battle. I wish we understood bear talk so
that we could learn what they're saying to each other."

"Nothing very complimentary to us," George declared.

As the night advanced it grew colder and the boys moved about in
quest of a more sheltered corner. They could still hear the bears
moving about outside, but paid no attention to them.

"Look here," George said presently, as the search-light rested for
a moment on a break in the rock. "I wouldn't wonder at all if we
could get further under the hill. There's an opening here which
looks wide enough for us to crawl through."

"It's a wonder the bears didn't find it then," commented Thede.

"I'm going to see whether I can get through it or not," George
insisted. "It may be a warmer corner. Anyway, it'll give us
exercise, and that's what we need about this time."

Throwing the spear of light into the crevice, the boy glanced
keenly about. The walls of the opening seemed to be smooth, and to
extend only a short distance. Just below where the walls broke he
could see the brown floor of another cavern."

"I guess it's all right," he said to Thede. "You take the light
and hold it down and I'll scrambl