at the crack. Something had appeared at the brink of the opening—the form of a man!
"Hullo, up there!" I yelled with all the strength of my lungs. "Hullo, I say!"
"What is it?" cried Oliver.
"A man. Give him a call." And again I raised my voice, and now my chums joined in.
Soon the man appeared again. "Is anybody down there?" came in a hollow tone.
"Yes, we are down here—three boys. Will you help us out?"
"Great Scott! Three boys!" came in a voice full of wonder and one that sounded strangely familiar. "How did you get down there?"
"Never mind that just now; we want to get out!" I bawled. "Please help us at once."
"We will," was the prompt return. "How deep do you suppose that hole is?"
"All of a hundred feet."
"Phew! Then you'll have to wait until we send off for a rope."
"We can do that," said Dan. "But don't desert us."
"We won't, never fear."
The man disappeared, and I turned to Dan. "Do you know who that was? " I asked.
"No."
"It was Mr. John Palmer."
"So it was!" cried Dan. "I thought his
