seemed to be right beside them. Instantly, they realized that it was only a trick of the echoes, and that the voice came from the passage leading into the cave.
Some one was approaching. They could hear his heavy boots clamping on the rocky floor.
"Quick! The tunnel!" whispered Frank.
He sped across the cave toward the opening in the wall. But they had moved farther away from their hiding place than they imagined. By the time the brothers reached the passage, they heard a cry of alarm behind them.
"Who's that?"
They scrambled into the tunnel.
Another shout, footsteps across the floor, and then the lantern cast its beam directly on the entrance of the passage. It was a powerful light and the boys knew they had been seen.
The man in the cave began shouting for help:
"Gus! Sam! Come here! Quick!"
His voice echoed from the walls.
The Hardy boys heard a faint shout from outside the cave.
"What's the matter?"
"Some one in here. Hurry up!"
The uproar out in the cave grew in volume as other members of the gang joined their comrade. There was a hasty gabble of voices.
