again." They could hear the man tinkering at the lamp. "No use," he said at last.
The cave was in pitch blackness. One of the men struck a match, and it cast a faint illumination.
"There's candles around here somewhere, ain't there?" asked Gus Montrose.
"Whole box of 'em around if I can find them."
The man with the match moved off into another part of the cave. He fumbled around for a while, then announced with a grunt of satisfaction:
"Here they are." He lit one of the candles, brought it over and stood it on a box.
"Light some more," ordered Gus.
The man did as he was told. In a few moments half a dozen candles provided a fair amount of light in the gloom of the cave.
"That's better."
Just then there was a shout from the passage leading into the main cave. Gus Montrose wheeled about.
"Who's that?"
The men crouched tensely.
"I don't know," whispered one. "We're all here but Dan."
In a moment footsteps could be heard in the passage. Then a voice:
