that the gully road is now knee-deep in mud."
"All right. We'll come and get you out. How many men do you want?"
"It'll take the whole crowd of us."
"No, it won't. We're not goin' to leave these kids here alone. Joe, here, can stay and watch 'em."
"They're tied, ain't they?"
"What of it? I'm not trustin' to no ropes. Somebody's got to stay and keep an eye on them."
"I'll stay," grumbled the man addressed as Joe.
"I don't care who stays," snapped Dan. "If you don't come out and help drag that car out of the mud it'll be in so deep we'll never get it out. Come on."
The men trooped out of the cave. Joe, who was left behind, sat down on a box and regarded the lads balefully. However, he said nothing. Gus came back through the passage.
"You might as well be loadin' some of those boxes into the other cars, while we're away," he said. "Take a look in every little while and see that those kids are still tied up."
The man grumbled assent, and followed Gus back down the passage.
The Hardy boys were left alone in the light of the flickering candles ranged about the gloomy cave.
