"Run boys! Run for your lives! Follow me!"
CHAPTER XVI
MR. POST'S ADVENTURE
For an instant Jack Ranger and his two comrades did not realize what
Mr. Post was saying. They could see no danger near them.
"What's the matter?" asked Nat.
"Don't stop to ask questions! Run! Run! Run!" yelled the miner.
The boys needed no further urging, but set off at top speed after Mr. Post. He halted his run to allow the boys to catch up to him. Then, as he gave a glance backward, he yelled:
"Too late! Duck!"
The boys found themselves being pushed forward. They stumbled and fell, and it seemed as if some heavy weight toppled on top of them. Then came an explosion that sounded like a thirteen-inch gun being set off close to their ears.
They were stunned by the shock and frightened half out of their wits by the unknown terror. An instant later it was as if the sky was raining gravel, stones and sand.