The boys moved away from the place where the echoes were loudest and came to an overhanging shelf that formed an entrance to a small cave. Here they could talk in normal tones without being annoyed by the mocking echoes.
“I thought we could easily get out of here after we got in,” remarked Jerry, as they looked about them.
“So did I,” agreed Ned. “I didn’t take any particular notice, and the miner didn’t say the place was a puzzle.”
Yet a puzzle it was proving, the boys had to admit when Ned pointed out to them that they had actually wandered about in almost a complete circle.
“Then the question is, how are we going to get out?” asked Bob, as he fumbled in his pocket for one of the packages.
“What are you going to do?” countered Jerry.
“I thought maybe we’d better eat something,” said Bob, innocently enough. “There’s a spring of water here. After we’ve had some food maybe we can think better.”
“Chunky, for once you have a good idea!” exclaimed Jerry, laughing in spite of their rather serious predicament. “Let’s see what you have there!”
Generally it could be left to the stout lad not to skimp matters when he was getting a lunch to bring with him, and this had been no exception. Hang Gow had been generous, for which the lads were now very thankful.