“Yes, for a while, though of course we have not rations enough for that number for very long.”
“You will not need do more than rescue them from the valley,” said Mr. Bell eagerly. “I will take charge of them after that, and they can stay at my house. I can make room for them.”
“Well, if it proves to be true about the gold they discovered in the valley,” went on Nestor, “they can pay their own way.”
“I can’t say that I take much stock in that gold business,” came from Sledge Hammer Tod. “I’ve heard too many stories of gold in mysterious valleys, and generally they were fakes.”
“I believe there is gold in Lost Valley, and that the prisoners have some,” insisted Mr. Bell firmly. “Whether we will be able to rescue them or not is another matter.”
They talked until far into the night of what lay before them, and then, as they expected to have a hard day of adventures when the sun rose, it was decided to go to bed.
It must have been around two o’clock that Jerry awakened with a start. At first he thought some one had called him, but he waited and listened; he heard no one else stirring aboard the anchored Comet.
“Guess I dreamed it,” he mused; “but, as long as I’m awake, I’ll get a drink of water.”
He went to the tank, and, as he passed the cabin window that looked toward Lost Valley, Jerry was startled by seeing strange lights flickering up toward the sky.