“Yeah,” Warner agreed, “our best hope probably lies with him. But the old coot may stay away for days. Meanwhile, we can get pretty fed up in this hole.”
The two sat down, their backs to the rough wall. Jack’s clothing had only partially dried after his ducking in the lake, so he was damp and uncomfortable.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Warner said determinedly. “You’ll get pneumonia, if we don’t.”
“No exit except this one?”
“The tunnel ended against a blank wall. I checked that.”
“If Walz could push that stone into place alone, the two of us ought to be able to shove it away.”
“We’re pushing against gravity, Jack. He rolled it down the incline. Besides, once he got it into place, he piled on other rocks and debris. We’re caught like two animals in a cage.”
Suddenly Jack straightened as a thought occurred to him.
“That dynamite!” he suggested. “Any chance we could blast our way out of here?”
“Maybe we could!” the rancher exclaimed. “It would be risky business, though. Old dynamite, especially, is dangerous to handle.”