“A loose stone came down! It nearly smashed us!” cried Jack.
“I don’t want to stay here if the roof is coming down on us,” wailed Fred.
“Do as we told you to and you won’t have to stay there,” answered Jackson, and then, after waiting a few minutes more, the man disappeared from the entrance.
Once more Jack mounted to the shoulders of the twins and with caution he poked at the hole which had been started.
“Take off your jacket, Fred, and catch the loose stones so that they don’t make any noise,” he whispered. And this the youngest Rover did.
It was a long, tedious task, and several times the young major was on the point of giving up. But just when he felt that his labors were of no avail he broke through an opening overhead. Immediately the cool night wind struck him and he realized that he had reached the outer air.
Again their gymnastic training stood the lads in good stead. Jack hauled Fred up and then held him still higher, and soon the youngest Rover had crawled through the opening above.
“I’m right here among a lot of bushes,” he whispered, looking down. “It’s a side hole, so there isn’t much danger of its caving in.”
Fred leaned down and assisted Jack up, and then the two cut a long heavy stick and with this assisted the twins to get out of the cave, bringing Jack’s shoes with them. They were but a short distance away from the camp of the men and could hear them talking quite plainly.