"Oh, we can always go back to the fire," answered Dick.
"Unless it goes out on us."
"It won't burn itself out for an hour—I saw to that before we left it."
As the boys advanced into the cave they came across a heap of bones. Dick examined them carefully.
"Skeletons?" queried Sam, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Yes—of lambs and pigs," was the dry answer. "Somebody has been making this a rendezvous and living on the fat of the land."
"Maybe that accounts for Jerry Burden's losses," suggested Tom. "He said he lost a lamb last spring, and two pigs."
"Yes, and old Richard Feltham lost a pig and some chickens," added Dick. "Maybe this has been a hangout for tramps."
"Do you think they are here still?" questioned Sam. "We don't want to have any trouble."
"I am sure I don't know, Sam. But this proves one thing."