"Afraid?"
"Yes. If it is what I think, we may be doomed," went on the eldest
Rover seriously.
"Dick! What do you think it is?"
"The crackling of flames. They have set the ranch on fire."
"Would they do that—and leave us here? It is—is inhuman."
"Those men are desperate characters, Tom, and they'd stop at nothing."
They continued to listen, and soon the roaring and crackling grew plainer. Then came a dull thud as some timbers fell, and a current of air carried some smoke into the cell.
"We must get out—somehow, some way!" cried Dick. "If we don't, we'll be caught like beasts in a cage." A sudden thought struck him. "Tom, take up one of the stones."
Dick lit what was left of the candle-wick as he spoke and placed it on the bench. Then he took up the other stone.
"Now, aim for the lock of the door," he went on, "and both throw together. Ready?"