"I don't understand—"
"I mean that this material that has fallen in here did not all come out of the solid rock."
"What does that mean?" asked Ned.
"Perhaps nothing so far as we are concerned. I was thinking that if they could not blast through the drift, they might as a last resort, drill down through the surface from above and pierce this chamber."
"How could they locate our position close enough to do that?" asked
Tad.
"That would not be difficult. From the maps of the mine Mr. Munson could work out our position as closely as a captain does that of his ship at sea."
It was a ray of hope which the boys grasped eagerly. They tried to forget that they were practically entombed many feet underground, and that days might elapse before they were rescued.
"I'll bet Chunky will hug himself with delight when he finds out what's happened," suggested Walter.
"Yes, he'll probably think it's very funny, our being bottled up or rather down in a corner underground," said Ned somewhat dolefully.
"I didn't mean that. He'll be glad he went hunting instead of coming along with us," corrected Walter.