They found several deep pits in the floor of the cave, natural crevices and holes in the rock, but although they shouted at the top of their lungs they heard no answering cry from below.
"He must have fallen down one of these holes, that's certain," Joe declared. "I'm sure we haven't missed any."
"Why doesn't he call back then?" said Biff.
In the glow of the flashlights the boys glanced at one another anxiously. Joe expressed the thought that the others were afraid to put into words.
"Perhaps he can't."
"Do you think he may be dead?" asked Chet quietly.
"We'll hope not," sighed Joe. "But when he doesn't answer, things don't look any too bright. Any of these crevices may be hundreds of feet deep, for all we know."
"It will be a terrible end to our trip if anything like that has happened."
"Not much use waiting for morning," declared Biff. "This cave is just as dark in the daytime as it is right now. I sure wish we had a few more flashlights."
"Or more powerful ones. We can't see very far down the crevices in the rocks, with these lights."