After a time he arose lamely to his feet and walked along in the direction pointed out by the crude stairway. Directly he came to an opening in the wall of the precipice.
Realizing that the cave would at least serve as a hiding place, the boy entered and looked about. The place was dark and damp. A flock of bats, stirred into activity by his approach, flew in his face and winged their way toward the brilliant sunshine beyond.
Jimmie would have given a good deal just at that time for one of the dozen or more searchlights which lay at the camp. There was no knowing how far the passage extended into the mountain, and it was very dark.
For all he knew it might be intersected by passages worn away by subterranean streams. Presently he remembered that a good supply of matches which he had acquired that morning had not been taken away from him. Lighting one, he saw that the floor of the passage was remarkably smooth and free from obstructions. The walls were also smooth, and held, here and there, shallow openings which seemed to have been artificially produced. As he proceeded through the tunnel-like place he became aware of a damp chill wind blowing directly upon him.
As the passage narrowed, the current of air became stronger, and before long the boy found it impossible to use matches without wasting them. Presently he found that by extending his arms he could touch the walls on either side. The stones were, of course, damp and loathsome to the touch.
Only for a remarkable discovery made through the medium of his fingers, he might then have abandoned further investigation of the grewsome place. His discovery was this:
The passage through which he was moving was of artificial construction!
The walls showed traces of rude chisel work!
After a time the walls drew back so that he was unable to reach them even by taking a few steps to right and left. It seemed, too, that he had passed out of the current of air.
“It’s dollars to rotten apples,” mused the boy, exultant though anxious, “that I have blundered into some old-time robber den, or into the subterranean rooms of the old Franciscan mission.”