“Strange what made it go out,” one said.
“Didn’t you hear the table fall?” demanded the other.
“I remember now,” was the answer. “The lamp is probably broken, so we may as well find our way out without looking for it.”
“You have my permission to do that,” chuckled Jimmie from his now secure hiding place.
The two men stumbled about in the darkness for a minute, and the boy knew that they were feeling their way to some entrance other than the one by which he had found his way into the cave. Before long their footsteps and their voices died away, and then he advanced into the little chamber where they had stood.
“The old mission, all right!” he thought.
While he looked around other footsteps were heard, followed by the sound of a struggle.
“Hold fast!” some one shouted.
“Hold fast yourself!” was the smothered reply. “What do you mean by letting go of the fellow in that way?”
“I didn’t let go. I’ve got hold of him yet!”