Ned dropped back to the west. The call had come from that direction. It might have been uttered either by Frank or by one of the boys left at the camp.
Presently the snarl was heard in a dark crevice toward which the boy was descending. Ned dropped down faster then, and soon heard Frank's voice.
"Are you alone?" he asked.
"Yes; and you?"
"Bradley and Dode are here."
Bradley moved forward and took Ned by the arm.
"Be careful!" he warned. "Those men would toss dynamite down here and take their own risk of death if they knew."
"We've had a run for our money!" Frank panted. "We've been everywhere. The cabin is deserted, and the lower camp and the counterfeiter cave are bare of life. Bradley caught us following him, and so we joined with him in his search for Mike III."
"Mike III.," Ned answered, "is up there in the cave with the abductors, and Mrs. Brady is with him. We've got to act quickly."
"They'll be murdered!" Bradley whispered. "What can we do?"