"Friend or foe?" asked Ed.
"That's more than I know!" Will replied.
Chapter XX
DOWN IN THE CHASM
When Tommy, Frank, Sam and the doctor started toward the bottom of the chasm in order that they might reach the spot from which the smoke signal was ascending on the other side, they anticipated rough going, but the actuality was much worse than anything which had been expected.
The soil extended only six or eight feet. Passing this they came to a point where the solid glacier had been opened by the earthquake.
The break was uneven, there being little shelves and ledges upon which the feet might rest, but the going was uncertain for all that.
The roaring of the fast-lifting torrent prevented conversation, and the darkness made signalling impossible except when the searchlights were held in position.
It was very cold at the bottom of the break, too, and the boys felt their hands growing numb.