"Help!" cried the man in pursuit of him. "Quick! that boy! He's gone this way!"
While giving utterance to the exciting alarm, the speaker rushed upon the heels of Little Snap, who found the way so crooked and filled with bowlders that he could advance only with great difficulty.
The cries of his pursuers were quickly answered by the others, and then the fugitive heard the entire party in pursuit of him.
The foremost almost within reach of him, the postboy continued his flight as rapidly as possible, at one time actually feeling the hand of his enemy on his shoulder, as he ran against one of the rocks often blocking his way. But gliding around the obstruction, he succeeded in eluding his pursuer.
For several yards he found a clearer course, while a faint halo of light filled the underground place.
The cause of this was explained in a moment, when he came upon the opening in the rocky passage discovered by him in his search for the Raggles.
Unable to cross this chasm, he suddenly found his flight cut off!
Feeling sure of their victim now, with renewed cries, the outlaws rushed to effect his capture.
Little Snap's first thought was that he was fairly caught! But no sooner had he recognized the spot than a desperate resolution entered his mind, and he felt no hesitation in carrying it out.
Ab Raggles had said that the water at the bottom of the fissure formed an underground stream leading to the valley below, and that he and his sons had followed it without trouble to safety. Why could not he do the same?