Lanky trotted at his heels, all on edge, as he told himself.
"Is it another exit to this bunch of caves?" he asked.
"No," came the answer. "But I'm dead certain there must be one not a great way off. Those bats in here told me as much. Then, here's the other convincing reason. Look down, and not up, Lanky."
"Wow! A heap of ashes, eh? Shows that we're not the only chaps who've been wandering around for hours and hours in these passages."
"Notice what a lot of wood ashes there are," pursued Frank. "That would mean a fire has been burned many times. Long ago, too, I figure, though never a gust of wind disturbs the heap back here."
Lanky grew more deeply absorbed in the way Frank was putting things.
"See here!" he blurted out, "open up an tell a fellow just what you're hinting at, Frank. Do you think it may have been old Josh Kinney who used to camp out here from time to time? If that's so, as he must have toted all his wood from the outside, you're right about there being another entrance to the caves not a great way off which we can find if we hunt systematically."
"I've been poking around a bit this morning while you snoozed," continued Frank.
"Yes, and what've you discovered to make you look so pleased?"