"Then we'll get him!" cried Dick Prescott, leaping forward. "Hold the light on him!"
CHAPTER XV
THE SCREAM THAT STARTED A RACE
Yet even as the three boys dashed toward the two spruce trees the light went out.
Tom pressed frantically on the spring of the lamp as he ran, but the lamp gave forth a flickering gleam that was little better than no light at all.
The long use of the lamp in the cave had weakened the storage battery.
"Give us the light!" called Dave, as they reached the tree.
"Can't! The battery's on a strike," answered Reade grimly.
Dick Prescott, who was ahead of his companions, now halted, whispering to the others to do the same.
The man they sought had vanished. No betraying sounds came to indicate where he had gone.