"That trunk makes a mighty good shield," Scotty said thoughtfully. "Bet this entrance is invisible ten feet away, except from the air!"
"And I'll add my own bet, that the entrance is very close to where we met the Frostola man this morning, and that he wonders if we spotted it from the plane."
Scotty shook his head. "No betting on sure things. This explains the interest in the plane, all right. Stand by, old son. I'm going to make a quick recon and be sure the coast is clear."
"Okay. Eyes adjusted?"
"Enough." Scotty went through the entrance on hands and knees. Rick saw his legs as he stood up and surveyed the scene.
"Come on out," Scotty called. "We're alone."
Rick joined him. The fallen tree trunk came above their knees. As Scotty had said, it made an effective shield for the mine entrance.
Rick studied the entrance itself. Probably it had once been a regular timbered entrance, like the one on the other side of the hill, but it had fallen in, the rocks wedging to form a low passage into the tunnel inside. The whole hillside was overgrown with brambles, down to the two-rut road below them, almost at the place where they had met the peddler.
"We were within fifty feet of this entrance," Rick said, "and never suspected it."
"The Frostola man knew it. Do you think he thought we knew it?"