The three lost no time in scrambling down the stairs. They reached the bottom in safety, and then dashed outside, Dr. Rander displaying remarkable agility for his age.
Then something happened that filled them with terror. With one last creak, the old tower leaned slowly to the south, poised for a brief moment, and went crumbling to the ground. There was a report like that of a cannon, followed by a heavy cloud of dust and small particles of rock.
The explorers’ hearts were beating like trip hammers; their faces were red with excitement.
“Thank God that we escaped in time!” breathed Dr. Rander. “A few seconds more and we would have been caught beneath tons of rock!”
“And what a death!” muttered Joe with a shudder. “I don’t want to even think of it.”
They sat down on the ground to relieve themselves of the terrible strain. Especially did the old man show signs of exertion. At first the youths half expected to see him fall with heart failure, for he was terribly exhausted.
The rest, however, did him good, and before long he was apparently no worse for the horrible experience.
“Funny that tower should collapse just at this time, isn’t it?” said Bob. “I suppose, though, that it was ready to go at any time, and our weight proved too much for it.”
“That probably explains what happened,” came from the old man. “If no one had found it, perhaps it would have remained intact for many years yet.”
They put in no more time here, but turned and went back to the peak.