For the next few minutes the Iron Boy busied himself wrenching loose the bars that fitted into the opening of the cage to prevent the passengers from falling out. These he laid across the bottom, securing them to the flanges of the cage. They fitted snugly.
"There," announced Steve, after completing his task. "This will be just as good as a solid floor so long as neither of you moves about too much and displaces them. Get over there, Dominick. Now we are all right! They can haul us up just as soon as they want to. I, for one, shouldn't mind feeling something solid underneath me for a change."
"No such luck!" growled Jarvis.
A slight jolt cut short their talk. The lads listened, but heard nothing.
"Something has gone wrong with the machinery," said Steve in a low tone. "I shouldn't be surprised if we had to stay here for a long time."
"No, the cage is moving!" cried Bob excitedly. "Hooray, we're saved!"
"Not yet," answered Steve, as the cage came to a jarring stop after having moved upward a few inches.