Slowly he spelled out the name in Morse and knew that it was Jack who was signaling.
“Where are you, Jack?” he shouted.
“U-N-D-E-R Y-O-U-R R-I-G-H-T C-O-R-N-E-R T-R-A-P.”
“All right, I’m coming,” he cried as he hastened to the place indicated.
The corner was littered with dead leaves, but as soon as he had brushed some of them aside with his foot he saw that there was a small trap door fitted with an iron ring. Eagerly he seized hold of the ring and a black hole yawned at his feet. The light from his flash showed that an old ladder led to the depths below, and in another moment he was standing in a circular well about ten feet in diameter. But, as he flashed his light about there was no sign of Jack.
“Where are you, Jack?” he called.
There was no reply in words, but a loud tap sounded over to his right and, flashing his light in that direction, he saw what his eyes had missed at first. Close to the floor was a hole about two feet high and the same distance across. It was but the work of a minute to crawl through, a distance of only three or four feet, and he found himself in another room about half the size of the upper cave and, stretched on the floor, at the further side, was Jack.
“Jack,” he cried as he sprang forward.
A low gurgle greeted him and he saw that there was a gag in the boy’s mouth and that he was tied hand and foot, with his hands behind his back.
“I knew you’d come,” he said as soon as the gag was removed.