The gold seeker obeyed the injunction none too soon.
Both leaped into the shadows, and at that moment there came a report of a number of the brigands’ rifles, and one of them shouted in Spanish:
“Hold, senors! You cannot escape! Surrender or you die!”
Frank saw that their case was a hopeless one.
Fortunately none of the bullets had struck them, but they had not gone far wide of the mark.
Harding’s coat sleeve was shot full of holes, and Frank’s hat was perforated.
The young inventor had thought to slip the foe in the main cavern.
But no sooner had he entered the passage than he found himself surrounded by the brigands.
There was no alternative but to surrender. Resistance was folly.
Frank saw this at a glance.