It seemed as if they had been in the place for an eternity, and they were getting exhausted without seeming to be any nearer the outer passage than ever, when Barney suddenly stopped work and began to listen.
Pomp looked up in surprise.
“Wha’ am de mattah, I’sh?” he asked.
“Bejabers, I belave there’s some wan digging beyant us,” he declared.
“Yo’ does?”
“Yes, I do.”
Then they fell to listening.
When Frank and Randall and the sailor reached the Scorcher and were unable to find any trace of Barney and Pomp, they were not a little alarmed.
They shouted and fired their pistols, but no answer came.