Listening at this opening, he could now detect another sound quite near-by. It was the occasional stamping of horses, evidently in their stalls.
“H’m!” grunted Nick. “I’m not sure that I’m out of the place, after all. This hole will evidently lead me into a basement under the stable, or the carriage-house. By Jove! it may be that Badger has a place of concealment down here for his horses, those occasionally used for a hold-up. I’ll speedily ascertain.”
Crawling with some little difficulty through the hole in the wall, Nick rose to his feet on the outer side, and groped carefully through the gloom.
Suddenly his extended hands came in contact with—an automobile!
He was in the interior garage, the secret hiding-place of Badger’s several cars.
It had taken Nick half an hour to accomplish all this, however, and before he could fix upon anything definite as to his present location, he heard voices outside, and a door hurriedly opened.
“H’m!” he mentally grunted. “Are my captors returning? They’ll find me ready for them this time!”
Then he crouched quickly back of the car with which he had come in contact.
The sliding door had suddenly opened, and the light from the wall lamp outside shot into the extension cellar.
The instant Nick’s eyes fell upon the row of automobiles, he guessed the whole truth concerning the place.