"Quib's in there, somewhere," said Mart Penniman. "Just hear him yelp!"
"Hold on," said Cole Thomas—"there's more light coming in. We shall be able to see, in a minute."
The fact was that it took a little time for their eyes to get accustomed to the small amount of light there was in that cave.
The cave itself was not very large.
It grew wider for about twenty feet from the hole they came in by, and the floor, which was covered with bits of rock, sloped upward like the roof of a house, only not quite so abruptly.
In the middle it was more than a rod wide. Then it grew narrower, and steeper, and darker with every step. But they knew about where the upper end must be, for they could hear Quib barking there.
"It's dark enough," said Andy.
"Come on, boys!" shouted Abe Selover. "We'll have that woodchuck this time. He's in this cave, somewhere."
They were not very much afraid to keep a little way behind Abe
Selover, and in a few minutes they heard him say:
"Quib! Is he there? Have you got him?"