The Banded Seven weren’t timid by a long shot. They had dared more desperate deeds than any plebes West Point had ever seen. But in this black hole of mystery, suggestive of desperate criminals and no one knew what else, it was no wonder that they hesitated. There was no one but Texas cared to venture near that shadowy door.
Mark himself was by no means as cool as he seemed. He had made up his mind to explore the cave, and he meant to do it, but he chose to hurry all the same. He stepped quickly forward, peering anxiously into the shadows as he did so. And a moment later his hand was upon the door knob.
He shook it vigorously, but found that it was firmly set. It reminded him of the door of a safe, for it had a solid, heavy “feel,” and it closed with a spring lock, having no key. Mark noticed that as he was debating with himself whether or not to open it; and then suddenly he gave the knob a mighty wrench and pulled with all his might upon the door.
The knob was rusty, and so were the complicated hinges. The door finally gave way, however, with a creak that was dismal and suggestive. The others shrank back instinctively as the black space it disclosed yawned in front of them.
Mark’s heart was beating furiously as he glanced around to peer in. A musty, close odor caught his attention, and then as the faint light made its way in, he saw that beyond was still another compartment, seemingly blacker, and certainly more mysterious than the first. But Mark hesitated not a moment; he had made up his mind to enter and he did. Texas, who was at his back, taking hold of the door to hold it.
Those outside waited for but one moment, a moment of anxious suspense and dread. They had seen their leader’s figure vanish, swallowed up in the blackness of the place. They were wondering, tremblingly, as to what the result would be; and then suddenly came a result so terrible and unexpected that it nearly knocked them down. It was a scream, a wild shriek of horror, and it came from Mark!
The six outside gazed at each other, ready to faint from fright; Texas, startled, too, by the weirdness of the tone, sprang back involuntarily. And in an instant the heavy iron door, released from his hand, swung inward and slammed with a dismal clang that rang and echoed down the long, vaulted cave.
The noise was succeeded by a silence that was yet more terrible; not another sound came from Mark, to tell that he was alive or what. And for just an instant, paralyzed with fright, the horror-stricken cadets stood motionless, staring blankly at the glistening door. And then Texas sprang forward to the rescue. He seized the knob furiously, and tearing at the barrier with all his strength, flung it wide open.
“Come on!” he cried. “Follow me!”
Texas was clutching the revolver, a desperate look upon his face; the others, horrified though they were, sprang forward to his side ready to dare anything for the sake of Mark.