“One of those big bats flopped into your face—.”
“Well?”
“Then you two started to run, and, of course, you ran into each other and thought something had gotten hold of you. Oh, ho, ho!” and once more Jim was doubled up in his paroxysms of merriment.
“I guess you are right, Jim,” said Jo, somewhat sheepishly, but joining in the laugh. “I think the joke is on us.”
“What is this place anyhow?” asked Tom, seeking to change the embarrassing subject. “Was it an underground prison?”
“I think it was a burial place of some tribe,” replied Jim, when he was able to control his laughter. “You see the skeletons are all standing up in like positions as if they were placed there after death.”
“What are the bats doing in here?”
“They must come in through these passages above. Some holes probably let out onto the side of the hill, and the bats go in and out through them at night.”
“I think,” said Tom, as they made their way back to the entrance, “that taking all together, that was the worst scare I ever had.”
“Shake on that, Tom,” said Jo.