CHAPTER XVI
THE VENT HOLE IN THE WALL
The way grew rougher with every yard they traversed. How Spanish Joehad come dashing down over this ground at headlong speed withoutbreaking his neck was a puzzle.
Frank was feeling his way along carefully when he heard Bob call hisname. The rattle of falling shale at the same time gave him a prettystrong suspicion as to what had happened.
"Hello! what's the matter Bob?" he cried.
"I slipped, and fell over the edge of some sort of place here," cameback the answer. "Luckily I've managed to get hold of a rock andstopped my tumble. But don't waste any time lending me a hand, Frank,because it seems to me I feel the thing move. If another quake comesit'll let me drop; and perhaps the ground may be a full dozen feetbelow."
By this time Frank had reached the edge of the drop. He rememberedskirting it in climbing upward just a minute before; but had been moresuccessful about doing so than Bob, who was less accustomed to thiskind of work.
Frank again had recourse to his handy match-safe. Leaning over hestruck a match on the face of the rock. Immediately he drew a quickbreath. It was not because he could see the face of his chum only acouple of feet away, as the latter clung to a spur of rocks; it wassomething else that thrilled him.
As far down as his eyes could see there was only a black void! Insteadof the simple dozen feet mentioned by Bob, the yawning precipiceextended perhaps a full hundred feet downward!
But there was no need of telling Bob that it might alarm the boy andcause him to weaken, so that his grip would give way.
Frank was quick to understand what must be done. He could just touchthe hand of his chum by bending far down; but that was not enough.Instantly he wrapped one leg about a sturdy, if dwarfed, little cedarthat chanced to grow at that very spot, as if designed for the verypurpose to which he was putting it. Then he was able to thrust himselfstill further down the face of the wall.
"Take hold, and grip like iron, Bob," he managed to say.
He felt the other obeying him, and thus they caught hold of hands.
"Now, try and dig your toes into the face of the wall if you can,"Frank went on, calmly, so far as Bob could know. "It'll help me getyou up. Climb over me. I've got a leg around a cedar, and nothing canbreak away. Now!"
"Say, perhaps you'd better let me drop down." said Bob, thinking hiscomrade was going to unnecessary trouble in order to save him from alittle jolt.
"Climb, I tell you!" snapped Frank.
"Oh! all right, Frank, if you say so," and Bob started to obey.
Fortunately he was an agile lad, and a very fair climber, for the taskwhich he had set himself was no ordinary one. But, by wriggling moreor less, Bob managed to finally get a grip on the cedar. After that itwas easy work; and having succeeded in reaching solid ground himself,he aided the almost exhausted Frank to draw back.
"Whew! that was some work, now, and all because I was so silly as toslip over the edge of that little hole!" remarked Bob, as thoughdisgusted with himself.
"Look here," said his chum; "lean over carefully, while I drop thismatch down."
As he struck the match, and then cast it from him it went downwardtwenty, thirty, forty feet before it was extinguished.
"Ugh!" shuddered Bob, "why, it must be all of a thousand feet down tothe bottom, Frank! It scares me just to think of the narrow escape Ihad."
"Well, I reckon it's all of one hundred feet," replied Frank; "andthat's enough to settle a fellow. But let's lie back here, and get ourbreath a bit before going on up. The cave can't be far off now, ifwhat Joe said is so."
Both of the boys were panting after their unusual exertion, and Bob wasglad of a chance to rest for even a brief time. Besides, another burstof thunder was starting in, and he fancied that it was louder than anythat had gone before; just as if they might be drawing closer to theplace from whence all this clamor came.
The cave that Spanish Joe had found and entered--could it have anythingto do with the mystery of the mountain? Frank seemed to think so, andwas bent upon ascertaining the facts.
"Listen to that, Frank?" shouted the Kentucky lad in the ear of hismate, while the racket was at its height. "I can hear rocks droppingall around, just like the one did where Joe was grabbed by the leg. Doyou think this always happens when the old mountain breaks loose; or isthis an extra big celebration?"
"I was trying to get that myself, Bob," admitted Frank; "but we canonly guess at it, because you see, nobody's ever been up here when thethunder was rocking the whole range, and so we don't know. But,honest, now, I'm of the opinion this happens only once in a greatwhile; else the mountain would have been racked to pieces long ago."
"And just to think, we had the nerve to come here at a time when it wasbound to do its worst," said Bob.
"Glad of it," Frank immediately returned. "It gives us a better chanceto learn a few things worth while. I always did like to be in wherethe roping was fastest. Are you feeling better, Bob?"
"Oh! yes, I reckon I'm all right now," returned the other, rising.
"Ready to go on, then?" continued Frank.
"Try me, that's all. If I turn tail and run, don't ever speak to meagain," came the steady, but not boastful, answer.
"Good boy! All right, let's be off again; and be mighty careful howyou move. There may be more of those drops lying around loose. Andnext time you mightn't be so lucky about grabbing a spur of rock."
"That's so, Frank. Wow! but it makes me shiver to even think of it.Talk about Joe's narrow squeak, it wasn't any worse than mine," and Bobstarted to crawl after his better-trained chum.
Two more evidences came to them of the violence of the unseen forcethat was making Thunder Mountain shake, before Frank stopped to let hischum reach his side, so that he might exchange a few sentences.
"Looks like that might be the hole ahead," he ventured.
"I can see something that seems blacker than the night itself; is thatwhat you mean, Frank?" asked Bob.
"Yes," his chum continued. "When Joe pointed up this way I took noteof just the line, and followed it closely. That was why we came sonear the precipice. And if that is the opening to the cave, we want tolie here and listen."
"Why, do you really believe the racket comes out of that hole?"demanded Bob, astonished at the very idea of such a thing.
"Wait and see," replied the other, confidently. "In the meantime,here's our opportunity to pick up a few candles that will come inhandy."
They had come to a halt directly under a tree; and Bob had alreadydiscovered that the ground was thickly strewn with broken branches.Some of these were apt to be fat with the inflammable gum that exudesfrom certain species of cedar, and would, as Frank said, make splendidtorches.
Frank was already on his hands and knees searching for suitable ones;and as Bob grasped the idea he, too, set to work.
"I have four already; how do you stand?" asked Frank, presently.
"Just as many--no, here's the fifth one, and the best of the lot," camethe reply from the Kentucky lad, who went into everything with ardorand enthusiasm.
"That ought to do for us," Frank went on. "And now, listen for allyou're worth, because the war is on again!"
Lying there, Bob heard what seemed to be the first signal. It was asthough some giant hand had tapped the solid rock with his club. Thenfaster came the blows, and more and more did the din increase, until itwas fairly deafening. Only for his intense eagerness to hear everysound Bob might have been tempted to thrust his fingers into his earsin order to shut out the awful clamor.
To him it seemed as though a thousand anvils were being beaten inchorus, with a few other minor chords thrown in for good measure.
And what interested Bob most of all, as he crouched there listening,was the fact that all this dreadful noise seemed to be coming directlyfrom the spot where his comrade had pointed out as the opening of acave.
There was not the faintest trace of lightning accompanying themanife
station; and this proved, beyond all question of dispute, thatthe mystery connected with Thunder Mountain had nothing to do with anelectrical storm. Possibly the observing Indians had many years agodiscovered this same thing; and it had strengthened their belief thatthe great Manitou spoke to his red children through the voice of thewonderful mountain.
It took longer, this time, for the noise to die away; just as though,whatever its cause, there was increasing reluctance to subside again.
"That was a screamer, sure enough!" said Frank, when he could makehimself heard above the declining roar.
"And Bob, you noticed, didn't you, that it seemed to come right out ofthat hole? All right, it begins to look now as if we were Johnny onthe spot, if we've got the nerve to push things. Somewhere in there,Bob, lies the explanation of the mystery. Do we take the dare; or stayout here and wait till the fuss is over before entering?"
Bob possibly swallowed hard before replying. It was no easy thing forhim to say the words that would thrust them up against so terrible athing as this unknown peril awaiting them in the gloom of that crack ofthe great mountain. But his hesitation was brief. In fact, he onlywanted to catch his breath, shut his teeth hard together, and summonhis Kentucky blood.
"It's a go, Frank!" he said, with determination in his voice; "thechance may never come to us again. Let's go in, and discover forourselves the secrets of the Indian god they say is guarding ThunderMountain. I'm ready, so lead on!"