n that his informant was not
deceiving him, and resolved to act upon the suggestions of the unknown
writer, be he friend or foe.

He accordingly set about making preparations for the adventures of the
morning, without delay. By midnight all his arrangements were completed,
and he lay down to snatch a little rest before setting out on the
expedition. At three o'clock in the morning, the little company, numbering
five in all, of whom Mr. Mandeville was one, set out for the swamp.

Bill and Dick had scarcely reached a safe distance from the cave, when a
sound as of ten thousand thunderbolts rent the air, and the ground at the
same time trembled as in a violent earthquake. The horses plunged and
snorted, and then stood still in mute fear. The villains, who were looking
in the direction of the cave, saw a column of fire, smoke, earth, and rocks
heaved up in the air--a huge mass like a mountain--some portions to the
height of several hundred feet, and then fall again with a heavy crash,
making the earth vibrate beneath them. They knew then that the cave was in
ruins, and its place occupied by a shapeless mass of matter.

The explosion took place a little after three o'clock in the morning, and
consequently but a few minutes after 'Squire Williams and his party had set
out for the swamp. They heard it, and felt the quivering of the earth,
though twenty-five miles distant, and for a moment paused in alarm, fully
believing it was an earthquake. But as no repetition of the sound or shock
took place, they concluded the danger was past, and proceeded on their way.

Duffel also heard the report and felt the shaking, and it filled him with
alarm. He was nearing the swamp at the time, and for a little while
hesitated to proceed, but finally did so, arriving at the same conclusion
as did the party in his rear.

It became the general belief in the neighborhood, and for forty miles
around the cave, that the noise and its accompaniments were to be
attributed to a veritable earthquake; and we believe a report to that
effect finally went the rounds of the press.

CHAPTER XXI.

EVELINE PURSUED BY WOLVES--BILL AND DICK--DUFFEL.

Terrible was the condition in which Eveline felt herself to be placed when
the deep-toned howls and piercing screams of the ferocious denizens of the
forest fell upon her ear! In a moment all the wild and horrible stories of
adventures with wild beasts she had ever heard or read about, came vividly
up