t the base of the declivity was the proper point to
attack, scrambled down as best he could, closely followed by Sailor, and
attempted to force a way into the heart of the bushes from that point.
He soon found, however, that the tough tangle of creepers was not to be
conquered by his unaided hands alone, and so set to work vigorously with
his tomahawk, cutting away at the tangled and knotted mass, and dragging
the severed ends apart and aside until after about ten minutes of
arduous work he suddenly found himself at the mouth of what appeared to
be a spacious cavern under the rock from which Flora had fallen; and
there, prone upon the rocky floor, with her light clothing almost torn
from her body by her long-continued efforts to free herself, he found
his sweetheart lying insensible.

Kneeling upon the hard rocky floor, he raised the limp form in his arms
and lost not a moment in applying his flask of brandy to her lips; and
presently he had the satisfaction of feeling her stir in his arms.

"Ah, that is good! You are feeling better, darling, are you not?" he
exclaimed encouragingly. "Tell me, sweetheart, are you very much hurt?"

"No, I think not," she answered, with a sigh of contentment as she
realised that Dick was with her and that her troubles were now
practically over. "I only feel very sore all over from my long struggle
to free myself; and also rather cold. I have been here ever since
sunset last night, Dick, fighting to escape from those dreadful
entangling bushes; and I feel, oh, so utterly tired."

"My poor little girl," exclaimed Dick, tenderly, "you have had a very
trying experience, and one that might have proved very serious, too, but
for Sailor, here. Cold! of course you are. Here, let me wrap my jacket
round you--so; that is better. Now, I am going to light a fire; the air
of this place is chill as that of an ice-house. And while you are
warming yourself and getting a little life into your body I will clear
away the bush a trifle more, so that you can get out without
difficulty."

There was plenty of wood to be had, suitable for building a fire, by
simply cutting away the dry roots and tendrils of the bush in front of
the cave; and in a few minutes Dick had a good fire blazing, by the
light of which he saw that they were in the mouth of a cavern about
eight feet high that seemed to reach back into the heart of the rock for
a considerable distance. And some way back, lying just within the