y some
of the furze branches. Perhaps Dickie was lying bound, hidden in the
middle of the furze bush.

"Dickie," he said softly, "Dickie."

But no one answered. Only True sneezed and snuffed and blew and went on
digging.

So then Edred took hold of a branch of furze to cut it, and it was loose
and came away in his hand without any cutting. He tried another. That
too was loose. He took off his jacket and threw it over his hands to
protect them, and seizing an armful of furze pulled, and fell back, a
great bundle of the prickly stuff on top of him. True was pulling like
mad at the chain. Edred scrambled up; the furze he had pulled away
disclosed a hole, and True was disappearing down it. Edred saw, as the
dog dragged him close to the hole, that it was a large one, though only
part of it had been uncovered. He stooped to peer in, his foot slipped
on the edge, and he fell right into it, the dog dragging all the time.

"Stop, True; lie down, sir!" he said, and the dog paused, though the
chain was still strained tight.

Then Edred was glad of his bedroom candle. He pulled it out and lighted
it and blinked, perceiving almost at once that he was in the beginning
of an underground passage. He looked up; he could see above him the
stars plain through a net of furze bushes. He stood up and True went on.
Next moment he knew that he was in the old smugglers' cave that he and
Elfrida had so often tried to find.

The dog and the boy went on, along a passage, down steps cut in the
rock, through a rough, heavy door, and so into the smugglers' cave
itself, an enormous cavern as big as a church. Out of an opening at the
upper end a stream of water fell, and ran along the cave clear between
shores of smooth sand.

And, lying on the sand near the stream, was something dark.

True gave a bound that jerked the chain out of Edred's hand, and leaped
upon the dark thing, licking it, whining, and uttering little dog moans
of pure love and joy. For the dark something was Dickie, fast asleep. He
was bound with cords, his poor lame foot tied tight to the other one.
His arms were bound too. And now he was awake.

"Down, True!" he said. "Hush! Ssh!"

"Where are they--the man and woman?" Edred whispered.

"Oh, Edred! You! You perfect brick!" Dickie whispered back. "They're in
the further cave. I heard them snoring before I went to sleep."

"Lie still," said Edred; "I've got a knife. I'll cut the cords."

He cut them, and Dickie tried to