He held up his torch so they could look down into something of a
sharp-edged basin of rocks. A dozen feet below they could see the water
pouring from one hole in the rocks and disappearing farther on.

Nearly an hour had been spent in walking and crawling around the big
cave. They had had several narrow escapes from pitfalls and were moving
with caution.

"Maybe we had better go back," suggested Roger.

"I was thinkin' thet myself," answered Abe Blower. "Nothin' much in
here, so far as I kin see. We might come back later an' have another
look--if we don't discover thet lost mine elsewhere," he added.

"You are sure this is the right district?" asked Dave.

"Oh, yes, the lost Landslide Mine can't be very far away," was the old
miner's reply.

They turned back, heading, as they thought, for the opening by which
they had entered. On and on they walked, occasionally slipping and
sliding where the rocks sloped. Then they came to a spot where there was
a wide crevice to cross.

"My gracious, did we jump over that when we came this way?" queried the
senator's son, as all gazed at the wide opening, which was of unknown
depth.

"We certainly did not!" declared Abe Blower.

"Then we have come the wrong way!" put in Dave, quickly.

"It sure looks like it, lad."

"If that's the case, we'll have to go back!" came from Roger. He looked
around them and his face paled a trifle. "Oh, do you think we are lost?"

"If we are not, we are next door to it," was Abe Blower's serious
answer.

CHAPTER XXIV

SEARCHING FOR THE LANDSLIDE MINE

Lost underground!

It was a terrible condition of affairs to contemplate, and for an
instant Dave's heart almost stopped beating and something like a chill
swept down his backbone. What if they should be unable to find their way
out of the rocky cave?

"We'll have to go back," said Abe Blower, in a low voice, after a pause,
in which the three of the party had gazed around at the walls of the
cavern and at each other. "An' we don't want to lose no time nuther,"
added the old miner.

"No, for the others will be wondering what has become of us," put in
Roger.

"It ain't thet so much, lad, it's the torches--they won't last forever."

All gazed at the lights and saw that the old miner was right. The first
ones they had lit had burnt out and the remaining lot were more than
half consumed.

Without further words they turned around, in an endeavor to retrace
their steps to the poi