mmer of daylight in the distance? He
stumbled forward, over some loose stones, and presently came to a split
in the narrow passageway.

From overhead came a faint ray of daylight! He almost felt like giving a
shout of joy, so welcome was the sight. But then his heart sank once
more as he realized that the thin shaft of light came from a split in
some rocks which were fifty or sixty feet above his head. The walls were
so steep and slippery that to scale them was utterly out of the
question.

In front of Dave was now a solid wall of rock, so the youth knew that he
could not get out in that direction. With a heavy heart he retraced his
steps, trying to locate the opening by which he had entered the cave.
But the landslide, or earthquake, had changed the surroundings to such
an extent that he hardly knew how to turn to make the next move.

A youth less stout of heart than Dave might have sat down and given up
the case as hopeless. But our hero was not made of such stuff. He moved
on slowly, in one direction and then another, trying out what looked as
if they might be passages to the outer air.

And then came another distant rumble, showing that the earthquake, or
landslide, was not yet at an end. The boy held his breath, wondering if
it would come closer and annihilate him. But the rumble remained at a
distance, and in less than a minute passed away completely.

"Thank fortune, that didn't come here!" he murmured, and passed his hand
over his forehead, upon which the thick beads of cold perspiration had
gathered. He strained his ears for several seconds longer, but all
around him was now as silent as a tomb.

"Oh, I must get out!" he muttered, despairingly. "I must! There must be
some kind of an opening somewhere!"

Again he stumbled onward, into one passageway after another. Once the
place was so narrow that he became fairly wedged fast and had all he
could do to draw back. Then a sudden chill swept through his body,
making his teeth chatter.

Must he give up? Was that cave to become his tomb?

The thought forced itself upon Dave in spite of his effort to take a
more cheerful view of the situation. He was hemmed in--not an avenue of
escape seemed open.

"I won't give up! I won't! I won't!" he muttered, half savagely, and got
up from the rock on which he had sunk down to rest. Climbing around in
that place where the footing was so uncertain had taken both his wind
and his strength, and he was panting, and his kn