Page:Adrift in the Pacific, Sampson Low, 1889.djvu/76

 Jenkins and Iverson, until he at last got them to bed and to sleep. Gordon and the others continued to discuss this strange affair. Every now and then the growling would be heard, and Fan would reply to it with a loud bark. Fatigue at last overcame them, and they went to bed, leaving Briant and Moko to watch; and till daylight silence reigned in French Den.

All were up early next morning. Baxter and Donagan crawled to the end of the hole. No sound could be heard. The dog ran to and fro without showing any uneasiness, and made no attempt to dash herself against the wall as she had done the night before.

"Let us work," said Briant.

"Yes," replied Baxter. "There will always be time to leave off if we hear any noise."

"Is it not possible," said Donagan, "that the growling was simply a spring in the rock!"

"Then we should hear it now," said Wilcox, "and we don't." "That is so," said Gordon. "I think it more likely to have come from the wind in some crack leading down from the top of the cliff."

"Let us go up on the top and see," said Service.

This was agreed to.

About fifty yards away there was a winding path to the summit of the hill. In a few minutes Baxter and two or three others were walking up it over French Den. Their journey was useless. The ridge was clothed with short close herbage, and had no opening by which a current of air or a stream of water could find its way in. And when the boys got down again they knew no more than the youngsters.

The work of digging the hole was continued to the end of the day. There was none of the noise of the evening before, but Baxter examined the wall, and found that it sounded hollow. Was the tunnel going to end in a cave? Was it in this cave that the mysterious sound had arisen? As may be imagined, the boys