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256 some hole, he did not advance a step until he was sure of his footing.

"Shall we come?" called Tom, softly.

"Not yet," answered Dick.

He passed along a distance of fifteen or twenty feet Then the passageway widened, and he found himself standing on a rocky flooring that was comparatively smooth.

"Gracious! can this be one of the entrances to the smugglers' cave they told about?" he mused.

He continued to advance, and presently caught sight of a flicker of light, playing over the uneven rocks that formed the roof of the cavern.

"That must come from a campfire!" he murmured. "And if it does, I must have struck the right spot. Maybe this is where they are holding Dora's mother a prisoner!"

He continued to go forward, and the light of the fire grew brighter. Then of a sudden, he heard a step behind him.

"Will spy on me, will you!" cried a voice, vindictively, and in a trice he was struck a blow on the back of the head. He went down in a heap, and a man leaped on top of him and held him fast. Then commenced a fierce struggle, in the midst of which Dick's pistol went off, making a tremendous report in that confined space. The bullet struck the rocks, doing no damage.