Page:The Missing Chums.djvu/170

164 made it impossible for them to rest comfortably. The gangsters had not even provided them with a blanket.

"We've been chained in here every night since they caught us," Chet whispered. "We've had to sleep on the bare rock."

Finally the silence was broken by the sound of steel against rock. Joe was trying to break the lock of his handcuffs. The effort was difficult, because his hands were cuffed behind him. But, as he had said, the handcuffs were rusty and of an antiquated type. Against the hard rock he could feel them gradually giving way.

For more than ten minutes he battered the lock, the steel digging into his wrists. He worked as quietly as possible, with long intervals between each attempt. For a while he was afraid the effort would be fruitless, as even the rusty steel seemed obdurate. Then, suddenly, he felt the lock give way. He eased his hands out of the cuffs with a sigh of relief.

"I'm free," he whispered to the others.

There were suppressed exclamations of delight.

"How are you going to get us out?" whispered Frank.

"I'll try to find the keys."

A low murmur from the other cave arrested his attention. Swiftly he leaned back against