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Rh gloom. "It's a sort of ledge. There is a wider opening further down."

"Is the box there?"

"I don't see it—yet. Hold onto the rope, for I may slip from here at any instant."

Dick promised to do so, and all kept the line taut as before. They heard Menden moving around and heard him toss several small rocks aside.

Then came a sudden yell, followed by the fall of some dirt or rocks, they could not tell which. The rope came up so quickly that all fell back in dismay.

"Something is wrong!" gasped Don. "Menden, are you all right?"

There was no answer to his cry, and he and Dick bent over the edge to investigate. But the torch was hidden, or had gone out, and they could see nothing.

"Haul up the rope," said old Jacob, quietly; and it was quickly done. The noose which had been around Menden's body was gone, and the end of the line showed that it had been cut by the edge of a jagged stone.