On and on they went, the darkness illuminated
only by the torches they carried. But they
noticed that the air was still fresh, and that a
gentle wind blew toward them. The passage
was undoubtedly artificial, a tunnel made by the
hands of men now long crumbled into dust. It
had a slightly upward slope, and this, Professor
Bumper said, indicated that it was bored upward
and perhaps into the very heart of the mountain
somewhere in the interior of which was the
Beecher party.
Just how far they went they did not know, but
it must have been more than two miles. Yet
they did not tire, for the way was smooth.
Suddenly Tom, who, with Professor Bumper,
was in the lead, uttered a cry, as he held his
torch above his head and flashed it about in a
circle.
"We're blocked!" he exclaimed. "We're up
against a stone wall!"
It was but too true. Confronting them, and
extending from side to side across the passage
and from roof to floor, was a great rough stone.
Immense and solid it seemed when they pushed
on it in vain.
"Nothing short of dynamite will move that,"
said Ned in despair. "This is a blind lead.
We'll have to go back."
"But there must be something on the other
side of that stone," cried Tom. "See, it is pierced
with holes, and through them comes a current of
air. If we could only move the stone!"
"I believe it is an ancient door," remarked
Professor Bumper.
Eagerly and frantically they tried to move it
by their combined weight.
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