Down and down slid the four young hunters, until they landed on a pile of tree limbs and dead leaves. They had gone down in a hole a dozen feet in diameter and fifteen or more feet deep. This hole opened into a sort of cave and from the cave came a growl that fairly made their hair raise on end.

"It's the bears' den sure!" cried Whopper.

"Yes, and I hear the second bear!" gasped Shep. "Get ready to shoot him as soon as he appears!"

All scrambled to their feet and brought around their weapons, ready for use. They looked to ward the cave-like opening and waited anxiously. Would the second bear leap out upon them and give them battle?

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE CAVES IN THE MOUNTAIN

One, two, three minutes pa.s.sed, and still the young hunters stood with their firearms ready for use. But no bear showed itself. The silence was so intense it was positively painful.

"I am sure I heard him," said the doctor's son, presently.

"So did I," added Snap. "I think he must be laying for us, thinking we are following him."

"Excuse me from going into that cave," came from Whopper. "Why, if a fellow went in there the bear would be sure to have everything all his own way."

"And you'd come out and still be on the inside," said Snap, with a short laugh. "Well, I don't know about this," he continued, drawing a long breath.

Again they waited. Then the leader of the club grew a little bolder and approached the mouth of the cave cautiously, holding his rifle in front of him.

"Snap, be careful," warned Shep.

"Let us get out of this hole and then throw fire brands into the cave---like we did when we were after the wildcats," suggested Giant.

"It's going to be no easy matter getting out of this hole," answered the doctor's son.

"Well, the bears must get out."

"Maybe not---that cave may have a back entrance."

Snap walked slowly to the very mouth of the cave and peered inside.

Nothing was to be seen. He picked up a stone and threw it inside.

Not a sound but the falling of the stone followed.

"I believe the bear has gone," he announced. "I can't hear a thing."

"He may be playing a trick on you, Snap," said Giant.

"No, I think he has run away, by some back door, as you might call it."

One after another the young hunters approached the mouth of the cave timidly and peered inside. As their eyes became accustomed to the gloom they made out that the cave was of good size. The other end was lost in the shadows.

It had now begun to rain steadily, and to keep from getting soaked they stepped into the mouth of the cave, taking with them several dry sticks and some dry leaves from the bottom of the outer hole.

These they lit, and used the sticks for torches. They saw at once that the cave was really a bears' den, for the bones of numerous animals lay scattered over the uneven flooring. But no bears were in sight, and this made them bolder and more willing to inspect their surroundings.

"I believe that bear ran away," said Snap, at last. "For all we know, we'll never see him again."

"Well, I want to see him, but not at too close range," answered the doctor's son.

They soon discovered that the cave was very irregular in shape, running around under the mountain in something of the form of a double letter S. In some places the roof was far overhead while in others it came down in sharp rocks that they could readily touch with their hands.

"A fellow could camp out here, if he wanted to," said Snap, as he gazed around in curiosity.

"Providing the bears did not disturb him," answered Giant. "By the way, what are you going to do about that bear we shot?"

"Oh, we'll go after him later on," answered the doctor's son.

"Perhaps he'll get away."

"I think we can trail him by his blood," said Snap. "He was certainly wounded quite a bit. I think he is dead."

They walked on through the big cave, finally reaching the other end. Here they saw a small hole, through which the rain was falling.

"That's the way the bear got out," cried Whopper.

"Just listen to the rain!" exclaimed Shep. "I am glad we are under cover."

It was now raining furiously, while ever and anon they could see a flash of lightning and hear the crack of thunder. All were glad they were not on the mountainside.

"It's dangerous to be in the forest during such lightning," said the doctor's son. "We might be struck, or caught by some falling tree."

"We might as well remain in the cave until the storm lets up," said Snap.

Around the small hole they found some more leaves and tree limbs, and after several failures---for the leaves were wet---they succeeded in building a small campfire. Around this they huddled and ate their lunch, in the meantime keeping on the alert for the possible appearance of the bear or of any other wild beast.

The rain continued to come down as heavily as ever after they had finished their brief meal, and growing impatient they began to wander around the cave, peering into this corner and that. Soon Shep found an opening which led to a cave still higher up, and through this they crawled.

"This must be the second story," said Whopper. "See any bedrooms?"

This little joke made them all smile and put them a little more at ease. The upper cave was not as large as that below, and from an opening at one end they could look out on the mountainside. But the opening was near the top of a cliff, so getting out that way was impossible.

"I guess we'll have to climb down again, to get out," said Snap.

He had hardly spoken when there came a blinding flash of lightning, followed immediately by a thunderbolt that was deafening. The cave was filled with a curious smell, and Giant and Whopper were practically stunned for the moment.

"Gracious, that was a crash---" began Snap, when he broke off short.

A crash of another kind outside had reached his ears. A big tree standing directly over the cave was coming down, split in twain by the lightning stroke. It struck the top of the cave with tremendous force, causing a number of loose stones to rattle down on the heads of the young hunters.

"We must get out of this!"

"The place must be caving in!"