The Rover Boys on the Farm | Page 6

"Didn't know but
what we'd want to build a campfire this noon."
"We'll want one now--to dry our clothing by," said Tom. "Let us pick
up the driest of the sticks."
This they did, and having entered the cave, they made a good-sized
blaze. This sent a ruddy glow around the cavern, and as the boys moved
about fantastic shadows went dancing on the rocky walls, adding to the
weirdness of the scene.
From the fire each of the youths provided himself with a torch, and thus
equipped they moved around the cave with care, taking precautions not
to fall into any more holes. They soon found the opening on the
mountainside long and narrow and running downward.
"We don't want to get lost," cautioned Sam.
"Oh, we can always go back to the fire," answered Dick.
"Unless it goes out on us."

"It won't burn itself out for an hour--I saw to that before we left it."
As the boys advanced into the cave they came across a heap of bones.
Dick examined them carefully.
"Skeletons?" queried Sam, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Yes--of lambs and pigs," was the dry answer. "Somebody has been
making this a rendezvous and living on the fat of the land."
"Maybe that accounts for Jerry Burden's losses," suggested Tom. "He
said he lost a lamb last spring, and two pigs."
"Yes, and old Richard Feltham lost a pig and some chickens," added
Dick. "Maybe this has been a hangout for tramps."
"Do you think they are here still?" questioned Sam. "We don't want to
have any trouble."
"I am sure I don't know, Sam. But this proves one thing."
"That we can get out of the cave?"
"Exactly. See, here is an old coat and a pair of old shoes. Somebody
has been in the habit of coming here--and he wasn't in the habit of
getting in the way we got in."
They moved on, and soon reached a larger opening. Here they found a
bit of old harness and, further on, where the ground was soft, the tracks
of wagon wheels.
"Somebody has been in the habit of driving right in here!" exclaimed
Tom. "We are sure to get out!" and his face showed his relief.
"Hark! what's that?" cried Sam, and shrank back as a strange rumbling
was heard. "Is it an earthquake, or a landslide?"
"It's thunder, that's all," said Dick, a minute later, as they listened.

"To be sure--the storm was on us when we fell into the first hole,"
answered the youngest Rover.
"Perhaps we can be glad we are under shelter--if the storm is going to
be a bad one," came from Tom. "But, come on, I want to see daylight
again."
He moved on and then gave a cry of astonishment.
"Look!"
His brothers did so. On one side of the cave were piled thirty or forty
packing cases. The majority of them were empty, but three, directed to
one Jackson Dwight, Carwell, were full and nailed up.
"Well, I never!" murmured Sam. "Dick----"
"The freight thieves!" ejaculated the eldest Rover. "Don't you
remember what was in the paper before we went south, and what was
in again only yesterday? They have been missing freight from Carwell
and Boxton and half a dozen other stations for over a year. The thieves
must have brought their stuff here and then taken some of it from the
packing cases and carted it away again."
"It certainly looks like it," answered Tom. "Only three full cases left. I
wonder when these were taken?"
"Most likely only a short time ago," said Dick. "The cases look new."
"Do you suppose any of the freight thieves are around? If they are we
want to keep out of their way--if they are desperate characters."
They moved on, and then Dick called a sudden halt.
"I can see daylight ahead," he said. "And somebody is moving around.
Let us put out the torches."
His suggestion was speedily followed, and the three Rover boys
advanced with caution. At its outer end the cave became broader while

the roof was only about ten feet high.
"Hullo, here's another surprise," whispered Dick, as they came closer to
the opening. "Look at that!"
He pointed to one side of the cave and there the others saw an
automobile runabout standing and on the seat two men dressed for a
tour. They were talking to a third man, who was lounging against a
front wheel, smoking a brier-root pipe.
"Maybe they are the freight thieves," whispered Tom. "Let us get out of
sight and listen to what they have to say."
It was an easy matter to keep out of sight, for the walls of the cave were
very uneven at this point. They got behind a projection, and by
crawling