CHAPTER IV.

WHAT LITTLE SNAP SAW.

Before entering the unknown dangers of the mysterious cave, Little Snap had seen that Jack was standing a short distance away, as complacently as might be.

"If I do not come back, Jack, go on to Daring's Diamond with the mail," he said, speaking as if to a human being.

The intelligent animal pricked up his ears, and answered with a low whinny.

The postboy's body was inside the mouth of the cavern when he had begun the speech to Mrs. Raggles.

It was too dark for him to see more than that the underground pathway descended at an angle of about forty-five degrees. But the moment his feet touched upon this portion of the rock he suddenly found himself slipping down the decline at a rapid rate.

In vain he threw out his hands to stop himself. The surface was like glass, over which he shot with the rapidity of lightning.

He may have uttered a cry at the outset, but the shock was so sudden and thrilling that he was unconscious of it if he did so. His whole attention was centered upon trying to check his fearful momentum.

He was carried onward near to the right wall, and he succeeded in catching upon the rough surface twice during his wild passage.

The first time his hands slipped upon the wet, slimy rock, the mishap seemed to give greater impetus to his descent. Profiting by this failure, he seized upon another projection with a firmer hold, but the rocky knob broke away beneath his weight, and the piece went flying from his bleeding fingers ahead of him on the downward course.

Its collision with the glassy floor caused a dull reverberation to go through the subterranean recesses, quickly followed by a sharp splash of water!

This last sound came from below him, and Little Snap had barely time to understand that an abyss of great depth yawned at his feet before he was upon its very brink.

The warning from the stone came barely in season for him to renew his efforts to catch on the rugged wall, which he did with more vigor than before.

Again he found his hold broken, by the fearful momentum with which he was carried on, but the shock was such that he was lifted up clear from the rock and carried completely over the chasm.

Striking on the very rim of the farther side, he managed to keep from falling backward into the pit by a herculean effort.

The next moment, quite overcome by the ordeal, he sank upon the rock in a sort of stupor. He soon rallied, however, when he tried to penetrate the gloom around him sufficiently to note his surroundings.

Though his eyes grew more accustomed to the blinding gloom in a few minutes, and it was less painful to his gaze, he was unable to see the nearest object with any certainty. Singularly enough, a dull, gray ring lay at his feet.

This he knew marked the abyss which he had so narrowly escaped. The spot was oblong in shape, and about six feet in width by ten or twelve in length.

Not a sound broke the oppressive stillness of the cavern, save a faint murmur borne up from the depths like the gentle plashing of slowly moving water.

By this time Little Snap had come to the conclusion that the unfortunate Raggles, father and sons, had come to an untimely fate by falling into the abyss, having been killed outright by the fall.

With no way to estimate the distance to the bottom of the place, all that seemed possible for him to do was to return to the outside world.

But was this possible for him to do?

He had crossed over the abyss, but how was he to get back? Little Snap, as fertile as he was in resources, for once was baffled.

Finding that there was no chance for him to pass over by clinging to the wall on either side, he concluded to explore the passage beyond, with the hope that he might find some other way of exit.

Slowly and carefully he groped his way along for several yards, finding that the passageway followed a zig-zag course as it penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of the earth.

Its course, however, was no longer downward, but on a comparatively level plane. This gave him additional courage to press on.

The walls had been high enough for him to stand upright soon after passing the entrance.

With but a faint idea of how far he was going from the mouth of the cavern, he pursued the winding passage for what seemed a long time to him, when, suddenly, after turning an abrupt angle, a light flashed in the space ahead.

This caused him to stop with surprise, and he was about to shout for joy, feeling that he had at last found his way to daylight, when his outburst was checked by the sound of a human voice!

Naturally of a cautious disposition, he carefully suppressed all sound, until he should know whom he was to meet in that most unlikely place.

He soon realized that it was not daylight which had sent such a ray of hope to his heart, but the flickering glare of a torch stuck in one of the crevices of the cavern's rocky walls.

The first voice was quickly followed by another, and unable to see the speakers, he crept forward as silently as possible on his hands and knees, until he found himself at the end of the passage, and where it opened out into a large underground room—larger than he could see by the feeble light of the resinous pine knot.

Near the flickering torch, sitting squat upon the rocky floor, he was amazed to behold four men, evidently holding an earnest conversation.

Ordinarily, the postboy would have made his presence known at once, but the words already being spoken by one of the quartet were of such a nature that he checked the salutation upon his lips and listened, with bated breath, to the following dialogue:

"The first person to get out of the way is that postboy."

The speaker was a man above medium height, judging as he sat upon the bottom of the cavern, and he spoke in a deep, guttural tone.

He had small, snakish eyes, and the most prominent feature of his round face was a heavy, reddish mustache. He had the appearance of being a military person.

All of the four were strangers to Little Snap, who was listening intently for the next utterance.

The following speaker was a short, thickset man, with a closely-trimmed gray beard, who said:

"That won't be a big job."

"I ain't so sure o' it," remarked a third, younger than the others, and smaller of stature. "Shag says——"

A warning gesture from the first spokesman caused him to stop with his sentence unfinished.

"No names are allowed to be spoken here," growled he who was evidently leader of the party. "Don't fergit yourself again, man."

"I reckon we air safe 'nough here," retorted the other. "I'll warrant there ain't a soul nearer'n Hollow Tree."

"Never can be too careful; rocks have ears sometimes. I could have sworn I heard a man's voice not ten minutes ago. But it's you we came here to hear talk," nodding his head toward the last person of the quartet, who had remained quiet so far. "What have you learned?"

"Much that is mighty pleasing," replied the last, in a tone which caused the concealed postboy to start with surprise.

"Hark! I thought I heard some move!" exclaimed the chief, half starting to his feet.

"'Pears to me ye air mighty skeery to-day," growled he who had accidentally spoken the name of the postmaster at Hollow Tree.

Little Snap crouched closer to the rock in breathless silence, fearful he had betrayed himself.

When he had become reassured that such was not the case, he scrutinized the fourth speaker more closely, but without discovering a familiar feature. In the midst of his speculative study the man said:

"Yes; everything is working in our favor. I have seen him at Six Roads, and he tells me he will back us in all we undertake. He will look after that end of the route. We have already got at least three of the offices under our thumb. He says he can cook the goose of that upstart who thinks he can run the Kanawha any way he chooses. The governor says for us to keep still until he can carry out a little plan of his, and then——"

"Men get rusty lying around in the damp," said the chief.

"Better get a little rusty than to take too much risk. It's my opinion we can do no better than to wait his move."

"What will the Acreites do while we loll around?"

"Let 'em do what they please; we ain't going to leave a grease spot of them before we get through. I tell you it is the biggest scheme ever afoot since the days of old Burr, and when we have carried out our plans we can snap our fingers at even Uncle Sam."

"That all sounds well, but I ain't so much confidence in that old duffer at Six——Hello! what's up?"

The abrupt appearance of a newcomer upon the fitful scene caused every man of the four to spring to his feet, and instinctively each sought the firearm he carried at his side.

"It is only our guard," said the chief, as he recognized the intruder. "What is up, Blake? Anything wrong?"

"There are strangers in the valley!" replied the newcomer.