Pagina 129 van 439

"It's commodious, anyhow; and I reckon it's safe. If a man was to

get loose he couldn't reach the surface without taking somebody

into partner-ship with him. There ain't but three ways to

daylight; one by the shaft we came down, another by way of our

shaft-house, and the third by Dunke's, assuming he could break

through into the Mal Pais. He'd better not break loose and go to

wandering around. There are seventeen miles of workings down here

in the Jackrabbit, let alone the Mal Pais. He might easily get

lost and starve to death. Here he is at the end of this tunnel."

Steve flashed the light twice before he could believe his eyes.

There was no sign of Struve except the handcuffs depending from

an iron chain connected by a heavy staple with the granite wall.

Apparently he had somehow managed to slip from the gyves by

working at them constantly.