“Who saw Shadow last? Does anybody know?” questioned Dave, as the whole crowd looked at each other in perplexity.

“He was close to me when we started the race,” answered Phil. “But I soon got ahead of him and turned to one side of some big rocks while he went to the other side.”

“And didn’t you see him after that?”

“No. But I heard him call to some of the others.”

“I think he was close behind me during the first half of the race,” broke in Roger. “But after that I drew away from him.”

“We’ll go back to where we started from and keep calling his name,” said our hero. “He’ll be bound to hear us if he is anywhere around.”

“Perhaps he went down into one of those openings between some of the rocks and was knocked unconscious,” suggested Ben. “Such a thing could easily happen.”

“Oh, I hope he isn’t seriously hurt!” cried the senator’s son.

131Very soberly the four youths climbed back to the summit of the mountain, and then began to retrace their steps toward the other side. They kept calling Shadow’s name continually, but no answer came back.

“Over yonder is the worst opening I had to jump over,” remarked Roger, when they were near the center of the summit.

“Let us look at it, right away,” returned our hero quickly.

All hurried to the place Roger had mentioned. It was an opening between some rough rocks, and was all of a hundred feet long and two to eight feet in width. How deep it was they could not surmise, for the walls curved from one side to the other, so that the bottom of the opening was out of sight.

“Looks to me as if it might be the entrance to some cave,” announced Ben, as all came to a halt on the brink of the opening. “Listen!”

The crowd did so, and at the bottom of the opening they heard a faint splashing of water as it poured over the rocks.

“Must be an underground stream down there,” remarked Phil.

“Perhaps it’s the same stream that furnishes water to the spring at our camp,” suggested Dave. He sent up a shout. “Hello, Shadow! Are you down there?”

132“Help! Help!” came in a low voice from below.

“He’s down there, as sure as fate!” exclaimed Roger.

“Are you hurt?” shouted Phil.

“I’m pretty well scraped up, that’s all. But the rocks down here are all smooth and wet, and I can’t climb up—try my best.”

“You are in no danger just at present, are you?” questioned Dave quickly.

“I don’t think so—unless you fellows roll down some stones on me.”

“We’ll be careful about that,” answered Ben; and lost no time in pushing back a number of stones which lay close to the brink of the opening.

“We’ll have to get a rope or something with which to haul him up,” said Phil. “Dave, did we bring anything of that sort along?”

“Yes, I’ve got a good strong lariat tied to my saddle,” answered our hero. “Frank Andrews advised taking it along; for when you are traveling among the mountains you can never tell when you’ll need such a rope. I’ll go back and get it.”

“Maybe you’d better bring a few straps along, too, Dave,” put in Roger. “Then, if Shadow can’t haul himself up, he can tie himself fast and we can pull him up.”

“Good idea, Roger. I’ll do it.”

133Dave was soon on his way, and in less than twenty minutes he was back to the spot, carrying the lariat he had mentioned and also a number of straps taken from the outfit. The lariat was of rawhide, and more than once had been tested by the civil engineers for its strength. It had been purchased by Andrews from a cowboy in Texas, after the latter had given a very fine exhibition of lassoing steers with it.

“We’re sending down the end of a lariat with some straps,” called down Dave. “Let us know as soon as it is low enough.”

“All right,” answered Shadow, but somewhat feebly, for the tumble had evidently knocked the breath out of him.

Tying the loose straps to the end of the rope, and weighting the whole down with a stone, Dave lowered the lariat carefully over the edge of the opening. It slipped through his hands readily, and soon the end disappeared from sight over a bulge of the wall below. All of the others watched the rope as it disappeared into the opening. They waited for some cry from Shadow, stating that he had hold of the other end, but none came.

“Maybe it caught somewhere on the way down,” suggested Ben.

“Well, here’s the end of it anyway,” announced Dave. “And the other end must be free 134for I can still feel the weight of the straps and the stone.”

“Hello, down there!” shouted Roger. “Can you see the rope?”

“Yes,” answered Shadow. “Please let it down about two feet farther.”

“I can’t do that just now. I’m at the end of the rope,” answered Dave. “Just wait a few minutes, and we’ll fix you up.”

“We’ll have to tie something to it,” said Roger. “Too bad we didn’t keep one or two of those straps up here.”

“Let’s get a stout sapling and tie that to the lariat,” said Phil. “That will be even stronger than the straps.”

On the edge of the summit they had noticed a number of saplings growing, and in a few minutes they had one of these uprooted. It was ten or twelve feet in height, and plenty strong enough for the purpose intended. It was tied fast by the roots, and then they lowered it into the opening, all taking hold of the other end, so that it might not slip from them.

“All right, I’ve got the rope now,” announced Shadow, a few seconds later. “Just hold it as it is.”

“Do you think you can haul yourself up, Shadow?” asked Dave. “Or do you want us to do the hauling?”

135“I guess you had better do it if you can,” answered the youth below. “That tumble made me kind of weak and shaky.”

“Then strap yourself good and tight,” answered Roger. “See to it that the lariat won’t slip from the straps, either.”

It was almost dark at the bottom of the hollow into which Shadow had tumbled. He was in water up to his ankles. But this the unfortunate youth did not mind, for the stream had enabled him to bathe his hurts and obtain a refreshing drink. Now he lost no time in fastening one of the large straps around his waist, and to this he attached the lariat by a firm knot. Then, to make assurance doubly sure, he tied another of the straps to the rope and around his left wrist.

“Now I’m ready!” he shouted to those above. “But do be careful and don’t send any rocks or dirt down on my head!” His hat had fallen off and into the stream, but he had recovered it, and was now using it as a protection for his head.

“We’ll be as careful as we............