Page:The Secret of the Caves.djvu/173

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
The Shotgun
167

Only then did he become aware that Joe had disappeared. With a growl of alarm, he swung about, just in time to see Joe vanishing beyond the cave mouth.

"He's gone!" roared the captain. "Come back here, you young scoundrel! Come back!"

He ran across the cave. Frank seized the opportunity to leap to his feet again. Captain Royal heard him and turned, raising the shotgun to his shoulder.

"You won't escape me!" he yelled.

The shotgun was leveled directly at the boy. Frank thought that the next moment would be his last. He could see Captain Royal's finger tightening about the trigger.

But there came an interruption from the mouth of the cave. Joe had heard the uproar and had realized his brother's danger. He had not fled. He had returned to the entrance, and there he gave vent to a shrill, blood-curdling shriek.

Captain Royal gave a shout of surprise.

"Who's that?" he exclaimed.

He whirled hastily about, but Joe had disappeared.

"Who's there?" he roared.

Joe, hidden beyond the rocks, shrieked again.

"Just wait!" yelled the captain. "I'll come out there and fix you. I'll fix you!"

Frank, in the meantime, had been circling

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.