"It worked," Chahda said. "But was so silent we never hear it!"
Scotty gripped his rifle and snapped off the safety catch, then holding the weapon in one hand like a pistol, he took his flashlight in the other hand and started down. Zircon was right behind him.
Rick got to his feet and felt for the dark-light camera. It hadn"t been jarred because his body had cushioned it. But he wanted to be sure the strap was still secure on his shoulder. Satisfied that all was well, he started down the steps after Zircon. He didn"t fancy going into the underground part of the cave, but there was no choice. This was what they had come for.
There were ten broad stone steps carved from the rock. Rick shot his light around and saw that a heavy beam ran from the underside of the trap door down to the bottom of the stairs where it ended in a stone block. It was a counterbalance, the weight of the stone evidently just enough heavier than the door so that moving the latch would let it swing open. The latch itself was a piece of metal, probably bronze, that slid in a channel carved in the underside of the door. Rick guessed that the sideways pressure of the blade in the slot had let the door open rather than the downward shove Zircon had given. A cord of leather ran from the latch back along the corridor so that anyone entering the rock tunnel could tug on it and open the door without climbing the stairs.
Rick joined Zircon and Scotty at the bottom of the steps. Chahda was right behind him. The stairs ended in a long, low pa.s.sage, just high and wide enough for a man to pa.s.s. It was perhaps fifty feet long, and it ended in blackness that indicated a bigger pa.s.sage, or another cave, beyond. Rick touched the walls and noted the marks of ancient chisels.
The pa.s.sage had been cut in the living rock.
"Have your rifles ready," Zircon directed. "Chahda, you have the big light. Lead the way and we"ll cover you."
Chahda switched on his big light and took the lead. The others, rifles ready for instant use, followed close behind. Big Zircon held his weapon over Chahda"s shoulder as the Hindu boy walked slowly down the pa.s.sage.
In a moment they were at the entrance to the next pa.s.sage or cave.
Chahda peered in, turning his light from side to side. Zircon, looking over his head, said, "A large cave beyond. Very large. Chahda, do you see anything?"
Chahda shook his head. "Only rock. Nothing inside I can see."
"All right. Go ahead."
The Hindu boy stepped into the cave, the rest following. Rick saw that Zircon hadn"t exaggerated. The cave was even larger than the one that held the Black Buddha. Chahda"s big light picked out the opposite wall dimly.
The scientist brought his own light into play, turning it on the walls nearest them. "Odd," he muttered. "The character of the rock changes completely. This is almost surely limestone."
Rick had to grin. Even chasing Long Shadow through an underground cavern couldn"t quiet Zircon"s scientific curiosity. "What do we do now, professor?" he asked.
Zircon looked up from his examination of the whitish rock. "Eh? Oh.
Sorry, Rick. Why, I suppose we explore a bit more. I don"t think we"d better go far, however. Now that we know that Long Shadow is here, we had better return to camp and get extra food, batteries, and ammunition.
However, I would like a look at the opposite side. There must be further pa.s.sages, because this cave obviously doesn"t contain our friend."
"Suppose...." Scotty started to say.
Rick never found out what Scotty was going to say, for at that moment the four whirled as something grated behind them. They were in time to see metal rods slam home across the entrance through which they had come!
Rick and Scotty reached the entrance first. Each of the boys grabbed one of the rods and tugged. They were rigid.
"We"re locked in!" Rick"s voice was harsh.
"Let me look," Zircon said quietly.
The boys stood back while he made a careful inspection. From floor to top of the pa.s.sage entrance the metal bars blocked the way. They were about an inch thick, s.p.a.ced only six inches apart. They had shot out of holes in one side of the pa.s.sage and lodged in corresponding holes on the opposite side.
None of them had noticed the holes. They had been too curious about what lay beyond the pa.s.sage.
Zircon put his ma.s.sive strength against one of the bars. It didn"t move.
He tried to slide it either way. There wasn"t even a fraction of an inch of slack.
He turned, and at the expression on his face a shiver slid down Rick"s spine. Long Shadow had caught them neatly.
They were trapped in the Caves of Fear!
CHAPTER XV
The Labyrinth
Zircon led the three boys to the center of the big cave, then spoke in a whisper. "I see no need in advertising our plans to the enemy. Keep your voices down. Now, what are we to do?"
"Long Shadow must be watching us from somewhere," Scotty said uneasily.
"But from where?"
"The walls are uneven," Rick pointed out. "There could be peepholes anywhere. But what I"d like to find is the place with the controls for that gate! It can"t be far from the entrance."
"Is true," Chahda agreed. He turned the big light on the barred entrance, then played it back and forth across the walls on that side of the cave. There was no break anywhere.
"Turn it on the other side," Zircon ordered.
Chahda did so. Now that they were closer to the far wall, openings could be seen. There were two, both of them door size. Except for the entrance through which they had come, they were the only openings in the cave.
Rick spoke up, and he was surprised that there was no shakiness in his voice. "Look, gang. If we stay here waiting for Long Shadow to open up, we might stay forever. I"d rather push on, at least for a little way."
Zircon looked at Scotty. "You"re the military expert. What chance have we in a fight?"
Scotty shrugged. "In an open fight, we have a good chance. Our rifles are better than any I"ve seen around here, and we can fire a lot faster.
But if they start potting at us from around corners and through holes in the rock...." He didn"t have to finish.
"Better we go ahead," Chahda said.
Zircon hesitated. "If this is the only entrance to the caverns, as seems quite likely, Long Shadow has trapped himself as well as us. He"ll have to open up to get out."
Rick didn"t think so. "There"s no opening under the Black Buddha except the one we came through. But we didn"t look around the pa.s.sage very thoroughly, so there might be a door of some kind."
"You"re right," Zircon agreed. "Very well. Let"s try going on. Rick, you bring up the rear, and keep looking back."
Rick objected. "Wouldn"t it be better for me to go ahead and use the infrared beam with the gla.s.ses? Then I could see perfectly."
The scientist considered. "It would be better if the caves ahead are large, yes. If they are not, our flashlights will do just as well. I think we"d better save the infrared battery as long as possible.
Incidentally, do you have a spare?"
"At camp," Rick said. It had been planned as a brief trip of exploration. He hadn"t thought spare batteries would be necessary. Now he blamed himself for being so shortsighted. It was always best to be prepared for anything.
"Can"t be helped now," Scotty said. "And speaking of batteries, we"d better use only two flashlights at a time, one in front and one in back."
"Excellent idea," Zircon approved. "I"ll take the lead. Scotty next, then Chahda, with Rick as rear guard. Now, which of the entrances do we try first? I vote for the one on the right."