The stone tied to its end brought the rope down to the ground again. Barney quickly knotted the ends together and cried: “Shure it’s all roight now, Misther Frank, and shall I be the first to go an up?” “If you wish, Barney.” The Celt went hand over hand up the rope. He had served his time on shipboard and well knew how to go up a rope. In a few moments he had reached the cross beam and swung himself over into the passage. “Come on up, Misther Frank,” he cried. “Shure I’ll steady the rope.” “All right, Barney.” Frank was an adept in climbing a rope himself. In a very few moments he had reached the beam above and was quickly by Barney’s side. “Here we are,” he declared. “Now for business. First, let us see where this passage can go to.” “All right, sor.” Frank led the way into the passage. Fortunately he had not been deprived of his pocket lantern when captured by the greasers. This he now lighted and then the darkness of the place was quickly dispelled. It was seen that the passage extended many feet into the earth. They followed it for what seemed fully one hundred feet. Here it came to a termination. A blank wall of earth and quartz ledge was before them. There was no doubt but that the miners had once followed a vein of quartz through this passage, and had reached what they believed to be its termination here. The result of this dampening discovery upon Barney and Frank was disheartening in the extreme. “No chance,” said Frank, gloomily. “We are in for it, Barney.” “Bejabers, that’s so, Misther Frank,” acknowledged the Celt. “Yet, on me worrud, I hate to give it up.” “So do I,” agreed Frank. “But what can we do?” “Shure, I don’t know.” The pocket lantern burned brightly and illumined the passage. There was plainly no way to go further. To attempt to dig a way out would be the height of folly. A horrible death by starvation seemed to be inevitable. It was much drier and cleaner however in this passage than at the bottom of the pit. So it was decided to remain here. “We are thirty feet nearer the surface,” said Frank. “Oh, if there was only some way to go the rest of the way.” “Bejabers, I’m not sure but there is,” cried Barney, as he picked up the rope. “Av yez only remimber there’s beams acrost the shaft at intervals all the way up.” “Yes, but they are beyond our reach.” “Shure, mebbe I cud get the rope over thim in some way or other.” The Celt started for the mouth of the passage imbued with this wild hope. Frank lighted the way with the pocket lantern. In a few moments they had reached the mouth of the passage, and Barney measured the distance to the beam above. It was not more than twenty feet. “Whurroo!” he cried, exultantly. “I tell yez I kin jest do it an’ don’t ye fergit it. Luk out fer ye’silf.” Balancing himself upon the beam at the mouth of the passage Barney made a throw with the coil of rope. It passed over the upper beam and came down so that the Celt could grasp the other end of it.