With a cry of triumph he made the two ends fast. “Shure, Misther Frank!” cried the brave Irishman, “whin I reach the mouth av the shaft I’ll let the rope down an’ draw yez up.” Frank’s heart leaped with a wild thrill of hope. It was not impossible that Barney might succeed in his enterprise. It was a frightful distance to overcome, but the Celt had full confidence and any amount of pluck. Up he went, hand over hand upon the rope. He stood upon the beam above a moment later. Frank shot the rays of the lantern up through the darkness of the shaft. Barney had overcome over fifty feet of the thousand. But it was hard to say what obstacles might not be before him. Yet the plucky Irishman realized that any chance of the sort was better than lying down to die at the bottom of the shaft. “Whurroo! Misther Frank!” he cried, with exultation. “Shure, I’m makin’ out foinely. There’s another beam jist over me head.” Frank murmured an inward prayer for the success of his faithful servitor. But a moment later all the hopeful plans were dashed. An end of the rope came tumbling down. A moment later Barney came down and swung into the passage. “Shure, Misther Frank, it’s the ind av us!” he said, dismally. “What?” cried Frank, “couldn’t you go any further?” “I cudn’t, Misther Frank. Shure the nixt beam was more nor eighty feet above me head an’ I cudn’t throw the rope over it nohow.” The last straw seemed to have given way. Death in its most hideous form certainly seemed to confront the two prisoners. A groan of despair escaped Frank’s lips. He covered his face with his hands. “I am not a coward,” he said, earnestly, “but truly, Barney, it seems hard, indeed, to die in this manner.” “Shure it’s all av that, Misther Frank,” said the brave Celt. “Av it was not so far, I think we cud dig our way out av the place.” With an instinctive feeling that this might be possible, they retreated to the far end of the passage. But the sober reflection that there were many hundred feet of earth between them and the outer air, and that they had no tools to dig with, dispersed this theory like mist. Both sank down on the ground, overcome with despair. Frank’s head was near the wall of the passage, and suddenly he experienced a strange thrill. An odd sound came from beyond the wall of the passage. It was not far distant, either, and as the young inventor listened, he heard very distinctly the ring of pickaxes and the low hum of voices. It was an astounding discovery, and caused him to apply his ear closely to the passage wall. CHAPTER XI. INTO THE GREASERS’ DEN. There was no disputing the fact. The sounds which came to Frank’s hearing were plain and unmistakable. The ring of pickaxes was quite audible, and could not have been twenty feet distant through the wall of earth. The young inventor was dazed with the force of this realization.