For hours they kept at work in a lively manner. A deep hole had been excavated. They had made a distance of full fifteen feet into the solid earth. Frank guessed from the hollow sounds that they were now not many feet from the inner mine. His theory proved correct. In less than twenty minutes later his bar went through the wall of earth and he lost it. But, fortunately, with the shovel they were able to enlarge the aperture sufficiently to enable him to pass through. Barney followed quickly. They were now in the new mine. All was darkness, but Frank cautiously opened the slide of his lantern. The tools of the miners lay about, but none of the latter were in sight. The coast was clear apparently, and they moved forward, not, however, without great caution. The passage seemed to extend a great ways through the earth. They followed it for what seemed a good while and yet there was presented no sign of the main shaft. “That is curious!” exclaimed Frank, in surprise. “There certainly is a main shaft somewhere. We must soon find it.” “Begorra, maybe there’s none at all,” said Barney, logically. “Perhaps it leads into some koind av a cave or the loikes.” There was more in Barney’s remark of a pertinent sort than seemed at the moment likely. Suddenly Frank came to a stop. “Goodness gracious!” he exclaimed. “What does that mean?” “Pwhat?” asked Barney. “Why, don’t you see?” “Begorra, it’s a loight.” “Certainly.” Far down the passage the faint gleam of light was seen. It was not daylight as the prisoners well knew at that hour. They paused and watched it intently for some time. At first Frank had been inclined to believe it a lantern carried by some of the greasers, who were coming back into the mine to work. But a few moments’ study convinced him that this was not so. “That is at the end of this passage,” he declared. “Come on, Barney. Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible.” They pressed forward at a rapid pace. Every moment the light grew larger and plainer. Then Frank saw that it occupied the whole size of the passage and at once understood that it was a chamber beyond illuminated. This theory was borne out perfectly well, when, a few moments later, they came to the mouth of the passage. A wonderful scene was spread before them. They came out upon a sort of circular gallery about a deep amphitheater which lay below them. The passage was only one of many leading into this gallery, and there were other galleries of similar sort. It was far from being a new mine, as Frank saw at a glance. Indeed, it might have been older than the mine they had just escaped from. The light which illuminated the amphitheater, which was of large dimensions, was created by a large pitchwood fire burning in the center of the mine floor below. Frank looked up and saw patches of the night sky through apertures in the roof of the mine, which was not far above their heads.