“What’s that?” cried Boxy. “Evidently something is giving way!” exclaimed Jack. “Suah de roof’s comin’ down!” howled Pickles. “That sounds like it, certainly,” said Harry, who was the calmest of the crowd. “Rush for outside!” yelled Andy, as he made for the doorway. “Andy, come back!” called Jack, catching hold of him. “That’s all right, but I don’t want to get crushed,” retorted his younger brother. “Each of us had better stay here,” put in Harry. “The trouble is all outside of the cave.” “Might be better in the open air than here----” began Boxy. “Especially when the roof seems to be giving way,” added Andy. “Yes, but you can’t pass the doorway without peril,” returned Jack. “Either it is a snowslide or a landslide,” cried Harry. “Wait and listen!” “Rocks comin’ down sumwhar!” grumbled Pickles. “Oh, my!” Ro-o-u-m! crash! Down in front of the cave-like shelter came a perfect avalanche of snow and loose stones, completely filling the doorway and bending in the brush wall until the poles that held it in place gave way at the top. “Back, all of you!” shouted Harry, and they retreated just in time to prevent themselves from being completely buried. After the first slide came several others, and for the time being the boys were afraid they would be buried alive under the cliff. They waited with wildly beating hearts for fully quarter of an hour after the last fall, and then began an examination of the situation. The entire front of the shelter was blocked with snow and loose stones, which lay over it to the depth of eight or ten feet. “Now the question is, how are we to get out?” said Jack, in dismay. “We are caught like rats in a trap.” “We must dig our way out, and that quickly,” responded Harry. “We must have fresh air to breathe.” “Set to work with anything you can find!” cried Andy. “A bit of board, or a tin plate, or anything!” All hands went at the wall of snow and loose stones with a will. The stuff was thrown to one side of the cave, and while Harry and Jack threw it back the others packed it away. At the end of half an hour a passageway all of eight feet had been made, when suddenly Jack gave a shout: “Hurrah! I have struck an open place at last!” “Good!” returned Harry. “Now let us all get out and see how much damage has really been done.” The small opening Jack had found was enlarged with all possible haste, and then one after another the boys crawled out into the open air. It was found that the entire top portion of the cliff, loaded down with ice and snow, had given way, and was lying all along the bottom, a distance of fully fifty feet. “Well, there is one satisfaction,” remarked Boxy, as he gazed at the wreck. “If we clear this away we need not be in fear of another such slide, for the top of the cliff is now as bare as a bald man’s head.” “That’s so,” replied Harry. “Come, fellows, we must make that entrance larger and get the snow out of the cave before we can hope to retire for the night.”