The entrance to this cave was undoubtedly closely guarded.
The boy crept along cautiously. The slope was steep, with here and
there a ledge which had to be surmounted or circled, always at great
risk. In a few hours the moon would be up, and then the work he had
before him would be more difficult.
"I must get into the cave before the moon rises!" he thought. "But
how?"
When he came to the precipice in the side of the mountain from which
the cave opened, he saw the black spot which marked the entrance. It
was not large, and, close in front, sitting with his back against the
rock, was a guard!
Ned lay down to wait. When the moon rose it would cast the shadow of
the mountain on that spot. For a few hours more he might wait for his
chance.
Directly he heard a call which brought him to an alert attitude in an
instant. It was the call of the wolf pack, sharp, vicious, warning!
There was a movement at the mouth of the cave, and a quick light
showed for only a second. Then came a sound of footsteps negotiating
the gravelly slope.
Ned dropped back to the west. The call had come from that direction.
It might have been uttered either by Frank or by one of the boys left
at the camp.
Presently the snarl was heard in a dark crevice toward which the boy
was descending.
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