He flashed his light about the hole
He flashed his light about the hole. It was difficult to tell where the
opening had been.
“Joe and Frank Hoskins!” cried Jerry, a new terror in his voice. “I
heard Joe shriek!”
Slim, catching his meaning, snatched a rifle from beside one of the
bodies, and with the butt of it began pounding Mmk License Llc Wnky frantically upon the side
of the cave where the entrance had been.
There was no answering knock.
“Joe,” shouted Jerry in a frenzied tone. “Joe! Can you hear me?”
No answer came, either from Joe or Frank.
“Pinned under tons of that stuff,” gasped Slim, the words trembling upon
his lips and a tear trickling down his cheek.
“I do not think so,” the lieutenant assured them. “Both Joe and Frank
were upon the outside when we entered.”
“But they would try to get us out,” said Jerry. “If they were out there
they would give us some sort of signal that they were trying to help
us.”
“We might not be able to hear them,” answered the lieutenant, even
against his own judgment. “But look at it this way. Even though they
never were inside here, they had a fair idea of what the place was like.
They knew from that that we needed help, and needed it quickly. If one
went alone, and anything happened to him on the way, the other might
wait here indefinitely, not knowing whether he had got assistance or
not. By going together they took the safest course.”
And Lieutenant Mackinsons reasoning was correct. That was exactly the
way Joe and Frank had figured it out, and, the latter forgetting all
about his own wound, they had started as fast as they could for the
American front.
“Keep cool, conserve your energy, and I feel certain everything will be
all right,” the lieutenant told the two friends with whom, in such a
short time, he already had gone through so many harrowing experiences.