“They’ve been out there ten minutes,” Bob finally whispered.
Time seemed to stand still in the cave.
“Fifteen minutes,” Bob said. “What are they — ”
Boots moved out beyond the thin barrier of rocks that covered the hole! Footsteps slipped and slid — and the voices faded away! The three men were gone!
In the small cave, the boys waited another fifteen minutes.
“They didn’t see the hole!” Diego exclaimed at last.
“They missed us!” Bob echoed.
“But,” Pete said, “they must have followed our tracks down. How could they miss the hole? Even if it’s dark out there now?”
Jupiter stared at the rocks that covered the hole. “And why couldn’t we hear words? We should have been able to hear what they said if they were right outside.”
For a moment, none of them spoke in the dark cave.
“Guys,” Pete said at last, “pull out some of the rocks.” Bob turned on his torch and propped it on a boulder. Then the four boys pulled out one of the large rocks they had rolled against the hole. Then they pulled out another. And a third.
There was no light or fresh air from outside.
Frantically, they removed all the rocks they had pushed into the entrance to the hidden cave.
No light, no wind, and no rain came in.
“Where is it?” Diego cried. “The entrance?”
Pete crawled into the dark space they had opened, and felt around at the end.
“Rock!” his muffled voice came back. “It’s all rock!”
“You mean they blocked it up!” Bob cried, pale.
Pete crawled slowly out. His eyes were wide. “No, they didn’t block it up. There’s been another mudslide! A big slab of rock has slipped down over the hole. That’s why those guys didn’t see the hole — there isn’t any hole out there now! And that’s why we couldn’t hear them clearly! Now what do we do? We’re trapped in here!”
Jupiter said quietly, “Are you sure, Second? Perhaps it’s not that big a rock. Let’s see if we can move it.”
The four boys managed to squeeze into the narrow space of the old entrance hole. Pete counted to three, and they all heaved at the rock that had slipped across the opening.
“Ooofff!” Pete grunted.
“Owww!” Diego’s feet slid out from under him and he fell.
Bob and Jupiter pushed with all their strength.
The rock didn’t even move a millimetre.
“It’s no use, First,” Bob wailed.
“We might as well try to move the whole ridge,” Pete added.
They crawled back out of the hole and sat glumly on the floor of the cave.
“There’s no reason to panic,” Jupiter said calmly. “Even if we can’t get out right away, our families will be looking for us by tomorrow morning, and Pico can tell them about Condor Castle. We couldn’t hear words, but we heard the voices out there okay, so we’ll hear searchers and they’ll hear us.”
“Well,” Bob said ruefully, “I guess our folks are kind of used to emergencies by now.”
Pete groaned. “You mean we’re going to stay here all night?”
“If we must,” Jupiter said cheerfully. “It’s not a bad cave. We’re nice and dry, and there’s plenty of air in here. As a matter of fact, I noticed the good air when we first came in. Since the entrance was buried a long time, there must be holes or cracks in the rock to let in air. In fact, there might be some other way out. I suggest we start looking for one right now.”
“I agree with Jupiter,” Diego said. “And if we keep moving, we’ll stay warmer.”
While Bob shone his torch slowly all around, Jupiter, Diego and, Pete studied the walls and ceiling of the small outer cave. They found no other way out.
“But the wall over here to the left of the blocked entrance seems to be dirt,” Jupiter said, “and it’s kind of damp. We might be able to dig our way out of here.”
“If we had the right tools, which we don’t,” Pete pointed out. “Besides, the wall curves inwards over there. No telling how thick it is.”
Jupiter nodded. “I suggest we go back into the large cave first, and see if we can find an alternative exit.”
“We searched all over in there, First,” Bob objected.
“True, but let’s try again. Anyway, I want to take another look at those words Don Sebastián wrote.”
He led them back through the narrow passage into the cave with the skeletons. The skulls leered ominously at the boys, seeming to mock them. With Bob holding the flashlight again, the boys worked slowly all around the walls of the larger cave. There were definite currents of air from somewhere but no exits.
“I guess it’s stay and wait for help,” Bob said, “or dig back in the small cave.”
“Some choice!” Pete moaned. “I don’t want to stay, and I don’t feel like digging.”
“If we’re going to stay all night,” Jupiter said, “I suggest we put our minds to work on our puzzle. Ashes… Dust… Rain… Ocean.”
“It’s still gibberish to me,” Pete said flatly.
“Unintelligible perhaps,” Jupiter declared, “but I’m certain it’s not gibberish. Let’s take another look at the words.”
In the small cul-de-sac, they squatted and looked again at the four Spanish words. Jupiter studied them thoughtfully.
“Diego was right about the four words not being evenly spaced,” the stocky leader said. “ ‘Ashes’ stands alone, and so does ‘Dust’, but ‘Rain’ and ‘Ocean’ are closer together. There could even be a mark between them, sort of like a dash, as if Don Sebastián wanted them to be read together. So the message might really read: ’Ashes… Dust… Rain-Ocean.’ Now what does that tell us, fellows?”
“Nothing,” Pete said promptly.
Diego said, “The rain and ocean are both water?”
“Yes.” Jupiter nodded. “That’s one thing they are.”
“Maybe that rain and ocean are really the same thing?” Bob suggested. “I mean, we know that rain really comes from water vapour rising from the ocean. It turns to water again in the sky, and falls as rain to make rivers and things.”
“All right,” Jupiter agreed. “The rain comes from the ocean, and then goes back to the ocean. How does that connect to dust or ashes?”
“Dust could come from ashes,” Diego said. “But I guess it doesn’t have to.”
“Ashes don’t come from dust,” Pete pointed out. “No way.”
“No,” Jupiter said slowly. “Keep on thinking, fellows. There must be some connection, some common clue, in the four words. What single message could they all have given to José?”
None of the other boys said anything.
“Well,” the stocky leader said at last, “keep trying, and meanwhile we’ll go back to the small cave and see if we can dig our way out.”
“We can use those old rifles for digging,” Pete said.
Bob looked into his saddlebag of tools. “Not much of use in here, but we could hack at the dirt with my screwdriver.”
Back in the outer cave, the boys examined the softened dirt to the left of the blocked entrance. It was damp
