"Now, then," he said, "we are ready to descend into the old mine.
Which one of you will go first?"
The boys looked at each other, but there was no reply until
Donald asked:
"Why should we go down at all?"
"Why," was the somewhat quizzical reply, "to show your nerve."
"Unless there is some good reason other than that, there are
plenty of ways to show our nerve without lowering ourselves to
the bottom of an old mine."
"There is a good reason," was the reply.
"Then tell us. If it is good, there can be no objection."
"The object of this descent," said the stranger calmly, "is to
see if we cannot solve the mystery of the abandonment of the
mine."
"Have you ever been down?" asked Billie.
"Often."
"There is no foul gas at the bottom?"
"Not now, as you may see by the condition of Ambrosio, who has
been clear to the bottom."
"Then I am willing to be the first to descend; but first I must
know more about you than I do."
"What difference does that make? You will have three friends here
with me. They are all armed and I can see they know how to use
their weapons. I cannot possibly harm you. I will be the third to
descend. I assure you that the descent and the ascent are
comparatively easy for athletic young chaps, as the sides of the
shaft are very uneven.
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