CHAPTER II.

ALONE IN THE GLOOM.


Before Fred could complete the sentence his foot struck an obstruction and
he was precipitated headlong over and down a chasm which had escaped his
notice. He fell with such violence that he was knocked senseless.

When he recovered he was in darkness, his torch having been extinguished.
The smell of the burning resin recalled him to himself, and it required
but a moment for him to remember the accident which had befallen him. For
a time he scarcely dared to stir, fearing that he might pitch headlong
over some precipice. He felt of his face and hands, but could detect
nothing like blood. The boy had received quite a number of severe bruises,
however, and when he ventured to stir there were sharp, stinging pains in
his shoulders, neck and legs.

"Thank God I am alive!" was his fervent ejaculation, after he had taken
his inventory. "But I don't know where I am or how I can get back again. I
wonder what has become of the torch."

He could find nothing of his flambeau, although he was confident that it
was near at hand. Fred believed that he had fallen about twenty feet,
striking upon his chest and shoulders. At this juncture, he thought of the
wolf which had drawn him into the mishap, and he turned his head so
suddenly to look for him that the sharp pain in his neck caused him to cry