Many of these sinks are very dangerous, as they open so abruptly that a person might walk into one of them on a dark night before he was aware of its presence.

Several people who have mysteriously disappeared in this country are supposed to have lost their lives in that way." This conversation made a deep impression upon Mark, and when the boys started on horseback, one dark night towards the end of March, with the intention of going on a fire hunt in this very "sink hole" country, he said to Frank, as they rode along, "How about those holes in the ground that your father told us about the other night.

Isn't it dangerous for us to go among them ?" "Not a bit of danger," answered Frank, "as long as you're on horseback.
A horse'll always steer clear of 'em." When they reached the hunting-ground, and had lighted the pine-knots in their fire-pans, Frank said, "There's no use our keeping together; we'll never get anything if we do.

I'll follow that star over this way"-- and he pointed as he spoke to a bright one in the north-east--"and you go towards that one"-- pointing to one a little south of east.

"We'll ride for an hour, and then if we haven't had any luck we'll make the best of our way home.