.

A MYSTERY.
O'Rooney stood with rifle grasped, while young Munson ran toward him from the centre of the cave, exclaiming in his excited tones: "There's another man back yonder! I saw him and spoke to him!" "Did ye ax him anything, and did he make a sensible reply ?" demanded the Irishman, whose concern was by no means equal to that of the lad.
"He made no answer at all, nor did he seem to take any notice of me." "Maybe it's a ghost walking round the cave, on the same errand as meself.

But whist now; where is he, that I may go and ax him the state of his health ?" The lad turned to lead the way, while Mickey followed close at his heels, his gun ready to be used at an instant's warning, while Fred kept glancing over his shoulder, to make sure that his friend was not falling too far in the rear.
It seemed that, while the man was engaged in his exploration, the lad had ventured upon a little prowling expedition of his own.

During this he made the startling discovery that some one else was in the cave, and he dashed off at once: to notify his friend and guide.
Fred walked some distance further, still holding the torch above his head and peering into the gloom ahead and on either hand, as though in doubt as to whether he was on the right track or not.

All at once he stopped with a start of surprise, and, pointing some distance ahead and upon the ground, said: "There he is!" Following the direction indicated, Mickey saw the figure of a man stretched out upon the ground, face downward, as though asleep.
"You ain't afeard of a dead spalpeen ?" demanded Mickey, with a laugh.
"You might have knowed from his shtyle that he's as dead as poor Thompson was when Lone Wolf made a call on him." "How do you know he's dead ?" asked Fred, whose terror was not lessened by the word of his friend.
"'Cause he couldn't have stretched out that way, and kept it up all the time we've been fooling round here.