"Before he smothers!" added Frank.

They worked with a will. Luckily for Sammy, he had been coming out of the cave when the accident happened. Otherwise he would have been so far back that he might never have been gotten out alive.

As it was Frank and Bob had dug for only a few seconds before they saw a hand moving about in the sand. Then another hand appeared beside it, and they stopped digging.

"There he is!" cried Bob, joyfully.

"And he's alive!" said Frank. "Use your fingers—not your shovel—we might hurt him."

With their hands they now scooped away the sand, and in a few seconds Sammy's face appeared. He was gasping for breath, and looked quite pale and frightened, but with the help of his chums he was soon completely uncovered.

"Are you all right?" asked Bob.

"I—I guess so," answered Sammy, shaking the sand from his clothes, and feeling all over himself to make sure. "Yes," he went on. "Nothing's busted."

"How did it happen?" asked Frank.

"I don't know. All of a sudden the sand began to slide. I got scared and ran for the front of the cave. Then the front door went shut, you might say, and I was caught. I held my breath, made a little place for my mouth and nose, and[Pg 46] waited. I knew you fellows would get me out, and you did."

[Pg 46]

"We were scared, though," confessed Bob.

"I guess we won't go in any more sand caves," said Frank. And they did not. It was a lucky escape for Sammy, and Mrs. Bouncer, when she heard about it, made strong objections to the boys playing pirates in that fashion.

But there were plenty of other chances for the chums of Barnacle Cottage to have good times, and they enjoyed their stay at Lighthouse Cove to the utmost.

Sammy still persisted in believing that pirate gold was buried somewhere about, and he dug in many places, when he could slip away from his chums, but without success. He kept a lookout for the man with the lantern, but could not meet him, as far as he could tell, though he saw many whom he thought was the person he sought. Nor did he make any inquiries for fear of being laughed at.

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