"It's in the same place."
"Hurray!" cried Tom.
Working rapidly, the Nihilist guard soon had the cell doors open, for he
had the keys, and our friends stepped out into the corridor.
"This way," called Ivan Petrofsky, as he followed their liberator, who
spoke in whispers. "He says he will lead us to the salt mine, tell us
how to get out and then he must make his own escape."
"Then he isn't coming with us?" asked Ned.
"No, it would not he safe. But he will tell us how to get out. It seems
that years ago some prisoners escaped this way, and the authorities
closed up the tunnel. But a cavein of the salt mine opened a way into it
again."
They followed their queer guide, who led them down the corridor. He
paused at the end, and then, diving in behind a pile of rubbish, he
pulled away some boards. A black opening, barely large enough for a man
to walk in upright, was disclosed.
"In there?" cried Tom.
"In there," answered Mr. Petrofsky. He and the guard murmured their
good-byes, and then, with a lighted candle the faithful Nihilist had
provided, and with several others in reserve, our friends stepped into
the blackness. They could hear the board being pulled back into place
behind them.
"Forward!" cried the exile, and forward they went.
It was not a pleasant journey, being through an uneven tunnel in the
darkness.
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