noon
In trying to save himself from falling he upset something that made quite a clatter as it struck the rocks ; when to Paul 's amazement he heard a voice call out : `` Who 's that ? '' and accompanying the words came the scratching of a match . Paul stared , and well he might ; as the match flamed up he found himself confronting a man who had evidently been sleeping on the floor of the cavern , for he had just thrown a blanket aside . And Paul recognized him instantly as the party who had passed them on that noon , in the rig which he imagined must have been stolen -- the man he had reason to believe Joe suspected to be connected with the robbery of his father . Feeling that he would be apt to receive a hostile reception here , Paul turned to run . He hoped that , as the match went out , the other would not know just where to look for him , and thus he might escape . But to his surprise , as he turned he found that another man faced him , who must have been located at a point he had passed while creeping along close to the wall .