An eventful night. And surprising. Stan and Lyle persisted in chasing down noises that rose from the back of the cave. Each time they returned empty handed and with no explanations. With the morning Stan had disappeared completely. We checked ahead down the path with negative results. Therefore we conclude he must have went deeper down into the cave. Fearing Stan may be in trouble, Lyle descended into the depths further than hitherto. All was silent as the tomb, not a single sound this time. We wasted the better part of the day looking for the young man with a beard. Nothing.
Lyle remarked that the cave would be a good fallback position to keep in mind for future contingencies.