 CHAPTER 16 THE HOLD Billy's vanity was well content with the compliments accorded him by his friends, who gave the appreciation that was justly his due for persistent effort when they had wearied. It was David whose enthusiasm led him to suggest an immediate trip on the lake, to learn whether or not they could identify the features of the topography shown by the chart, the launch to which they had been reduced by the loss of the cherso, had a speed of twelve miles an hour at its best, and under Jake's guidance it carried them swiftly enough northward to the broadest part of the lake, once they might readily study the shore in all directions. Already each had familiarized himself with the chart, so that it was held clearly in a mental picture, while he looked about over the sweep of skyline critically, seeking some resemblance in the rise and fall of mountain and hill, and in the curving of the shore to the irregular tracing made by Billy from the music. As the boat ran in a wide circle, first one and then another caught here or there some trick of configuration that sent him eagerly to compare it with the chart in Billy's hands. But in each instance the hope was doomed to swift disappointment, for vital divergence was revealed between the two. There was some disagreement, too, as to whether or not the map had reference to the windings of the shore, or to the crests and valleys of the hills and mountains, as they showed in relief against the sky. Billy Walker was certain that the chart had been drawn to represent the skyline, and Sacks was of the same opinion, chiefly perhaps, because of the other's reasoning in which he had come to have great confidence, if not absolute reliance. Billy argued that the skyline would be the natural guide on which to depend, in as much as it was bolder, less open to doubts. The indication received from this, he pointed out, could be at once applied to the shore, since the first knowledge gleaned had declared that the treasure was at the bed of the lake. Both Roy and David, however, maintained that the chart should be taken as copying the indentions in a portion of the shoreline. Billy had offered evidence in support of this contention to the effect that, whatever the skyline might show as to itself, there could come from it no hint as to the distance from the shore at which the gold was lying. Billy admitted this, and then to his adversaries, Shagrin, exposed the fact that the like difficulty must exist in the event of the map being of the shoreline itself, which was not to be gained said. It was Sacks who, at last, made the discovery of importance. He had been staring fixedly at one point of the horizon for a full minute, then he moved over to Billy's side, where he alternately regarded the chart and the horizon for a considerable interval. Look here, Billy, he exclaimed abruptly. Just take a squint at Mount Tabor over there. I learned the name from Jake the other day. He pointed to the west, a little to the north of them, where one of the highest of the peaks of the distant mountains loomed in Naked Majesty. Billy obeyed the request, and readily distinguished the peak to which Sacks had called his attention. Well, he questioned. I want you to notice, too, Sacks continued, that the peak is flat on the top for some distance, and that there's nothing of much height to the south. Billy nodded in assent. All right, he agreed. Go on. Now look farther north, about two miles or perhaps more. You see another mountain, which seems to be almost the same height as Mount Tabor, and is flat on top in the same way. There was hardly any delay before Billy answered. Yes, I see it. Next. Well, then, Sacks continued with animation. You must bear in mind the fact that those two peaks are the highest on the whole extent of the western shore of the lake. It is, I imagine, very likely that anyone in search for a striking object in the landscape would select them at the outset as guides on account of their conspicuousness. It's my belief, after looking pretty closely, that Mount Tabor is shown by the two G's above the staff in the beginning of the gold song. Try it running north from Mount Tabor, and compare it with the chart, and see if you don't find it brings you all right to the second high mountain, which is marked by the two G's of the second half of the music. And then keep on, until you come to the mountaintop, much lower, but also hog-backed, which seems to me to be indicated by the final C's of the score. Billy needed no urging. Before his friend had ceased speaking, he had brought his whole mind to bear in considering the similarities to which Sacks called his attention. For five minutes he examined first the undulating horizon line, and then the chart, which he held outspread before him. He and Sacks were in the stern seats, while Roy and David had places forward, discussing the shoreline, and giving no heed to what was going on behind them. Suddenly the voice of Billy Walker boomed forth in its fullness. By Cretius, Sacks, you've got it! You've pinned the map to the mountains. Bravo, my son! At the outburst Roy and David faced about, startled. They saw the unwieldly bulk of Billy swaying with the motion he had imparted to the launch by leaping to his feet. He was a figure of joy, with his little eyes glowing, his bare head a tangle of wind-tossed hair, his harsh features softened by radiance. Then Jake had turned in his seat at the wheel, and was rigidly expectant. Praise be, Billy ejaculated, as he waved the chart high in a gesture of triumph. One of you, at last, has come to my help. Sacks has run the chart to earth, literally. At that there was a lively display of interest. Jake stopped the engine, and left the launch to drift lazily, while he joined the others for a study of the map in connection with the horizon line discovered by Sacks. Roy and David were inclined to be somewhat skeptical at the outset, but they were presently convinced as they perceived the exactness of the correspondence between mountains and chart. There was jubilation on the part of all. Jake introduced a topic that was lying in the mind of each, but I don't understand yet just whereabouts that thar money of Mr. Abernethes might be. He remarked, What about it? Our esteemed friend has touched on the very crux of the matter, Billy declared, with a noisy sigh. We have now attained to all the knowledge that we require for our purposes, with a single small exception. We don't know where the gold is. Nevertheless the chart will tell us it's there, somewhere. Sacks has done nobly in coming to my assistance. It seems to me that, now, it's the turn of either Roy or Dave. Billy laughed, and then assumed an expression of elefantine demureness. Roy is something of an expert in occult things. He suggested, with his eyes twinkling, it might be a good idea for him to try his powers on this. The divining rod, in the hands of the gifted, will locate precious metals, as well as water, under the surface of the earth. Doubtless, it will do as much for gold underwater. It is probable that Jake can inform us as to where witch hazel is to be found in the woods. With a twig of that for one, I believe it is the accepted wood. Let Roy go wandering over the lake in the launch. Let him hold the divining rod in his hand until it shall dip toward the water. Let a buoy be floated there to mark the spot, and there we will dredge, and there we will bring up the old man's treasure. Roy sniffed, while Sacks and David smiled over Billy's bombast. But Jake took the suggestion seriously, and nodded his approval. All is her and it would find gold and silver, he said, but I ain't never seen it done. It's fine for water, though, and that I know, haven't seen it work many a time. It bent, and they dug, and the water come, and that's all they was to it. Two hours after he had retired that night, Billy Walker was rudely awakened out of a sound sleep, in a dream which had been of a curious but most agreeable heaven where he was dining on dishes that were puzzles, each one to be solved before it could be eaten. He was instantaneously transported to a vile groggery of the waterfront in a seaport town where a horde of rapscallions pounced on him with intent to Shanghai. He awoke to behold in the moonlight Sacks, who sat on the edge of the bed, insulting him violently to and fro. When his brain was sufficiently clear, he demanded the meaning of this outrage. The first words from his friend were consolation enough. Billy, I've found the place. There was no need for apology, since the disturber of his slumbers had brought to Billy Walker the news he most desired. Instantly he was questioning. Quick, tell me, how do you find it? Where is it? Sacks laughed happily. I must give you one final lesson in music to enable you to understand. It's so simple. I can't guess why I didn't get it in a second. The most obvious thing is often the most obscure. Came the irrocular paradox? A hold in music, Sacks explained, is a mark which shows that a certain note is to be sounded for a time longer than is demanded by its value otherwise. Well, there was excitement in the harsh whisper. Wait until I've lighted the lamp. Sacks said. In a moment it was done. Now take another glance at the gold song itself, not the chart. He pulled the sheet from a pocket of the dressing-gown that he wore over his pajamas and held it up before Billy's face for inspection. That shaded half-circle, Sacks went on, with a period in the concavity over the second measure of the second half of the gold song, is a hold, a hold, a hold, Billy. Don't you understand? Isn't it plain? That marks the spot where the gold is. I know it does. That's the place where we pause, where we hang on. Of course. Billy Walker's voice had a tone of complete satisfaction. You've done splendidly, Sacks. With much training, I believe I might be able to make something out of your intellect. The chart will show just what part of the shore is indicated by this hold. The gold will be at that point, probably close to the bank, but certainly under the water, for the first lesson read, the bed of the lake. We shall find it without Roy's divining-rod, after all. CHAPTER XVII Master's again In the hour preceding dawn, Roy gave over his fight against an unaccustomed nervousness that had kept him awake. Rose took a sponge bath, shaved, and dressed himself for the day. He stole from the room, and quietly let himself out of the house, in confident expectation that the outdoors charm of dawn would soothe the unrest of his spirit. A slight noise arrested his attention as he went toward the north end of the cottage. He was wearing tennis shoes, of which the rubber soles made no sound on the ground, and he went forward with caution. His curiosity aroused, for he was certain that he caught a sibilant whisper. Already there was a rosy grayness stealing on the air, so that he could see, though dimly, as he came to the corner of the house. He halted, and peered covertly forward. He could distinguish a shadow that moved a little, as his eyes grew accustomed to the twilight. He made out that there were two forms there, one much the larger. Then his ears detected a faint whispering, too indistinct to be understood. Then one softly spoken phrase came clearly, Come away, they'll hear us. It was the voice of the engineer. Roy's muscles tensed for the leap forward, but he remembered the fact that, as yet, there was nothing in the way of direct evidence against masters. He and his friends believed in the man's guilt, but there was no proof. Now something might be said that would serve to convict the engineer of his crimes. Roy determined to listen, to learn what he might. The two who had met thus mysteriously moved toward the northeast, going swiftly toward the shore of the lake. At a safe distance behind them, Roy followed. The couple halted in an open place on the lake shore, where a cliff dropped sheer to the water some thirty feet, as much more to the bottom of the lake. Roy contrived to make a slow progress to a point in the undergrowth above them, hardly a rod away, and here he was able to understand every word spoken between them. And now, fire of wrath, kindled by jealousy, burned fiercely in Roy's bosom, for there came to him the voice of the smaller of the two persons, and it was the voice of a girl, the voice of Maithurston. Eventually the idea that she could be the one thus to meet the engineer by stealth had not occurred to him hither too, and the shock of the discovery came near to robbing him of his self-control. Indeed he made a movement to dart forth, but again his action was checked by the command of reason, though through evil seconds he fought against obedience. Unabruptly his mood changed as he caught the significance of the dialogue between the speakers. I knew it was you, Mae was saying, in a voice vibrant with horror, which she strove to repress. I knew it was you that first time, for I went up there and found the rifle in the tree where you had been when I met you in the morning. I supposed, of course, that you understood how I knew, and so you wouldn't dare to try again, and I thought you had gone. Thank God I couldn't sleep to-night, and came out in time to see you light that fuse, in time to put it out before you could stop me. I shall tell them everything in the morning, the first thing. There was a note of finality in her voice. It was evident that whatever tenderness she had felt for this man had been overwhelmed beneath the flood of her loathing for his crimes. Masters must have understood perfectly the uselessness of all effort to persuade her from her purpose, for he wasted not an instant in argument. Instead he acted. Before Roy could make a movement to interfere, the engineer had leaped forward. His long, powerful fingers, closed in a strangling grasp on the soft, white throat of the girl, sank viciously into the tender flesh. May's eyes protruded, her arms straightened out in the spasm of physical anguish, but no sound issued from the parted lips. Almost in the same second, Masters shifted his grip with lightning speed to her waist, lifted her easily, and swung her from the cliff out into space. Then he went crashing off into the wood. Running blindly, air yet came the splash made by the girl's falling body as it entered the water. Perhaps Masters did not hear the second splash, which followed after the briefest interval. If he heard, and thought of it at all, he probably deemed it caused by some rock his movement had set rolling over the cliff. Assuredly, he never dreamed that there had been at hand a man to plunge after his victim, to save her from the death to which he had assigned her. In his intimacy with May, he had learned that she could not swim. In that deep water, where the naked cliff rising vertically offered no handhold, she, in her dazed condition, could have no chance to escape alive out of the peril into which his cruelty had cast her. Such was the engineer's belief, and his feeling was merely of satisfaction in thus having rid himself of the witness who knew his blood-guiltiness. Even as his body clothed the air in the long dive to the water, Roy was conscious of a ping of regret that he must suffer the enemy to escape. Then he was beneath the surface, groping vainly. As his head shot clear again, his eyes glimpsed May's head just disappearing near at hand. In a moment he had reached her, was in time to seize her before she sank again. He was at home in the element, and as the girl was unconscious and so offered no resistance by a struggle, his task was all the easier. He quickly brought her to the shore, at a point where there was a break in the cliff, and the ground sloped sharply to the level above. He did not pause until he had carried her in his arms to the top of the bank. There he laid her face downward on the ground, then lifted her by the waist, so that the lungs might empty themselves of water. Afterward he chafed her face and hands, and soon, to his great relief, she showed signs of returning consciousness. As she had been immersed for so brief a time, she speedily made a complete recovery, save for the weakness consequent to the shock of the whole experience. Indeed, her wretchedness was rather from the violence of the engineer's attack than from the little water she had swallowed before her rescue by Roy. It was after the first confused questioning on her part, and Roy's account of his presence on the scene, that she gave an explanation of the events that had led to the attempt against her life. She too had sought relief from wearisome wigfulness by wandering abroad in the night, while she was close to the cottage, yet in the shadows of the wood, she had heard a sound that attracted her attention, and had watched carefully. There was a long silence before her interest was rewarded, but at last she made out movement on the north wall of the cottage itself, which was only a little away from her. Observing closely, she perceived that the object was a man who was descending a ladder. It needed no more to fill her with alarm, and with fear came suspicion, which was almost certainty as to the identity of the prowler. At first, however, she remained quiescent, doubtful as to her right course of conduct, anxious, if it were in any wise possible, to avoid alarming the household. During her period of delay, the man disappeared with the ladder, but he returned immediately, and forthwith she saw a match struck. It was extinguished at once, but as the flame died out, she beheld a glowing spark, which remained against the wall. Even as she stared, it seemed to mount upward very slowly. She believed then that the desperate man had determined to set the cottage on fire, and a new horror gripped her, so that the scream she attempted did not pass her lips. In an instant, she had reached the cottage. She caught the spark between her palms, and smothered the fire. For she had time to understand the situation, she was hurled backward, and found herself in the arms of masters, who was whispering fiercely in her ear to be silent. Without giving him any heed at first, she mechanically examined her smudged hands, and found that she held in them the charred end of a cord. As she drew the length of this to her, it came readily, and she was aware that it had broken from its fastening under the impact of the man's sleep on her. She knew also that this thing she was holding was a fuse. Her quick intelligence grasped the truth that the treacherous engineer, who now embraced her so roughly, had again sought to destroy his enemies. She was so agitated by the realization, so distraught by the thought that she was lying helpless within the criminal's arms, while he held a hand over her mouth to silence her shrieks, that she even welcomed the suggestion overheard by Roy as to their moving to a greater distance from the cottage. The remainder of the incident was already known to her savior. As she ended her story, May, over Rott, began crying softly. There are times when the simplicity of direct physical contact avails more than any magic of words to tell sympathy and love. It was so in this instance. Wet and bedraggled as he was from his descent into the lake, Roy drew into his arms the crouched form of the girl, and held her closely, while from them the rivulets slid silently away downward to seek again the lake from which they had been ravished. The girl was first startled, then soothed, then wondrously content. The dawn came, stealing softly, and the light fell on them as a blessing. CHAPTER 18 DOXFACTI FEMINA Roy was aroused to sudden consternation, when a lull in his ecstatic emotion let him once again think of mundane things, for it flashed on him that the explosive to which the fuse had been attached still remained in Saxe's chamber. In a word he explained the matter, and the two hastened to the cottage, where after a quick embrace they separated, May going to her room to change into dry clothing, and Roy running to his friend. He entered Saxe's chamber cautiously, yet moving rapidly, lighted the lamp, and looked about him. At once his eyes fell on the bomb, which rested on a bureau near the head of the bed. From it extended the remnant of fuse, which ran out through the open window. Roy drew this in, took up the bomb carefully, for he was not sure how sensitive it might be, and made his way out of the room without awakening the sleeper. Within a minute the instrument of crime was reposing innocuously on the bed of the lake, wither Roy had tossed it from the cliff. On his return to the house he aroused his friend and told of the latest attempt on the part of the engineer. Saxe was profoundly impressed by the narrowness of his escape from death, or mutilation. Nevertheless, his feeling was less by far than it must have been, but for his midnight discovery concerning the miser's cipher. Without pausing to dress, he hurriedly related the fact to Roy, who was equally impressed. To make the matter wholly clear, Saxe would have exhibited the music to Roy, knowing the place occupied by the hold, but the manuscript had mysteriously disappeared. The two hunted through the room thoroughly, although Saxe was sure that the sheet had been left on the bureau when he returned from Billy Walker's room. There was no trace of it anywhere, and presently they abandoned the search to stare at each other in bewilderment. It was Roy who first reached a solution of the puzzle. It was Master's took it, of course, he declared savagely. He's been snooping around, heard us talk of it probably, and when he got here to-night he simply swiped it. But it'll do him no good, Saxe protested. But he thinks it will, Roy retorted. Anyhow, he's made off with it. Perhaps he thought it would tie us up, and so it will. He must have it back. His jaw shot forward, and his eyes grew hard. Saxe, however, smiled and shook his head in denial. Not a bit of it, he asserted. I can reproduce that music in ten minutes every mark on it. I know where the hold was, exactly. For that matter I don't need the music. The chart will do just as well, for I know the place on it too. But I'll do the music over for Bill and the rest of you. I'll do it as soon as I'm dressed, before I come down to breakfast. And as he said, so was it. When he appeared at the breakfast-table, he carried with him an exact duplicate of the Old Meiser's manuscript. There was much lively interest on the part of all, when the adventure of the night was made known. And May on her appearance was hailed as a heroine of melodrama. To the astonishment of all save Roy, perhaps. The girl was more radiant than they had ever seen her hitherto. And the color in her cheeks and the brilliance of her charming eyes, now undersfigured by the business-like lenses of the Secretary, rendered her beauty so striking that the men regarded her with new admiration, while Margaret West, from the instinct of a woman whose own heart is full of tenderness, regarded her friend with a gentle suspicion that there remained something of the adventure yet untold. Roy was eager to devote the day to a search for the capture of masters, but the others were opposed to this. It was finally decided that the quest for the hiding-place of the treasure must be carried on without a moment of delay. Since the matter of the short time now remaining, only a week could not be ignored. As to the evil devices of the engineer, it would be sufficient to take precautions against them by keeping watch through the coming night and afterward until the end of the hunt for the gold. So as soon as breakfast was done, the four friends set out in the launch with Jake for a survey of the territory indicated by the hold. This, as was clearly apparent from examination of the manuscript, was on the lake shore at a point opposite one of the Low Peaks. It was easily distinguished by its nearness to the second of the highest summits, as it was at the first point of rise after a long descent. The course brought them again to the north end of the lake to a place close to the extreme end. There was a cove here, which ran inland for half a mile. Within the curve of the shore a few small islands were scattered, and outside the miniature bay a larger island stretched, one of the chief on the lake. It was Roy who now assumed charge of the expedition by right of his varied experience in wild places, which had included the tracking of cattle rustlers and outlaws. He directed that first the landing should be made, and the shore at the point indicated gone over carefully for any slightest trace of footsteps or other marks, which might show operations in connection with the removal of the treasure. If found, such a trail would doubtless guide them in their further quest of the gold at the bottom of the lake. They spent three hours at the work, and finally abandoned it in despair, for their investigation had been exhaustive, without revealing ought. Billy Walker delivered himself forcibly, when at last the council was called. Since he had toiled steadfastly with the others, notwithstanding his distasteful physical exertion, there could be no question as to his sincerity when he argued against any further effort in this direction. I've learned from Jake, he explained, that the lateness or Abernethy understood the management of his boats perfectly, and on occasion used them without taking any one along to help him. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that he would have transported the money to its hiding place in one of the power boats. He had no horse, and his feebleness was such that he could not have lugged all that weight of gold, even if he divided it into small amounts. For this place is four miles from the cottage, almost as far as we walked the other day. Now we know that the treasure is at the bottom of the lake. That was the first thing the manuscript taught us. I'm sure he brought it here in the boat. There is no reason why there should be any mark on the shore. I say this, we'll go back and have lunch in. Then we'll return here, and institute an orderly, exhaustive search of the lake bottom. We must rig up some sort of grappling irons, and anyone so wishing can become a diver, and search the bottom that way. Anyhow, we know the gold is down there. It's up to us to find it. I will say, I think the old man has done his part. This plan was duly carried out. As soon as the young man had left the luncheon table, they scattered to gather the necessary materials for the equipment in the next stage of the undertaking, following the suggestions of Billy Walker. Sachs had just ascended the steps of the porch when he heard his name called. He turned, and saw Margaret West, standing halfway between him and the shore, a little to the south from the cottage. At the moment there was no one else visible. Sachs hurried toward her, his face flushed with pleasure at the summons. Recently she had seemed a bit more distant in her attitude toward him, and he had been tortured by those alarms that are the heritage of all lovers. At this moment, however, her face was radiant, and her limpid blue eyes were sparkling with eagerness. As he came near she spoke, and there was a thrill of delight in her voice, which set his heart bounding. "'Oh,' she said, clasping her hands on her breasts in a quaint gesture of emotion, "'I hope, I really believe that I may be able to help you.' "'You,' Sachs exclaimed in manifest surprise. "'Why, what do you mean? Help me, how?' "'It's about the gold,' Margaret answered. There was timidity in her tones now, as if his evidence of astonishment had distressed her. "'I think, I'm almost sure, that I know something you ought to know.' Sachs's amazement increased. Somehow at the back of his mind there had always lingered the abominable statement made by Roy as to this girl, that she was his natural enemy. That she must be such by the circumstances of the case, since his success would be her direct loss of a large sum of money. He had scorned the idea when it was presented to him. He had never for a moment allowed it entertainment. His love for the girl was sufficient to deny the possibility of her being in any way influenced by sordid things. Yet always the thought had lurked in the background for the reason that it had once been voiced by his friend. Now at her display of interest in his behalf, his first emotion was wholly of surprise from the unexpectedness of the event, and this was followed swiftly by joy that thus she should have proved Roy's singing false. The new feeling was undoubtedly shown in his face, for as she regarded him intently, Margaret's expression grew lighter again. She went on speaking with new animation. "'You know, I was here once before, when I was a little girl, visiting my cousin. He was different then, not lively or gay or anything like that, but I don't think that the miserliness had got set to hold on him. Anyhow, he went about with me a great deal, and we really had ever so good times together. He often took me out in the launch. One time in particular is the thing I must speak to you about, for he took me up in the neighborhood where you were today. I'm sure of that, for I know just where you went from what you said at luncheon. Do you wish me to go on?' "'Do I wish you to?' Sax cried. We need all the help we can get. Of course I wish you to. The only thing is that I wonder you're willing. It doesn't seem right that you should rob yourself by giving assistance to your natural enemies.' He smiled whimsically, as he thus paraphrased Roy's accusation against the girl. "'Nonsense!' was her energetic retort. I'm not quite so poor as to worry over the money part of it. It seems to me that you ought to win. I think my cousin meant you to. Besides, I'd like to see you do it, just to disappoint Mr. Masters. But let me tell you, I'm still afraid of him. He's a desperate man who will stop at nothing, even murder, as you know. And he's mad to get that money. So I want to help you, and to beat him. But of course my idea may amount to nothing, really, after all. "'Tell me,' Sax said simply. He was beamingly happy, and the fact showed plainly enough in his eyes and smile. The girl flushed a little under his glance. "'There's an island up there,' she said presently. And her voice was strangely soft for a statement so prosaic. It lies in the entrance to the cove before you come to the other islands. They are smaller, too. You noticed it, perhaps?' She glanced up at Sax inquiringly. Then her eyes drooped again as he nodded ascent. "'That,' she continued breastfully, was one of the places to which my cousin took me. What I learned that day may be just the thing you need to know now. There's a cave on that island.' Sax regarded the girl in this may. This information was not what he had anticipated. He did not know just what he had expected, but certainly it had been nothing like this. "'A cave?' exclaimed Weakly. "'But the gold's at the bottom of the lake, you know.' Margaret moved her head in ascent. "'Yes, I know,' she agreed. She was not in the least disconcerted by the obvious disappointment on the part of her listener. On the contrary, a mischievous dimple pitted the rose of her cheek. Just the same, the cave might have something to do with your affair.' "'I don't understand,' Sax objected. "'The cave runs downward,' she said, and she waited for the meaning of her words to penetrate his consciousness. They did so presently. "'Oh, the cave runs downward,' he repeated thoughtfully. "'I begin to understand.' Margaret met his gaze frankly, and nodded ascent to the idea that had arisen in his mind. "'Yes,' she went on. "'The cave is really larger than you might fancy from the sides of the island, and the passage slopes downward, though not very steeply. We didn't go far. I don't know the length of it. Cousin Horace didn't know. Then.' "'In the cave there are plenty of places where the gold could have been hidden. So I thought I'd tell you.' "'Bless your dear heart,' Sax cried. "'I believe you've saved the day for us. The chances are we'd never have got to searching the island even without your help.' "'You might have missed the cave if you had gone over the island,' Margaret said. "'It isn't at all easy to find, I can tell you. I don't know how my cousin happened on it.' She told me that, as far as he knew, there was no one else aware of its existence.' A great volume of sound shattered the air. The two turned toward the vote-house, and saw Billy Walker, who made an imperative gesture, and shouted again, "'Already, hurry along!' But as Sax turned to the girl to say goodbye, she stayed him. "'Wait,' she commanded. "'I don't wish the others to know, yet. You see, it might come to nothing, after all. How would it do, if I were to go with you in the canoe? Then we could land on the island and investigate. And afterward, if you found things promising, you could tell the others. What do you think?' Sax was in a whirl of delight. As far he had never enjoyed the like opportunity to be with the girl whom he loved. His heart leaped at the thought of it, and his eyes were tender and happy as they met hers. "'What do I think of it?' he repeated. His voice was so charged with adoration that the rich color flooded Margaret's cheeks. "'Why, I think it will be splendid. Shall we start right away?' The girl laughed in some confusion, and her glance wandered from him. "'Not this very second,' she protested. "'For I must change into something different for paddling. Go down and send the others along, and I'll be with you in ten minutes. No, fifteen.' Sax, waiting on the dock with the canoe already launched, smiled a trifle grimly, and admitted that the dearest woman in the world was essentially feminine. For his watch indicated the half-hour since their parting. It was just as he slipped the timepiece back into his pocket that he heard the laughing voice behind him. "'I'm just on time to the second, am I not?' Sax turned to see Margaret in workmen like Grey Sweater in short skirt. His gaze, though fond, was mildly reproachful. "'It's been just half an hour,' he declared. "'Then I'm on time to the second, as I said.' The girl beamed on him quite unabashed. At this astonishing statement Sax opened his eyes in wonder. "'But you said,' he began. "'I said fifteen minutes,' Margaret interrupted. "'Of course you know that you must always double a woman's time.' "'I didn't know,' the young man confessed, smiling. "'Yes,' Margaret continued, as she'd knelt in the bow of the canoe. The time estimated must always be doubled. The trouble is that some women make the time triple, or worse, with no certainty about it. They bring the Sax into disrepute, and we others, who are exact, get included in the general condemnation.' Sax and the stern watched the graceful swing of the girl's arms as they plied the paddle. The lightness of the slender body as it swayed slightly to and fro watched the sheen of the sunlight that touched to new glories the gold of her hair. Watch the wonderful curve of white, softly radiant from the pulsing blood beneath, which ran from the low knack of the sweater to lose itself within the wind-tendrelled, shimmering splendor of her locks. And she, this girl so magically beautiful, so wholesomely sweet, so divinely complex, so heavenly simple, this adorable creature had come to aid him at her own loss, she, his natural enemy. They came at last to the island where the canoe was beached on a sandy slope. The launch was out of sight, somewhere beyond the islands within the cove. Margaret led the way without hesitation up the steep ascent that lined the shore, and then over a bolder strewn level toward the centre of the island. Presently, the ground became uneven, with sharp rises, and gold leaves running between these. Within the ravines there were small cliffs, rugged, disposed, topsy-turvely. Sacks began to see the possibility of caverns within the confusion of stone. Finally, the girl halted and looked about her dubiously. I'm not quite sure, she confessed. There have been landmarks all the way until just here, but I think this is the ravine. If not, it's close by. She went on slowly with roving eyes. Then, of a sudden, her expression lightened. Ah, I know now! She exclaimed joyously. Yes, it's here, see! While speaking, she had hastened forward, and now as she finished, she pointed to where a clump of bushes grew against the north cliff of the ravine. Above the tops of the branches showed a rift in the stone. It was less than a foot in width, a splotch of blackness hardly more noticeable than a deeper shadow. Sacks, beholding, was filled with gratitude to his guide. We'd never have found it in a thousand years, he declared. Besides, why should we ever hunt for the bed of a lake on the top of an island? Mr. Walker would have evolved a reason for it in the course of time, Margaret said, and a voice charged with profound respect for the sage. Yes, I believe Billy would have worked it out in time, Sacks agreed. But he added with a smile, perhaps not in time, according to the terms of the will. There's another entrance on one of the ridges near the shore, Margaret explained. Cousin Horace stumbled on that first, he showed it to me. But he found this way out, and it is better. He said the other was very hard climbing. The two had gone forward, and now they were close to the cliff, beside the bushes. Here Margaret thrust aside the branches, and advancing a step behind them, showed the entrance to the cave, which was a slit less than a yard in width of the base, narrowing to the apex a rod above. It yawned blackly. Sacks was reminded that he had taken no thought as to the need of candles or lantern. He began the confession of his carelessness, but the girl stopped him. I brought a pocket torch, she said. See! As she spoke, she drew the tube from a pocket of her sweater, pressed the spring, and lighted up the entrance to the cave. What a girl you are! Sacks cried. There was that in his voice which set Margaret a tremble. Come! she commanded hastily. With the word she walked forward into the cavern. Behind her in the narrow passage, Sacks followed obediently. End of Chapter 18. Chapter 19 of The Lake Mystery by Marvin Dana. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 19 in the cavern. The passage continued of limited width for a number of rods. The floor lay almost level, smooth enough to make going easy. The light from the torch showed only walls of bare rock on either side, and once, when Margaret turned the rays upward, the narrowing slant to an apex far above their heads. The two explorers went in silence. Margaret thought the footing safe enough so that he could content himself with watching the girl, whose every motion was a delight to him, seeing dimly in the glow that penetrated from without. He was not minded to waste many glances on barren cliffs, while so much of living beauty went in buoyant grace there before him. Margaret, however, gave no apparent attention to ought to save the immediate business of the moment, which was holding her gaze to the path lighted by the torch, and so they came presently into a spacious chamber within the earth. As the two entered here, Margaret halted, and Sacks eagerly stepped to her side. The girl flashed the torch here and there to reveal the nature of the place. Sacks guessed that the room had a diameter of about fifty feet. The walls of ragged rock formed an uneven circle. They bent inward in the ascent, with a dome-like effect, to a height of hardly two-score feet. Margaret wasted no time. After one examination of the walls by the torch, she fixed the light on a portion of the side opposite them, a little to the left. Sacks, peering intently in this direction, thought that he detected two patches of shadow, a little denser than the surrounding dark, which might be the openings into other tunnels. The girl's words proved his surmise right. There are two passages over there, close together, she announced. As I remember, the one we followed was that on the right. Of course the money might be hidden anywhere, but we might go a little way in that passage first, so that you'll understand how it runs downward. Yes, Sacks agreed, the place in which to search is narrowed by the statement in the cipher about the bottom of the lake. Does the other passage, too, run downward? The girl shook her head instinctively, although the action was not visible. Since the outdoor light did not penetrate thus far, and the beam cast by the torch was directed from her. I know nothing of the second passage, she explained. We didn't enter it. Come!" They set out across the chamber, walking side by side, and so came to the passageway of which Margaret had had experience. This proved to be somewhat broader than that through which they had come. They had advanced but a very short way, when the floor began to slope sharply downward. Sacks realized that this rate of descent need not be continued long to bring them to the level of the lake's bottom. He knew that the highest point of the island could have hardly more than a hundred feet of elevation above the surface of the lake. Indeed he was sure that the entrance to the cavern was only a little distance above the level of the water. They had climbed the bluff that lined the shore, and had afterward ascended a few slight rises, but the total vertical height could not have been more than fifty feet. The inclination of the passage downward was enough to overcome this speedily, if it should continue. And it did continue, for such a long way that at last sacks was sure the waters of the lake lay above them. The two wayfarers within this secret place of the earth spoke little, and that for the most part of the things immediately about them. The floor of this passageway here was not free from rubble, as the other had been. It was littered everywhere with fallen fragments, so that there was need to watch each step with care. Sacks experienced a new happiness when the difficulties of the path became so serious as to justify him in taking the hand of Margaret to help her in surmounting a fallen boulder. As the pulse of her blood touched his, it throbbed a rapture in his heart, in this dark vault of the earth. He forgot the first object of the subterranean wandering, forgot and worship of the woman at his side. Margaret herself sharply recalled him to the prosaic. Do you notice the difference in the light? She asked. I'm sure it's dying out. It must need recharging. We must hurry back. A note of apprehension in the speaker's voice aroused sacks to instant concern. He gave a quick glance toward the circle of light cast by the torch, and perceived that its radiance had in fact grown less. Yes, he answered, it's failing. We must turn. Anyhow, I've seen enough to understand that this is the likeliest place in which to hunt for the gold. As he spoke, they turned about together and began the ascent with hastening steps, for the thought that the torch might die out while they were still within the cavern was far from pleasant to either of them. The girl's anxiety was revealed in the next question. Have you matches? With the start of dismay. Sacks recalled that he had left his match safe in the pocket of his coat, which remained in the canoe. Nevertheless he made a perfunctory search. No, he admitted reluctantly. I left them in the canoe. He heard the girl sigh, but she said nothing more, only hastened her steps. The dimming of the torch was very apparent now. The two scrambled over the unevenness of the passage with what haste they might. Sacks congratulated himself on the fact that there had been no other passages branching from that in which they had made the descent, for the turns, long never sharp, had been frequent enough to breed perilous confusion were their need of choice. In the next instant, however, he remembered the abstraction of his thoughts during the traversing of the route, and he was filled with self-reproach at the realization that, after all, there might have been such branches. And just then, the two halted abruptly, arrested by a sudden consciousness of the truth. They were descending. For a moment neither spoke. In that little interval the feeble glow of the torch died out altogether. There came a gasp of dismay from Margaret. Sacks's clasp on her hand tightened in the instinct of protection. Then he essayed a cheerful laugh, albeit there was small merriment in it. Now, he declared briskly, we must stop right where we are until we've planned a campaign. This is a real adventure. When, as he spoke, miserably aware of the serious predicament into which the going out of the torch had plunged them, he was conscious of the delicate fragrance of her hair, so near his lips, and the vague, yet penetrant perfume that exhaled from her to the ravishing of his senses. He fought manfully against the temptation to draw her to his breast, as every fiber of him be sought. After the stress of desire denied, his voice came with a ring of imperiousness. I had a lot of experiences and caves when I was a boy. This thing will be easy. But we're going downward, Margaret faltered. The mystery of the event had sapped courage. Exactly! Sacks conceded. Somewhere we turned off into a branch passage. Do you know of any branch? No, came the answer. The inflection of distress gave new strength to the temptation that beset him. I should have noticed it on the way down, sacks confessed, in great bitterness of spirit, but my mind was wool-gathering. The girl ventured no question. Perhaps she guessed the nature of that distraction. Anyhow, we've managed to leave the passage in which we came down. We couldn't have turned around in it without knowing the fact. It seems to me that we've only to face about, and make our way upward again, merely watching out that we don't get switched off another time. The ascent will surely take us back by one or the other of the two corridors into the big room above. But if it should not, Margaret stammered. The woe in her voice was pitiful. Why, we might, here in the dark, no light, no food, oh! Sacks spoke with a manner of authority. Stop, don't imagine things. Worry-waste strength. Save yours for this exciting climb through the dark. There's no danger, that I know. The calm confidence with which he contrived to charge his voice soothed the girl, and restored to her some measure of courage. From his position on the left side of her he put out his free hand and touched the wall. Put out your right hand, he bait her, until it reaches the wall. Now we'll turn round and begin the journey in the right direction. Keep in touch with the wall, please. Move slowly, using your feet in place of eyes, to avoid stumbling. In this fashion they set forth through the blackness of the cavern. It was slow and tedious going. It had bent tiresome enough when the torch made plain the obstacles strewn over the floor. Now the difficulties were multiplied a hundredfold by the absence of light. They could only shuffle a foot about cautiously until it secured a firm place. Then by like clumsy feeling choose the next step. Often one or the other stumbled was near to falling, but since these mishaps occurred rarely at the same instant, the one still in balance gave sufficient support. Yet slow as was their progress, Sax found heart to be content with it. Always it was upward, until he dared believe that they were actually in either the passage by which they had descended, or in that which opened near it in the big room. He told his faith to Margaret, and she strove her best to throw off the gloom bread of this hateful environment, but could not, nevertheless, despite her fears, they won through at last to the great chamber. Hurrah! cried Sax. His guiding left hand swept suddenly into emptiness. Another step, and still there had been no contact to his roving fingers. It was then that he halted, and gave a shout of triumph. There's no wall on your side, he demanded. The girl put out her hand, but there was nothing within reach. With a pang of compunction, she realized that she had been remiss in the duty appointed her, for she had not felt the wall even once in a long while. She made admission of her guilt with charming contrition. It's no matter, Sax declared, profound relief sounded in his words. We've come safe to the big room, and nothing else counts. In sheer exuberance over their escape, he pressed the fingers that lay so lightly within his. The girl thrilled and answered the clasp. The announcement of their return to the chamber came to her over her ought mind as a reprieve from fearful doom. With the joy now possessing her, there came relaxation of the tension that had sustained her. And the warm pressure of his hand over hers was a comfort that loosed the self-control in which she had held herself hitherto. Without any warning, she drooped as she stood, her form grew limp. She would have fallen, had not Sax in terror for her as he felt the yielding of her muscles, drawn her to his breast. He held her close there. It seemed strange to him, as she lay motionless within his embrace, though while his lips touched softly a strand of the wonderful hair, that the glory of those tresses should not make all things visibly radiant in the blackness of the cavern, even as the nearness of her made a golden sunlight in his heart. He did not utter a word or venture ought beyond the kiss on that lock which kindlyest fate had laid across his lips. Only rested motionless, holding her firmly, reverently, what time she wept softly on his bosom. Surely there needed no clumsy vehicle of words between those two embraced in the solitary dark. Twain pulses throbbed as one, in their rhythm ran a song of heavenly things. CHAPTER XX. THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT. Since the large chamber was in utter darkness, Sax decided on recourse to a device which had served him well in similar situations of his boyhood among the mountains. As soon as Margaret moved and drew a little away from him, he spoke. We must step back to the passageway. He said, From it I can take our bearings, so that we can cross the place without floundering about haphazard in the dark. Yes, the girl answered. Her voice came very low, quavering a little. Two paces brought them again to the entrance of the corridor. Together with a hand touching other side, Sax made sure of the exact direction in which he faced, and from this he judged his course, for he remembered the relative positions of the passage by which they had come into the big room and of the shadows he had seen on the opposite wall. He had in his mind as well his estimate of the diameter of the chamber, and so, when he had made sure of his direction he set off boldly, after again taking Margaret by the hand. He lengthened his stride a trifle to make it the measure of a pace. When he had counted fifteen steps he reduced his speed and moved with caution groping before him. A moment later his hands encountered the wall. He was confident that he had held his course fairly straight in crossing the chamber, and was certain, in his consequence, that the opening into the passage must lie a little to his left. He therefore drew Margaret in this direction. An instant later, to his joy, his left hand found emptiness. Without a word the two hurried forward, and presently they saw before them a dim glow that was the first hint of outer light. This fell behind the girl as the passage narrowed. Margaret quickened her steps to a run, and he held fast at her heels. In the same second with her he issued from the cavern, and sent forth a huge shout, which was a little for escape from the cave, but chiefly for a primitive, masterful delight in the woman beside him. Margaret smiled sympathy with his mood, and her smile, it may be, was divided in its sources, even as was the lover's cry of triumph. The girl's face was mantled with blushes, but she spoke bravely with a dainty air of inconsequence. Why, how late it is! she pointed toward the west. See, the sun has set already, we were in there for ages. Yes, sacks agreed, and it's like rebirth to come back. Birth into a new, glorious life. With an effort he checked himself, for he would not embarrass her now, though passion bubbled to his lips. We must paddle over to where the rest are, and let them know about the cave at once. The news brought by the two created a lively excitement among the others, along with a considerable feeling of relief, for the continued absence of Margaret and sacks had been inexplicable, until Billy Walker quoted with ostentatious carelessness, loves a virtue for heroes, as white as the snow on high hills, and immortal as every great soul is that struggles, endures, and fulfills. At this utterance from this year, who was by no means prone to sentimental rhapsodizing, Roy appeared at first puzzled, then enlightened, and he smiled, nor speculated more as to the whereabouts of his missing friend, while David grand appreciatively, and accepted the innuendo as a sufficient explanation of sacks' absence even in this crisis of affairs. For the rest, the three, with some assistance from Jake, had passed a busy afternoon, without accomplishing anything beyond a disheartening certainty that the gold had been very effectually concealed. Much of the cove was shallow, and Billy Walker had suited his convenience by pursuing his investigations of these portions from the launch which Jake guided to and fro as required. The clearness of the water made it possible to see the bottom distinctly except at the greatest depths, and in this comfortable fashion Billy conducted his search, smoking the inevitable black cigar. In the deeper parts, Roy, clad in a bathing suit, made such examination of the bottom as he might by diving. David either assisted Billy in the scrutiny from the launch, or hunted over the islands near the shore. At no time did it occur to them to extend their researches so far as the island on which sacks and Margaret had landed. They had just come to the conclusion that they must give over work for the day, and were again beginning to feel concern in regard to the continued absence of the heir himself when they were startled by a hail in the voice of the missing man. They stared out over the lake, and perceived the canoe darting toward them, with Margaret plying a skilled paddle from the bow. Jake, who had just bent to the fly-wheel of the engine to crank up, dropped again to the bench. The other stood up and shouted. They had no least suspicion that the truance could be bringing news of the treasure. When finally the light craft ranged alongside the launch, and the story of the cavern was told, there were wonder and satisfaction. The boy was the first to make a suggestion as to the course to be pursued. The rest of you go on to the cottage, he directed. I'll stay here on guard, and case our friend, the engineer, should have a mind to drop in on a visit. After dinner let Jake bring me a snack to eat, and I'll keep watch through the night. You, he turned toward Margaret and sacks, can take me to the island, and show me the entrance to the cave, and then leave me. There were protestations from the others, offers to share the watch with him, but Roy resisted all importunities. I'd like to meet Masters again, he declared in his gentlest voice. I don't want any help. They recognized the emphasis of finality, and forbore further argument. But when after dinner at the cottage Jake was about setting forth in the launch with supplies for Roy, which in addition to food included a pair of blankets and a lantern, David appeared at the boathouse, and accosted the old man just as the propeller began to revolve. Hold your horses, Jake, he called, and the boatman obediently throughout the clutch, and steered in the slowing circle to the dock. As he came alongside, David produced, with a deftness of movement that showed some degree of familiarity with gunplay, a very businesslike appearing automatic, which lay snugly in his palm. With his other hand he brought forth a box of cartridges. These and the weapon he extended toward Jake. For Roy, he explained. Jake nodded and stowed the armament in a locker. The recipient of this equipment displayed small gratitude for his friend's thoughtfulness. On the contrary, he sniffed when Jake, after beaching the launch on the strip of sand where Roy awaited his coming, presented the automatic and cartridges as first fruits. I shan't need a gun, Roy declared superciliously, and his pugnacious jaw was thrust forward yet once again. And afterward, when Jake had accompanied him to the cavern with the blankets and the lighted lantern, the boatman's well-meant offer to remain for the night was rejected almost with indignation. You don't understand, Jake, Roy said venomously. I personally have an account to settle with that infernal engineer. The old man granded cheerful appreciation of the situation. Of course, he remarked in a matter of fact tone, you got quite some hefty grudge again and for the way he ducked your sweetheart. At this candid statement Roy gaped in amazement. Why, how did you know she? He began. Then he halted in confusion. For the first time in many years he felt himself incapable of speech. Jake chuckled in high good nature and deemed that explanation enough. Well, lick him good if you catch him, he exhorted, and straightway set out on his return to the cottage, where he and David were to serve as guards throughout the night. Thus left to his own devices, Roy proceeded to make himself as comfortable as the circumstances of his situation would permit. He was sure that the enemy would not appear on the scene for some time yet, if at all, and in the interval before that possible coming he proposed to make himself at ease. To this end he placed the lantern in the center of the chamber on the floor, and folded the blankets into a comfortable rug, on which he seated himself cross-legged, according to the fashion he had learned to like in the Far East. He was at pains to have the lunch in basket conveniently placed before him, and now began an investigation of its contents with the curiosity sharpened by keen appetite. He smiled contentedly as he brought out a cold sliced fowl, fresh salad, a vacuum bottle of hot coffee, the dozen other things that would have made a formidable array, had it not been for the strength of hunger with which he happily confronted them. As he renewed energy with this repast, Roy smiled at the contrast of its luxuriousness, as compared with many another that had been his lot in the wild places. He was alone in the wilderness, as often of old, but there the similarity ceased. For in those other places there had been no dainties, such as the ones before him, no napkins of damask, or utensils of silver. And yet Roy broke off his musings as he finished his third cigarette, and set himself to make arrangements for the night. He removed his blankets to a point against the wall of the cavern on the side opposite the entrance, where a tiny recess offered partial concealment. In this nook he spread out the blankets, extinguished the lantern, stretched himself in a comfortable posture, and thus entered on the long vigil. He did not hesitate to doze, as he was sure that she retained his old habit of becoming alert at the faintest sound. It was hours afterward when he became broad awake in an instant. For a time he lay motionless, all his senses quickened. The blackness of the chamber seemed impenetrable, yet his eyes stared steadfastly into the dark, expectant for ought that might befall. It was on hearing, however, that he depended chiefly to gather information, and his ears were set keenly, yet though he listened so intently, minute after minute passed, and there was no least interruption of the perfect silence. Roy found himself in a quandary. He gave Master's credit for a shrewdness equal to the known unscrupulousness of the fellow. Undoubtedly the engineer had lurked on some vantage spot of the shore throughout the day, and by this espionage had made himself acquainted with the progress of events on the lake. If he had perceived the landing of Margaret and Sax on the island, as probably, almost certainly, he had, he would have known also of their long tarrying there, and of Roy's remaining on the island. Perhaps from some elevation Master's had followed all their activities through a glass, and had been able by this method to inform himself precisely concerning the location of the cavern in which Roy was lying, or even he might have come to the island, venturing in by the northeast side, so that his approach would not have been observed by the others. He could very easily have kept himself hidden afterward, as the unevenness of the island and the profuse growth of trees and bushes offered ample concealment. But whether the advent to the island had been earlier or later, Roy was sure that it was now accomplished and that the engineer was there present in the chamber with him. His sixth sense spoke the assurance. After all, it was sight and not hearing that at last served to guide the warden of the cavern. His eyes, which had been roving vainly in an effort to pierce the black space, suddenly caught a faintest glow. It was so indistinct, so subtly suggested, rather than seen, that for a little Roy believed his vision diluted by some phosphorescence within his brain, which had set the nerves of sight to vibrating. He closed the eyelids for a moment, then looked again. The vague hint of radiance far remote still lingered. On the instant, doubt vanished, in its stead came certainty. There could be no question that the light shone from a distance. Even the faintest spark anywhere near would have presented an appearance radically different from this. The diffusion of it was proof that its origin was in a light set a long way off. Finally, Roy guessed that the source of it was shut out from his direct vision by some obstacle intervening between him and it, while the nimbus extended beyond the barrier and thus became perceptible. If this were indeed the case, it would be reasonable to suppose that the person responsible for the light was equally far away. The conclusion was by no means inevitable, but it was a fair assumption. Roy deemed himself justified in acting upon it. Fourth with, he got to his feet, using every caution to avoid the least noise. When erect, he stood for a time listening, but could detect no sound. He had removed his shoes before lying down, and now he went forward in stocking feet, very slowly. Taking the direction once the light seemed to issue, although its feebleness made the location far from sure. He used all the skill of which he was capable in this advance, and did indeed contrive to avoid making any noise. When he had gone for two rods or more, he halted and again listened. Nothing, however, rewarded his attention, and presently he renewed the tedious progress. Soon it was borne in on him that the origin of the light was within one of the passages leading downward, of which Sacks had told him, and of which entrances had been observed by him while he was eating his meal, though he had not troubled to examine them. His sense of direction, strong naturally, had been developed by experience, and he was convinced that the radiant streamed from the passage that was on the left, as he faced the two. From Sacks's narrative he knew that these tunnels were winding. The fact would readily explain the manner of the light, visible where he was in the big room like the afterglow from a sunset, with the cause of it hidden beyond the turnings of the corridor in which it burned, as the sun lies unseen below the horizon. With this understanding of the situation Roy felt in a session of confidence, and at once moved forward more briskly in the direction from which the illumination shone. He held his hands outstretched, for the light was still too feeble to show objects round about him, even vaguely. Presently his right hand touched stone. After another step his left hand also came in contact with the wall, and he knew that he was within the passage, though whether that on the right or on the left he could only guess, nor did he regard the matter as of importance. From this point onward Roy's advance, while made with unfailing caution, was much more expeditious. His stalking feet seemed to possess the consciousness of their own, by which they searched for, and found the fragments of rubble that were smooth enough not to cut, while solid enough not to yield a sound under the pressure of his weight, and as he went forward the light increased little by little, until at last he could distinguish the sides of the tunnel through which he was passing. Yet, even when the illumination became sufficient to show what sort the footing, Roy chose still to trust his sense of touch, and held his eyes alert for anything that might appear in the distance beyond. He was aware that the passage descended for a time, then mounted slowly, only to slope downward again, and to continue thus. He noted, too, that sometimes it widened until he could touch only one wall. He must took the opening into the other passage for one of these broader places. Roy aroused to the fact that the source of the light he sought was itself advancing, even as he advanced. There was no other possible explanation of the way in which it remained at about the same brilliancy, though he went forward with good speed. By this time, too, Roy was certain that the distance between him and the light was such as to leave little danger in the slight noise of his progress. So he mended his pace, and soon perceived with satisfaction that the radiance noticeably increased. He maintained the quickened speed for a minute or two longer, then prudently moderated it again. Indeed, so bright was the light now that he made sure of being very close to the cause of it, and renewed the exercise of all his caution as he crept forward, that this was meant too much, nor indeed enough, was shown by what presently followed. Roy paused again to examine the situation in detail. The brilliance of the light now assured him that its source was shut from him only by a single bend of the tunnel, which was hardly a rod in front. It was plain, then, that the time had come for determining the manner of his attack, since the moment could not be long delayed. He had no intention of resorting to the weapon with which David had equipped him. He planned that he would approach the turning of the passage noiselessly, and seek to reconnoitre from that point without being observed. Thereafter, as opportunity should serve, he would steal upon his enemy unaware, overpower the fellow, handling him with roughness enough to afford some adequate satisfaction for the outrage against May Thurston, and finally, when the villain had been reduced to passivity, hold him prisoner, to which purpose, at last, the automatic might prove convenient. The arrangement was admirably simple. There remained but to test its efficacy. The length of tunnel thus traversed by Roy in his pursuit had been considerable. Throughout the latter portion, the slope had been downward, with frequent variations from a sharp incline the stretches almost level. In the place to which he had now attained, the slant was scarcely perceptible. At this distance from the big chamber, he had long passed beneath the waters of the lake. The location of the treasure might well be anywhere hereabouts, according to the saying of the Meiser Cypher. Roy was moved to devouring curiosity to learn whether or know the man ahead of him had in truth come upon the gold. If so, the accomplishment should avail the scoundrel little, he vowed, and his jaw was thrust forward, as once again he advanced. Roy looked to the placing of his feet for every step, neglecting no precaution to avoid ought that might give warning of his approach. In this stealthy fashion he came to the turning of the tunnel, and then, after another delay to make sure that his presence remained unsuspected, he ventured to peer into the passage beyond the bend. His heart exalted. Suddenly Fate had delivered his enemy into his hand. A hundred feet beyond the corner from which Roy locked, a lantern was set on the floor of the passage. This was the source of the light that he had trailed so painstakingly. It burned clearly. The radiance from it showed all about with distinctness. The conspicuous thing on which the beam shone was the form of masters, who was kneeling and gazing fixedly down into an opening in the floor of the cavern. The man was on the farther side of this, and so had his face toward the watcher, but absorption in whatever was displayed beneath him prevented his noticing that presence of the newcomer. Roy was, therefore, able to continue his buying at ease. Curiosity, as well as discretion, bade him delay attack. He was eager to learn the nature of the engineer's interests in the opening, and, too, the fellow's position, facing up the tunnel, rendered impossible at the moment a rush that should take him by surprise. Undoubtedly the engineer would make some movement presently, which would place him more conveniently for Roy's purpose. In the meantime it would be enough to observe, and to await the right instant for assault. It may be that masters, too, possessed a sixth sense. Roy could never be convinced that there was not something uncanny in the events that now immediately followed. Masters jumped down into the opening, where he stood with only head and shoulders exposed. Then, in an instant, the light of the lantern vanished. With that the crash of a forty-five, thunderous there within the cavern. A second report came in the same instant. A searing pain touched Roy's brow, and he lay unconscious. CHAPTER XXI THE FIRST PIT At the cottage that same night, Margaret made an exclusive fatigue, and withdrew to her chamber immediately when Deno was done. To the discomforture of Saxe. May Thurston, too, vanished. Perhaps because Roy was absent, and she preferred solitude in order that she might think of him without interruption. Presently Mrs. West said good night, and the three friends were left alone in the music room. It was then that Saxe proposed to give to Billy Walker some information he had received from Margaret during the return trip in the canoe. I found out who was in this room when you fell through the ceiling, Saxe said to the sage. Oh, that! Billy retorted contemptuously. It was of no importance. I didn't bother to tell you. Do you mean? Saxe demanded an astonishment that you know already. Certainly was the crisp answer. It was crisp. But how? Elimination. There was no problem of interest. But only a kindergarten form of radiosination required. The sage went on with an air of extreme boredom, cause family devotion. Aged and faithful servitor didn't mean to let you deprive daughter of his mistress of her share of the money. Meant to beat you to it, like masters, but from a different motive, merely to keep it away from you until the time limit should expire. Then he observed symptoms between you and the said daughter that convinced him of error in his plans, made him realize that keeping the money away from you would end in depriving her of half the gold while giving her a half. Being emotional and devoted, he confessed to the girl. The girl felt it her duty to confess to you. It is probable that Chris was the one to discover the secret vault in the wall there, whom Roy, without due reasoning, took to be masters. Was it Chris? Yes. Sax admitted he was greatly disconcerted by his failure to add anything to the seer's knowledge. Bully for Chris, David exclaimed. Crafty old quitter, too, to dig into that safe. Ha! I've heard about that sort of devotion on the part of old family servants, but it's the first instance I've struck in my own experience. Don't have them in Wyoming. Magical nuisance, Billy Walker grumbled. Aged family retainers, doddering remnants, always budding in. He gaped shamelessly, with a great noise. Sax, outraged by the sage's flippant reference to sacred things of his heart, felt himself indisposed for the further companionship of his friends just then. It was in this mood, rather than any anxiety concerning the treasure, that led him to devise an excuse for separation. Let's get to bed, he said, and then make an early start for the island in the morning. Billy Walker, whose lids were weighted by the day's activities, grinned contentedly at the first phrase, and scowled portentiously at the second. That's the idea, David agreed. We'll be off as soon as it gets to be light. I'll tell Jake to call us, and Mrs. Dustin to have our breakfast ready. He bustled out of the room, eager for the mission. Billy Walker groaned. Dave is to precipitate, he growled, to precipitate by far. He rose and started for his room. If were to arise at some ghastly hour, he explained to Sax, I mustn't lose an instant in getting to bed. Brain workers require ten hours of sleep. It's different with you others. His feelings somewhat soothed by the skype, he departed. In consequence of David's alertness, they were routed out of bed the following morning, while yet there was only the most pallet hint of gray in the east to foretell the dawn. When Billy Walker found that he required a lamp to direct the process of his toilet, he was in a state of revolt. He was thoroughly disgusted when he discovered artificial light and necessity at the breakfast-table. He made it plain to all and sundry that nocturnal ramblings were not to his mind. But he sank into wordless grief when the party set forth in the launch, for darkness still prevailed, and he heard Jake announce that there would be a full hour before the rising of the sun. David, for his part, was all eagerness to be at work. Sax, too, now that he was in the open, gave over for a time his dreams of the one woman, and was filled with zeal toward this final struggle for the attainment of fortune. He believed that the day would determine success or failure in the quests for Abernethy's gold. He had seen to it that the equipment contained whatever might be necessary for thorough exploration of the cavern. In the launch were lanterns, ropes, pickaxes, shovels, and a miscellany of things, selected by himself, David and Jake, and counsel. There was, too, a big camper of food, so that they would not need to return to the cottage for luncheon. On the arrival of the party at the island they made their way at once to the cavern, carrying only the lanterns. The other things were left in the launch to be got as occasion should require after the preliminary search. None of them suspected that Ott might have befallen Roy in the cave. Although they had come to know something of the desperate nature of masters, they were confident that Roy's presence on watch would have sufficed to keep the engineer at a distance. So they were all in the best of spirits. Even to Billy Walker, who was at last fully awake, when, after lighting each lantern, they pushed aside the bushes that hid the break in the cliff, and made their way through the rift into the great chamber. As they stepped within it, they lifted their voices in joyous greeting to their comrade. To their surprise no answer came to the hail. Many innumerable echoes flung back from the recesses. He's off exploring on his own, David remarked. Billy Walker, who had been lurching clumsily here and there with inquisitive eyes, examining the unfamiliar surroundings by the light of his lantern, after the fashion of a modern diogenes, now turned to Jake with a question. How many lanterns did Mr. Morton have? He demanded. Why? Drawed Jake, astonished at the interrogation. He had just one, of course. What about it, Mr. Walker? Simply, the fact is sufficient evidence to the effect that Roy is not absent on an exploring expedition by himself, which was David's suggestion. Here is his lantern. He stooped, with a groan in response to the physical strain involved, picked up the lantern which he had observed at his feet where it stood beside the blankets, and held it out for the others to see. That's quite cold, he added. It hasn't been lighted for some time. The others stared in silence for a little. Even yet they were far from suspecting any evil. It was Jake who spoke at last. Ah, you're fine. He must have gone outside somewhere to kind of stretch himself like. Got too sleepy, maybe. But now David shook his head decisively. No, he declared, Roy's ears are mighty sharp, and we talked loudly enough in the lounge to be heard a mile, especially Billy. If Roy had been anywhere on the island, top of the ground, he'd have heard us then, and have come running. David's expression changed to one of perplexity, in which alarm mingled. There was a new note of anxiety in his voice as he concluded. And if he was anywhere about this place, he'd have heard us too, and have come running. On the lantern here, David's big eyes, shining weirdly through the lenses, went from one to another of the three men before him, as if seeking help against the trouble growing within him. There's some mystery here, Sax exclaimed. Anxiety sounded in his voice. We must search the cavern at once for him. We already know he's not in this room. We'll look through the two passages that run down under the lake. Come on, Jake, you and I will take the one on the right. He called over his shoulder to his friends as he hurried forward. You two take the passage on the left. If you find him, try to make us here. It was David who found Roy, for impatience sent him far in advance of plotting Billy Walker. By the light of the lantern, David made out the huddled form lying on the floor of the passage, just at the turning. He ran forward with a cry of grief, and knelt beside the body. It had come to him in a flash that the event was more serious than anything he had apprehended. Others had at last gained a victim. With the lantern set on the floor close at hand, David raised the body, which had been lying face downward. As he did so, he perceived a creased brow, with its matting of blood, now dried to a ruddy black. For an instant David was stricken with a great fear lest his friend be dead. But as he rested the head against him, a soft moan breathed from the lips, and at the sound, hope spring alive. He sent forth a shout, and Billy Walker, who was near, came running, for the first time in many years. No sooner had he learned of the injury to Roy than he set himself to summoning the others, and the vast voice rang thunderous through the subterranean ways. The mighty volume went rolling in sonorous waves throughout this secret place of the earth, penetrating every cranny and devious winding nook. Sax and Jake felt the smiting of it on their eardrums, and came racing through the break and into the passage once the roaring issued. Even the unconscious man was not impervious to the gigantic din. He groaned in his eyelids enclosed. David raised a hand for silence, and Billy Walker halted abruptly in his vociferation, his mouth wide. But for a long time the echoes clanged helter-skelter. When Sax and Jake came, they with David lifted the sufferer, and bore him along the passage, while Billy went before, bearing the four lanterns. In this manner they were able to make rapid progress, and soon Roy was placed comfortably on the turf of the ravine, just outside the cavern entrance, with the coat to pillow his head. David brought water in one of the vessels from the hamper in the lunch. Billy Walker, however, bethought himself of a flask which he had, and a little sup of the spirits was got into the wounded man's mouth. The effect of the stimulant was apparent almost at once. More was administered, with such excellent results that soon Roy's eyes opened, and his lips moved in a vain attempt to speak. A moment later he made a feeble movement as if to sit up. Sax assisted him to a reclining posture. When the flask was preferred a third time, the sufferer was able to swallow a considerable portion of the liquor. David now appeared with the water of which Roy drank thirstily. He remained quiet while David bathed his forehead, and, after it had been thoroughly cleansed, soaked a hanker-chief in the whisky, and bound it over the wound. Then finally Roy spoke intelligibly. The damned skunk got me. Masters! Sax repeated the name mechanically. There was no need to question all new. Roy nodded ascent, and his jaw moved forward a bit tremulously, but nonetheless the proclamation of his mood. David shook his head, in frank astonishment over the outcome of the encounter between the two men. Didn't suppose he was quick enough on the draw to get you, he said dispiritedly. Ha! Roy resented the implication. His voice came with new strength, almost snarling. Give the devil his due. He's quick all right. I didn't mean to use a gun. I chased him in the dark down there, and came up to him. I was watching for a chance to jump him. Then somehow he knew that I was there. I don't know what could have given him a hint. I didn't even guess that he had any suspicion. He fired two shots in a flash. I didn't see him so much as pulled the gun. With the first shot he put out the lantern, which was a little way off from him. The second got me. But in the dark, David's exclamation was incredulous. In the dark, Roy repeated weakly. Some class to that shooting, David admitted, with manifest reluctance. Billy Walker sniffed loudly. Nonsense, he exclaimed, and the boredom tone went reverberating afar. You should exercise your reasoning powers, my dear David, if you have them. The enemy had the devil's own muck, that's all. In the dark, David repeated disputatiously. Exactly in the dark, Billy conceded. Why was the place in darkness? Because Master shot out the light. Why did he shoot out the light? In order to be invisible to Roy, and so to avoid being killed himself. He didn't wish to serve as a mark to the other man. That means he wasn't at all sure of hitting the other man. He chanced it, and he had the luck, better luck than he expected. Roy's expression lightened greatly, as Billy presented this view of the matter. It took something from the hurt to his pride sustained in the encounter. I'd like to stand up to him, he said savagely. Luck or no luck? Roy's injury was no worse than a scalp wound, and he was soon sufficiently recovered to be hungry. Afterward, he soullessed himself with a cigarette, and declared that he would speedily be himself again. He insisted that, in the meantime, the others should busy themselves with the work in hand. He would remain where he was in the pleasant sunshine, and the luxurious idleness of it would hasten the restoration of his strength. Since there was no valid objection that could be urged to this plan, it was followed. Pickaxes were secured from the launch, and then sacks led the way into the cavern. It was the common mind that they should first investigate the passage in which Roy had suffered defeat at the hands of the engineer. The four hurried into the tunnel, and by the light of their lanterns made good progress along the rough and winding way. In about ten minutes they reached the corner where Roy had stationed himself in his pursuit of masters. They knew that the enemy had been engaged over something only a little distance beyond this point, and, as they advanced, they kept careful watch for the opening in the floor of the cavern. Many sacks, who was still in the lead, uttered a shout. Here it is. As the others came up to him, he pointed to where, a few feet in front, a break yawned in the flooring of the tunnel. Immediately all were grouped about the edge of the opening, staring down into it with intense excitement. By this time they had come to respect the resourcefulness of the engineer and his ability. The fact that the spot had held him absorbed appeared to them of high significance, since the man had searched here before their coming, was it not probable that he had found the gold in this very place? The opening was perhaps eight feet in length, by half as many in width. The depth was irregular. On the south end it was hardly more than a foot below the level of the floor, running thus for a yard. Then it sloped sharply and unevenly until it was a full two yards in depth at the wall of the tunnel, on the side nearer the other passage, the light of the lanterns shown on the litter of earth and fragments of stone. There was no sign of either chest or bags that might contain treasure. The force stared down in silence for a long minute. We must stick here. David said, eagerly, the money must be buried here. David leaped down into the pit and inspected the confused mass of fragments, while the others looked on curiously. Presently he raised his head and spoke. I calculate or a mite behind hand, as it were. This hole's been dug all over mighty careful, and mighty lately too. End of Chapter 21