at the cottage that same night, margaret made an excuse of fatigue, and withdrew to her chamber immediately when dinner was done, to the discomfiture 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 their return trip in the canoe.
“i’ve 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, in astonishment, “that you know already?”
“certainly,” was the crisp answer. “it[289] was chris.”
“but how——”
“elimination. there was no problem of interest.”
“but——”
“only a kindergarten form of ratiocination 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?”
[290]“yes,” saxe admitted. he was greatly disconcerted by his failure to add anything to the seer’s knowledge.
“bully for chris!” david exclaimed. “crafty old critter, too, to dig into that safe. huh! 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 ’em in wyoming.”
“awful nuisance,” billy walker grumbled, “aged family retainers—doddering remnants, always butting in!” he gaped shamelessly, with a great noise.
saxe, 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 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 portentously at the second.
[291]“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 too precipitate,” he growled; “too precipitate by far.” he rose and started for his room. “if we’re to arise at some ghastly hour,” he explained to saxe, “i musn’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 this gibe, he departed.
in consequence of david’s alertness, they were routed out of bed the following morning while yet there was only the most pallid 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 a 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[292] 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. saxe, 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 quest for abernethey’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 in council. there was, too, a big hamper 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 aught might[293] 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 a 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—only 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.
[294]“why,” drawled jake, astonished at the interrogation, “he had jest one, o’ 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. “it’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:
“i opine, he must have gone outside some’rs, to kind o’ stretch ’imself-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 launch to be heard a mile—specially billy. if roy had been anywhere on the island, top of the ground, he’d have heard us then, and have come a-running.” david’s expression[295] 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 a-running. and 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,” saxe 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’ll 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 hear.”
it was david who found roy, for impatience sent him far in advance of plodding 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.[296] 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. masters 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 the 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 sprang 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. saxe and jake felt the smiting of it on their ear-drums, and came racing through the break and into the[297] passage whence the roaring issued. even the unconscious man was not impervious to the gigantic din, he groaned, and his eyelids unclosed. 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 saxe 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 a coat to pillow his head. david brought water in one of the vessels from the hamper in the launch. 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. saxe assisted him to a reclining[298] posture. when the flask was proffered 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 handkerchief in the whiskey, and bound it over the wound. then finally, roy spoke intelligibly.
“the damned skunk got me!”
“masters!” saxe repeated the name mechanically. there was no need to question—all knew.
roy nodded assent; and his jaw moved forward, a bit tremulously, but none the less a 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. “huh!”
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[299] him in the dark down there, and came up to him. i was watching for a chance to jump him, when, 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 pull 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 bourdon tone went reverberating afar. “you should exercise your reasoning powers, my dear david—if you have them—the enemy had the devil’s own luck, that’s all.”
“in the dark!” david repeated, disputatiously.
“exactly—in the dark,” billy conceded. “why was the place in darkness? because masters shot out the light. why did he[300] 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 solaced 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[301] launch, and then saxe 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. presently, saxe, 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[302] 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 shone on a litter of earth and fragments of stone. there was no sign of either chest or bags that might contain treasure. the four stared down in silence for a long minute.
“we must dig here,” david said, eagerly. “the money must be buried here.”
jake 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 calc’late we’re a mite behindhand, as it were. this hole’s been dug all over mighty careful—and mighty lately, too!”
