ROY, after an hour of basking on the turf in the mellow warmth of the sunshine, felt himself his own man again, in spite of the dull pain in his head. Curiosity spurred him to action. He stretched himself luxuriously, then stood up, bent his right arm until the biceps was iron hard, to prove that the strength was still in him. Thereafter, he made his way into the cavern. When he had come into the big room, he found his lantern by the aid of matches, lighted it, and then paused, listening, uncertain as to which of the two passages he should follow. He could hear nothing, and presently decided on the left one, in which he had met his discomfiture. He traversed this until he reached the rift that gave communication with the adjacent tunnel. Here, again, he halted, to give ear intently, and once again he could detect no sound. He decided that his friends must be somewhere in the passage on the right, and crossed into it, continuing the descent. He had not gone far when he heard[319] the familiar roaring of Billy Walker’s voice, and knew that those whom he sought were ahead of him in the tunnel. He quickened his steps, and, much to his astonishment, found that the way now led upward, rather steeply. He reached a level, and heard the huge voice of the sage, followed by the mellow peal of David’s laughter. An instant later, he stood within the second chamber of the cavern, and called out to his friends, who were moving slowly along the side opposite him. Just as the two turned in surprise on recognizing the wounded man’s voice thus unexpectedly, another noise caught their ears, and caused them to check the greetings on their lips. From the third passage came the clatter of feet running swiftly over the stone floor. As they gazed, the squat figure of Jake darted into the room, to halt, panting, as his eyes fell on the three men.
“Hurrah!” the boatman gasped weakly, for the hasty pace from the pit below had winded him. He swung his lantern in a flourish of triumph.
The glee of the man permitted only one possible explanation. The three witnesses of that[320] exultant entrance knew that the treasure had been found. Forthwith, they shared the messenger’s excitement. Jake told his story in few words. Within a half-minute of his coming, the four were hurrying down the third passage, toward the spot where Saxe was waiting beside his chest of gold. He heard the noise of their approach, and, with a little start, aroused himself from the blissful dreaming into which he had fallen, wherein the gold of a woman’s hair had counted as of more worth than that locked in the brass-bound box at his feet.
There ensued a period of general joy, though the specific causes of delight varied somewhat. Jake took keen pleasure in the fact that the one exciting incident of a humdrum life was ending in success. David was glad that the adventure on which he had embarked was achieved with victory to his friend’s hopes. Roy was savagely pleased over this discovery, which thus summarily put an end to Masters’ ambitions. Billy beheld with pride a final vindication of his exactitude in ratiocination. Saxe was happy in the thought that here was wealth to offer the one whom he loved. The[321] subtly sweet flavor of that happiness was in the knowledge that the way to it had been pointed by her whom his friends had called his logical enemy. His enemy—she, Margaret! His lips curved to a tender smile.
Roy promptly assumed control of the operations involved in the disposal of the treasure. He had been a practical miner, was skilled in ingenious devices for the moving of heavy weights. He appointed David, who had had similar experiences, his chief helper. Billy Walker seated himself as comfortably as he might on one of the fragments cast up from the pit, and prepared to offer such comments on future events as should suggest themselves to an orderly and logical mind. Jake proposed breaking open the lock, and then loading themselves with as much gold as they could carry, for transportation to the launch. Roy refused acceptance of this simple method.
“It must weight about a thousand pounds,” he said. “It’s too heavy for us to carry all the way to the shore alone. Bring that heaviest cable from the launch, Jake, and the pulley-tackle that’s in the locker. Do that first. Perhaps Dave and I may be able to rig the[322] pulley, and haul the chest up into the room above. Then, after you’ve brought the rope, go in the launch, and get half-a-dozen men from the Landing, to help. Bring along, too, four heavy poles. We’ll lash those on, to serve as handles in carrying the chest to the launch. Arrange for a lumber wagon at the Landing. Miss Thurston told me there’s a bank at the nearest town—Hadley—about three miles from the Landing. Eh?” Jake nodded assent. “The day’s young yet,” Roy concluded. “We’ll land Abernethey’s gold in the bank before night.”
“Bank shets up at three o’clock,” the boatman objected.
“It’ll open again fast enough for what’s in this box,” Roy retorted. “You hurry up that cable, Jake.”
“I’ll go with him,” David said. “It may need more than the cable length for the business, it’s quite a stretch up that slope.” Roy nodded assent, and the two hastened off.
During their absence, Roy, with the assistance of Saxe, busied himself in arranging a smooth plane of stones in that end of the pit nearer the ascent, in such fashion as to afford[323] an easy slide for the chest. Soon, the cable was brought, and, while the others devoted themselves to the adjustment of this, Jake departed on his mission to the Landing.
The workers in the tunnel found themselves confronted with serious difficulty when it came to passing the rope underneath the chest. It required the joint efforts of the four, though Billy Walker’s aid was not contributed without expostulation against the uselessness of this part of the labor. In the end, however, what by great exertion on the part of each and by the employment of the pickaxes as levers and bits of rock as supports, the task was achieved, and the rope was got in position under the chest. The remainder of the business was simple enough. In a short time, the box was firmly set within the hempen bands, knotted with seamanlike smartness by Roy, and the main length of the cable was free for adjustment to block and tackle. The extent of it, to Roy’s relief, proved ample for the purpose, and forthwith he and David carried the free end of it up the slope to the level of the chamber, in quest of some projection of rock to which the hook of the block might be made[324] fast. Saxe and Billy remained below, beside the treasure-chest.
Saxe lighted another cigarette, Billy had recourse to one of his customary black cigars, and the two smoked contentedly in silence. Saxe could hear indistinctly from time to time the movements of Roy and David, busy on the level above. And then, presently, his ears detected another sound. He listened—idly at first, soon with growing interest, finally with intent curiosity, which swiftly became excitement. The noise was faint, intermittent, yet persistent. In his earlier attention to it, Saxe found difficulty in locating the direction whence the sound issued, but, later on, he became sure that it had its origin somewhere in the other passage, beyond the barrier that divided the pit into two parts. The fact filled him with amazement. He knew the whereabouts of all in his own party. He could still hear Roy and David, active on the level above; Billy Walker was there present with him by the pit; Jake, ere this, was on his way to the Landing in the launch. It was impossible that the boatman should have disobeyed instructions, to return into the other passage for some mysterious[325] purpose of his own. But, since all the members............