"Did he get your guns away from you?" asked the boy.
"You bet he did!" replied Tommy.
"How did he do it?"
"He asked us to lay them aside while we crawled through a crack in the rock, and then grabbed them. Oh, he's a foxy old fellow, that!"
"Well, we can't get out if we stand here talking all day," Sandy ventured. "The longer we stay, the hungrier we'll get!"
"What I'd like to know," Will suggested, "is this: Why did he do it? What spite has he against us?"
"If you leave it to me," Thede replied, "the Little Brass God has something to do with it! I don't know whether Pierre has possession of the ugly little beast, or whether he is trying to get possession of it, but I believe he has a notion that we're trying to get bold of it."
"Well, that's a good guess," grinned Tommy.
During all this conversation the voice of the half-breed had been frequently heard, alternately cursing and coaxing the lads to enter the outer chamber where he could talk with them.
"What do you want?" Will asked finally.