“Then—then you think they are digging for——”
“Kidd’s gold!” finished Merriwell.
There was a moment of silence, and then Browning hoarsely whispered:
“That’s it—just it! It explains everything.”
“Everything but the prisoner. One of those four men is not here of his own free will. That is certain.”
“And the mystery of the girl on board the vessel,” came from Harry. “It is certain she is not there of her own free will.”
There was no doubt in the minds of the boys; all were satisfied that Frank had hit upon the truth.
Harry, however, was no less afraid, for he realized that, without doubt, the men who had taken such pains to come there under cover of the storm and had brought a captive with them were ruffians capable of any desperate deed.
The men worked steadily. One would use the pick a short time, and then the other would toss out the dirt with the spade. Not one of the four spoke. Deeper and deeper grew the hole.
The light fell on the faces of the men occasionally. They were rough and bearded. Frank watched them closely, and he soon decided that one was the man who had been at the wheel of the black schooner when they first saw the vessel that day.