Instinctively he clutched the Yankee by the sleeve, and both dropped to the ground behind the bowlder against which the tablet rested.
[CHAPTER VII.
THE LEGEND OF HEZ.]
Dick and the Yankee had no sooner sought seclusion behind the bowlder than a man of ragged and unkempt appearance came from the mouth of the passage with a dog at his side.
Both gave a violent start of surprise.
It was the man and dog who had entered the base of the obelisk before them.
The stranger still carried a rifle, and as Haypole saw this he clutched his companion by the shoulder and exclaimed, in a low tone:
“Ther infernal skunk has got my rifle! It sartainly is he who stole it that night in th’ swamp.”
“Never mind,” whispered Dick. “Let’s watch him and see what he is up to.”