“Great!” John murmured aloud. “Let ’em have it.”
There followed a blinding flash, a loud roar, then deep, moonlit silence.
This silence was broken by a sudden rush of heavy feet, then the purr of a motor. This picked up, became a pulsing roar, then faded away in the distance.
“Gone! What did I tell you,” John laughed. “Cowards. Crooks are all like that. Like rats or snakes they’ll only fight when they’re cornered.
“Come!” Once more he was on the move. “There may be a few more sparklers in there. No matter how they came there, whether they were stolen or are part of the old Judge’s fortune long lost to the family, we’ll gather them in.”
Jimmie’s feelings were a tumult as he once again entered the old house. A score of questions crowded his busy brain. What of those diamonds? Whose were they? Had they remained long hidden in a recess of the chimney or had they recently been stolen and stored there?
More important still was the picture. Was it a success? He must get that old camera at once. And he did. With this securely attached to his belt he joined John in his search for diamonds. He found three. They seemed a little queer to him as he had seen very few diamonds. Perhaps, after all, they were only imitations. This thought gave him a sinking feeling. To risk one’s life for a few bits of glass, that would be terrible.
From time to time he paused to listen. What if those men came back?
But they did not come. At last John rose with a sigh. “Guess we’d better call that good. I—I’m tired. We’ll sneak home. Not down the drive. That might be dangerous.”
In absolute silence they tiptoed out of the place. John turned the key in the door. Then they were away.