Standing with his back to the tent, he studied the sky. The night was cold but clear. Stars winked overhead and a sliver of moon was rising above the jagged mountain peaks.
Tossing wood on the fire, he ambled down the path. The miner’s huts were dark. In fact, the only glow of light came from the engineer’s office.
Turning in that direction, Jack approached the building from the rear. A shade had been pulled down, blocking the office window, but it gaped a full inch at the bottom.
Jack glimpsed Rhodes and his wife inside the inner office. Rhodes had opened the heavy door of the big safe. As the Scout watched, he removed a cardboard box.
No word was exchanged by the engineer and his wife. Rhodes rolled the contents of the box out on the table—a collection of emeralds so large that it snatched Jack’s breath.
“There’s enough wealth here to give us a new start in the States,” he heard the engineer say. “I hadn’t intended to open the new vein until I was certain Corning was safely out of the way. But with those Scouts poking their noses in, I couldn’t afford to risk delay. I’m depending upon you to get these gems safely out, my dear. I’ll follow within a few days.”
“Those Scouts may suspect—”
“They can’t prove anything without Corning, and they’ll never find him.”
“How about the two that are accompanying me?” Mrs. Rhodes asked anxiously. “If they learn about these gems—”
“Don’t worry about those lads, my dear. They have no reason to believe that you’re carrying more than the one sample to be assayed. Handle the others in the usual way, and no one will suspect.”