“Maybe it’s Joe Hansart piling on more stones!” he muttered.
Together, the trapped pair shouted. At once the scraping sound ceased.
“Someone’s out there,” Warner decided. “It must be Joe. Maybe if we can convince him we don’t want any of his gold, he’ll relent and let us out.”
They shouted, but only their own voices echoed weirdly back in the pit. Desperately, they shoved again at the rock barrier. This time they succeeded in dislodging enough of the loose debris to permit a little daylight to filter down.
As they nursed their bruised hands, they heard harsh laughter.
“Joe, listen to reason!” Warner bellowed at him. “We don’t want your stupid gold.”
“No?” asked a mocking voice.
Warner and Jack stiffened.
“That’s Walz!” the latter identified him. “Not Hansart!”
For a fleeting instant, the two prisoners took heart. They thought they would be able to reason with the motel owner.