Mr. Stevenson crawled up toward one of the open windows and Jack and Fred could not resist the temptation to crawl up to the other. The three heard the men inside talking earnestly. Lemrech had made a demand for five thousand dollars and Flanders tried to cut this amount in half.
“No, sir, it’s five thousand dollars or nothing,” growled Lemrech. “Isn’t that so, Tex?”
“It sure is! Five thousand!” answered Norris. “And we want it in cold cash, too! No checks or anything like that!”
“How do you know I’ve got so much cash with me?” demanded Tommy Flanders’ father.
“Well, I told you to bring cash,” answered Carl Lemrech.
“Let me see the book, so that I know it’s all right,” answered Flanders.
“You’ll pay the five thousand in cash?”
“Yes.”
Carl Lemrech paused for a moment and then, going to a corner of the cabin, removed a couple of boards in the flooring. From an opening below he took a heavy tin box. This he unlocked and brought forth a package wrapped in a newspaper.