"Perhaps we can pull it away from the back," said Dick. "That is, if there is any way of fastening the rope."
As he spoke he reached across the tablet from the front, and felt in the back.
"By ginger! the back's hollow!" he burst out.
"Hollow?" came from several of the others.
"Yes, hollow. Here, give me one of the torches and I'll take a look for the chest."
The light was speedily thrust forward, and while the others held him by the legs to keep from sliding down into the crack beyond, Dick made an inspection.
"The hole under the tablet is empty!"
A groan went up.
"Empty? Impossible!" said Robert Menden, and his face grew as white as a sheet.
"Yes, the hole is empty."