He unlocked the door and the partners tore across the rough floor to the gates. They were somewhat surprised to find them locked.
“Who’s there? Stop, or I’ll fire!” cried Ben.
They listened, trying to locate the intruder in the darkness; but the silence following this challenge remained unbroken.
“He must hev run up the beach to climb the bulkhead,” said Mundon. “I’ll go out and head him off. You stay here and watch. If he’s hidin’ here, and makes a sound, you call me.”
Left alone in the darkness, Ben fancied several times that he heard the burglar moving in the black shadows of the interior. But a careful investigation, with the aid of a lantern when Mundon returned, proved that the place was empty.
“I don’t see how he could hev got over that bulkhead so quick,” Mundon remarked, as he related his unsuccessful attempt to capture the man. “Must hev ben mighty lively, and an acrobat in the bargain, to git out of sight in that time. Let’s see what mischief he’s ben up to.”
The “jigger” was undisturbed, but they found footprints in the moist ground near the furnace.
“Mebbe he came in a boat,” Mundon suddenly suggested. “Mebbe he wasn’t after our gold at all.”
Ben stared in surprise. “Not after the gold!” he exclaimed. “Then what in thunder was he after?”
“Can’t you guess?”