Van Dyck made no comment until after we had gone back to our mid-island post in the wood. Then he said abruptly: "How long do you think it will take them to dig up those gold bars and carry them down to the boat, Dick?"
"Why, I don't know; with the number of men they've probably got on the job it oughtn't to take more than half an hour or so," I returned.
"Thirty minutes; it's short—frightfully short," he said, as if he were thinking aloud. Then; "It's this suspense that takes the heart out of a man."
It seemed a little odd that he should lament the shortness of the time in one breath, and in the next give the impression that he wished it were shorter.
"What difference does their speed or slowness make to us?" I asked.
"It is just a chance—just the rawest of all chances," he went on, ignoring my query. "I suppose I ought not to have let it hang upon such a weak thread; but there was no choice—no choice at all."
"If you would describe the thread I might be able to come a little nearer guessing what you are talking about," I retorted.
"Goff has a plan of some sort, but he couldn't take the time to go into details. As I've told you, he warned me that no dependence whatever could be placed upon the Frenchman's promise to leave the long-boat and the provisions. He advised me to accept the terms as they stood, and to make a show of keeping our part of them—as we have. Past that, we were to get in touch again, holding ourselves in readiness for whatever might happen."
"And you don't know what is going to happen?"
"No more than you do. You know how secretive Goff is, and, as I say, our time was short. I can't, for the life of me, see what Goff can possibly do to help out. I don't need to tell you the real reason why Le Gros insisted upon our surrendering him. He is the one man besides myself who knows, or is supposed to know, where my gold bars are buried, and Le Gros meant to make him point out the spot—has probably done so before this time. What Goff hoped to gain by putting himself into their hands, I don't know, but we may be sure that he has some scheme in his clever old head. He told me to watch the beaches, both of them, and to be ready to bunch our fighting half-dozen at any point, and at any minute."