A little brook was gushing from the midst of the verdure, and emptied its waters into a shallow pool, the bottom of which was composed of pure white sand.
Pausing on the brink of this pool, the detectives glanced searchingly around, and heard the negro laughing amid the shrubbery.
"He's over there!" said Harry, pointing across the pool.
"Watch a moment, and we may locate him," Old King Brady whispered.
Standing stock still, they listened intently.
In fact, they were so absorbed in looking for the negro that they did not see two men crouching in the bushes close behind them.
They were the two masked fellows who first assailed them.
As stealthily as tigers, they crept from their covert.
When but a few feet separated them from the Bradys, they made a combined rush, with their hands outstretched.
The alert detectives heard them coming, and glanced around.