“The only trouble is,” answered Neale, “that they might skip out with it before we could stop them. No, on second thought, I’d say let’s tackle them at once, capture them, and make them tell the secret.”
Luke and Ruth came back into the hall, Luke carrying the revolver.
“This is more like it!” declared Hal. “Now we can talk business to them. They’re still at it down there.”
Some sort of noise was still audible in the cellar. Whether it was what the young folks supposed it to be—men digging after treasure—or something else, who could say?
“Maybe it’s only Sandyface making a new home for her family,” suggested Ruth, with a smile.
“She wouldn’t make all that noise,” declared Neale. “Well, shall we go?” he asked the other two young men.
“Better make up a plan of campaign first,” suggested Ruth. “The other time these fellows got away—the time they struck Luke on the head. We don’t want that to happen again.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Ruth,” said Luke. “We’d better divide forces. Two of us——”
“We’re only three altogether,” objected Hal. “You can’t divide three evenly and——”
“We can call Uncle Rufus,” decided Ruth. “He is old and not very strong, but he’ll add to our numbers. I’ll get him.”