“Come and show us,” ordered Luke. “And no tricks, mind!”
“Oh, we’re past tricks,” said Rother humbly enough. “We’ll play into your hands now. Only, if you do locate any money—well, maybe you’ll give us enough to get a fresh start.”
“We’ll see,” Ruth replied guardedly.
The boys carefully guarded the men, surrounding them as they all went back to the cellar.
“We never knew that other door was there!” exclaimed Ruth, when they saw how the men had entered and left the cellar.
“That’s one of the things Uncle Peter kept to himself,” said Agnes. “There seems to have been a number of them.”
The lights were turned on in the cellar, and then, followed by the Corner House girls and their friends, the men led the way to the corner where they had been digging when surprised by Luke and Hal.
“There’s the white star,” remarked Rother, pointing to a beam overhead.
And there, showing faintly in the half darkness, was a white star painted on one of the beams. Just beneath it was the beginning of an excavation in the cellar bottom.