The two boys heartily grabbed the stone and laid it aside. One of them stooped and started pulling aside the dirt with his hands, but Frank halted him.
“You can’t get it away quickly enough that way. The hole is deep. Lanky, find a spade or a stick of wood.”
In only a moment or two Lanky Wallace found a sharp stick that could be used for the purpose, and went at the work of uncovering the metal box with a willing vim.
Pound after pound of the soft earth came out of the hole, but there was no evidence of the box containing the jewels.
Frank was becoming nervous with the excitement of this search, and, particularly, because there was as yet no indication of success.
“Push the stick straight down to see how far it goes before it strikes the box!” he hoarsely called to the boys.
Lanky sent the stick downward, then pushed on it with his foot, but, despite the stick’s length of about a foot and one-half, it struck nothing to impede its progress.
“That box isn’t there, fellows!” said Frank. “I know the hole was not that deep. Jed Marmette took it out and has hidden it somewhere else!”
Just now it came forcibly home to Frank Allen that the boys had been seen by Jed Marmette. Of course, he knew they had not taken the jewels, as well as Marmette knew it, but Marmette had used this fact as his excuse for not having the jewels, and, unthoughtedly, unknowingly, he had evidenced to Frank that, having seen the five boys on the place and having feared they would come back or send back to get the metal box, he had dug it up and placed it in some other spot after they had gone.
The three boys looked askance at Frank.