As the three men crept to the opening of the cavern, Birdie Crull peered cautiously around the edge. There was no one in view.
One factor worried him. That was the entrance at the other side. Circling the edge of the cavern, the gunman crouched beside the opposite opening.
“I’m watching here,” he said, in a whisper that was audible throughout the low room. “Come on in. Look in the pit.”
Blair Windsor inspected the open grating.
“They’re gone,” he said.
“That guy got them out,” snarled Crull. “That means just one thing, boys. He’s dragged them — whether they’re dead or alive — and they’ve taken the tunnel to the large house.
“They can’t get through there. The old man is waiting for them. We’ll sneak in on them.”
There was a slight sound from the corner of the cavern. Birdie Crull had gone by the spot a moment before. There had been no one in sight.
All three turned toward the spot from which the sound had come. They were staring directly at the torture casket in which Harry Vincent had once been.
Now a black form emerged from the opening in the top. The astounded counterfeiters were staring into the muzzles of two revolvers — held by The Shadow!