CHAPTER XXVII
LARRY IS REWARDED
Walking softly Larry approached closer to where the men were at work. He could not see what they were doing, except that they were making a hole in the ground. One man stood a little distance back from the others and held what seemed to be a small box in his arms.
“Maybe there’s been a murder committed and they’re burying the corpse,” thought Larry. Then he laughed at his thought. The box the man had would hardly hold a dead cat.
The men were working fast now, and seemed anxious to get through.
“That’s deep enough,” said one. “Get a flat stone to put on top.”
In his curiosity Larry forgot the caution he had hitherto used. His foot touched a piece of wood, dislodged it, and rattled it against a stone. It made quite a noise.
“What’s that?” exclaimed the man with the box.
“Someone’s coming,” replied the one with the pick.
“I’ll see what it is,” the third man said, as he started toward Larry. But the boy did not wait to note what would happen when the man got to him. He sped off softly through the darkness, and when he saw a part of a wall just ahead of him he dropped down behind it. The man passed him on the run, but did not think of looking behind the masonry. After looking about him, as well as he could in the darkness, the man returned.
“What was it?” asked his companions.