“Don’t worry about that. What time is it?”
The man flashed a torch and glanced at his watch.
“It’s almost two o’clock.”
“Ha! Then we’d better get out of here within the hour. It’ll be daylight by four-thirty, and I want to be back at headquarters before then. You know how I am going, of course.”
“I know how you’ll go if you get out of here,” the man replied. “Getting out of here is what is worrying me.”
“Don’t worry—it causes gray hairs. Listen!”
They could hear a commotion at the bottom of the shaft. The box had reached its destination, and the bound, gagged, and unconscious man had been seen and taken out.
“It’s Verbeck!” the chief cried. “He’s doped, or something!”
“Vapor gun!” Muggs explained.
“Then they’ve sent him back to us. But where did he come from? Answer me that! He didn’t come from the top, and there’s no place between here and the top where he could come from. Unbind him, you men, and take that gag off. Maybe he can tell us something when he gets rid of that vapor dope. What’s this—a note?”