But he was not quick enough. Tom caught the flicker of Bain’s eyelids. The sailor dropped his iron and stood upright over the detective. “None of that faking!” And he kicked the bound man in the side. “You ransacked this place and we want what you found!”
To Ann’s amazement Bain opened his eyes and answered, “Yes, I found it. What are you going to do about it?”
Tom seemed as much surprised as Ann and for a moment he gaped stupidly down into Bain’s face.
“There is not a thing you can do,” Bain went on. “Kill me if you like but the secret of the money goes with me—Tom Minor.”
Charlie leaped to his feet with a cry of terror. “He knows us! Knock him off, Tom, knock him off! He’ll tell on us.”
“Not until we get what we’ve come for,” answered Tom, with one shove of his hand pushing Charlie back into the wrecked berth. “There is ways of making people tell secrets.”
Into Ann’s mind came all the tales of days gone by when men were tortured and put on the rack; historical tales were her great love in reading, Crockett and Scott and the others. What were she and Jo going to do to save Warren Bain? Run to the house? There wasn’t time for that to be of the slightest use. Her father and Mr. Bailey should be here now.
Ann had no idea how long it was since Helen had left them. She knew well enough that it could not be as long as it seemed, but surely it wouldn’t have taken Helen more than half an hour to get home. Half an hour, and then five minutes for Mr. Bailey to get his gun—Ann was sure that her father hadn’t one—and then ten minutes across the sloping field from the house. But all those minutes had seemed like an hour each, with all the excitement and all the happenings. Help would come in a minute, but it seemed as though time had stopped. Anything could be done in a minute, and no one was there but Jo and herself.
All at once she knew. The strange noise! It had frightened the men last night; she had heard Tom admit it, she had heard Charlie taunt Tom with his fear of it.
“Jo!” She hardly breathed the words. “Get two sticks, two dry sticks!” He could go more silently than she; pebbles seemed never to rattle under his feet.