Well, it appeared that the two men had driven straight to the golf links with the wagon, and had turned in much as we had done. They had not known that Aggie was in the rear, and at first she had not been worried, thinking that Tish and I were in the seat. But finally she had learned her mistake, and that they were talking about loot from some place or other, and she was greatly alarmed. They were going too fast for her to escape, although once or twice they had struck bunkers which nearly threw her out.
But at last they got into the sand pit, and as the horse climbed up the steep ascent our poor Aggie had heard her teeth drop out of her pocket and had made a frantic clutch at them. The next moment she had alighted on her head in the sand pit and the wagon had gone on.
She was greatly shaken by her experience and had taken a heavy cold; but although we felt about for the blackberry cordial, we could not find it, and could only believe it had miraculously remained in the wagon.
As she finished her narrative our dear Tish slipped quietly over the edge of the pit and sat down, panting, in the sand. The storm being definitely over and a faint moon now showing, we perceived that she carried in her hand a canvas sack tied with a strong cord, and from its weight as she dropped it we knew that at last we had the treasure.
It was a great moment, and both Aggie and I then set about searching for the missing teeth. But as Tish learned of Aggie’s experience she grew thoughtful.
“Undoubtedly,” she said, “those two men are somehow concerned in this robbery to-night, and very probably the rendezvous of the gang is somewhere hereabouts. In which direction did they go, Aggie?”
“They’ve parked the wagod over id those woods.”
“Then,” said Tish, “it is our clear duty——”
“——to go hobe,” said Aggie sharply.
“Home nothing!” said Tish. “Jail is where we go unless we get them. There are fifteen policemen and a sheriff coming for us at this minute, and——” But here she stopped and listened intently. “It is too late,” she said, with the first discouragement she had shown all evening. “Too late, my friends. The police are coming now.”