Only the waning of the moon gave indication of how swiftly the night was passing. Penny became alarmed as she observed how fast the pool emptied. Jerry would not have as long as she had anticipated. But surely, he would bring help before it was too late.
Presently, one of the men shut off the motor in the stone tower, saying with quiet jubilance:
“There, she’s empty!”
He jumped down into the tank, and almost at once uttered a cry of discovery.
“Here it is, just as he said! The ring to the trap! Give us some help, Gus.”
With Aaron Dietz and the bewildered bridegroom watching from above, the two men raised the heavy block of cement. Penny drew closer for she did not wish to miss anything. She stood in the shadow of a tree scarcely fifteen yards from where the men worked.
“A stairway leads down into an underground vault!” Jake cried exultantly. “We’ve found the hiding place of the gold.”
“Toss me your flashlight, Aaron,” called Gus. “We’ll soon have all of the treasure out of here.”
The next ten minutes brought a confused whirl of impressions. Penny’s thoughts were in turmoil. Why didn’t Jerry come with the police? As soon as the men carried the burden of gold to the boat they would discover Flora, bound and gagged. Then they would suspect that a trap had been laid. Oh, why didn’t Jerry hurry?
Gus and Jake had descended into the underground vault. As the light reappeared, Penny was dumbfounded to see that the men were empty handed.