“Scream at the top of your lungs, my dear. Only the dead will hear you.”
“The dead! Oh!” A shudder wracked Rhoda’s thin body as she became aware of the tombs in the crypt. “Why did you bring me here?”
“For one purpose. I want the sapphire. Hand it over and you will not be harmed.”
“I haven’t the gem.”
“But you know where it is.”
Rhoda remained silent.
“You’ll tell,” Highland rasped, losing all patience. “I haven’t all day! You tricked me with that cheap substitute, and you induced your grandmother to hold out against me. Now we are through playing.”
“You’re nothing but a cheap crook!”
“A crook perhaps,” said the man, “but hardly cheap. The sapphire should be worth $50,000 at a conservative estimate. Now where is it?”
“You’ll never learn from me!” Rhoda cried defiantly. “I’ll die before I’ll tell!”