A small circle of light flashed to and fro in the inky blackness. It turned upwards and found the domed roof of a cavern. It swept to the right and to the left. Dark walls of broken rock were all it revealed, a simple expression of Nature’s monstrous labor.
Presently it turned away and became motionless. It had suddenly revealed a mass of equipment that had nothing to do with Nature.
The light made no further movement. A pair of eager eyes were searching the discovery.
But Sinclair had little enough time in which to indulge mere curiosity. The plans he had made depended entirely for success upon the swiftness with which they were executed. Delay would probably mean disaster to them and very likely to himself as well. So it was sufficient that he recognized the complicated gear of a distilling plant of considerable capacity without its further consideration at the moment.
It told him all he desired to know just then. It was the final proof of Annette’s sincerity. It was very welcome. But the girl had further warned him that five hundred gallons of raw spirit had been brewed, and kegged, and set ready for shipment He must verify that. Now—where?
The light of his flash lamp continued its work. The searching circle of light passed on here, there, everywhere. It shone ahead, an ever-widening shaft of light that became faint and ineffective in the far remoteness of the bowels of the cavern. It came back sharply to the nearness. Left and right it flashed swiftly. And finally it searched the litter of impedimenta upon the uneven surface of the rocky floor.
It was then that an exclamation broke sharply. The man dropped to his knees before a great lantern which stood ready trimmed for lighting.
The mellow lantern light fulfilled its purpose. The cavern lit up sufficiently, all but the far distance which formed an ugly, rugged passage. The place was far larger than Sinclair had suspected, and conveyed nothing pleasant or easy. It was a grim hiding. And as he gazed, a queer weight of depression settled heavily on his spirits.
But the feeling passed as the thing he sought was revealed. Excited satisfaction replaced it when he beheld a neatly arranged stack of ten-gallon kegs.
The policeman moved across to it at once. The barrels were arranged near the right hand wall in three tiers. He set his lantern down on the top of the upper tier to leave himself free for examination. He lifted a barrel and replaced it. He tried several others. And with each test his satisfaction grew. They were all full. Annette had not deceived him. A smile of deep significance lit his eager eyes.