“Gone!” he exclaimed. “The Fire God is gone!”
“What could you expect?” Solomon grumbled. “They were after it. Why should they leave it?
“See!” he added after one look at the bag. “They ripped it open.”
As he turned to retrace his steps he stumbled over a hard object.
“A brick,” he mumbled after casting the light of a pocket torch upon it. “Only a brick.”
“But how strange!” There was surprise in Angelo’s voice. “The thing is dry. And it rained only two hours ago. And see! There are two of them.”
“Those men threw them there,” was Solomon’s pronouncement. “Probably meant to brain some one if necessary.”
He could not have guessed how wrong he was.
Since no further trace of the missing girl and her precious burden could be found there was nothing for them but to return. This they did. Then they discovered that Petite Jeanne, too, was missing.
The police were notified at once. An alarm was broadcast over the police radio network. After that there seemed nothing to do but wait.