And that, really, was all that remained of the celebrated mystery. As summed up by Bob it ran this way:
“Jolly Bill and Rod, who were roaming around the country, living as best they could on what they first got out of the buried treasure, learned, at the same time, of Hank’s death through letters he had caused to be sent them. They also knew Hiram had succeeded to the fortune.
“They came on to Cliffside, separately, but with the same end in view, that of robbing Hiram. Rod adopted a disguise he had used before, it seems. Jolly Bill depended on sneaking tactics, and it was he who got ahead of Rod. Of course Rod must have known Bill, for the latter did not disguise himself. But it is doubtful if Bill knew Rod under all that hair and whiskers.
“Bill succeeded in his robbery after the second attempt, but, instead of fleeing he remained on the scene and tried, by pretending friendship with Hiram, to throw suspicion from himself. Rod, knowing he had been forestalled, hung around trying to find some way of coming at the treasure. He even dug for it. But after Bill had the map, or, rather, the cipher, he couldn’t do anything without the key, which Hiram had but didn’t know it. As for the hook-armed man, there must have been some secret between him and Rod which we don’t know anything about. It may have had nothing to do with this case.”
“But I suppose you want another case to work on, don’t you, Bob?” asked Ned.
“Oh, I wouldn’t mind,” was the answer.
“If you could have your choice, what sort of a case would you want to work on, Bob?” asked Harry.
“A case of soda water!” exclaimed Ned.
“No, cut it out! I’m serious,” went on Harry. “I’d just like to see what Bob’s ideas are on the matter.”
“I don’t know that I have any,” said Bob with a laugh. “In this detective business you can’t pick and choose. At least I’ve never heard of any of them doing it. Of course one man may be better working on bank robberies and another on murder cases.”