"Return to the woods, and don't allow a space as large as a man's body to escape inspection. Away with you—our triumph is not complete without the head of the old shepherd."
"I can find nothing of the gold," said a voice that I had heard before, and looking up I saw our treacherous companion, Steel Spring.
The fellow regarded me with a sly grin, and winked his eye as he pointed to the deep hole where he had labored when we discovered the treasure.
A frightful expression came over the robber's face as he heard the report. His staring eyes seemed to become injected with blood, and the scars on his countenance turned to a more livid hue.
"Where have you secreted the gold?" he asked, with a voice trembling with passion.
"What gold?" I demanded, indifferently.
"The gold which Jim Gulpin buried here. You know what I mean; and let me tell you that a civil and correct answer will stand your friend, just at this time. You have no police to fall back upon, and if I but give the word, your lives are not worth a farthing."
"It is true, we were after the gold, but what evidence have you that we found it?" I demanded.
"The evidence of the man who has been on your track ever since you entered the forest—saw you remove the sack, and then saw you attempt to escape with your plunder. Come here, Steel Spring."
The long, lank, lying wretch came at the call of his commander, and with a gracious nod towards us, stood ready to answer any questions.