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Page 30
"That settles that bum detective, so far as we are concerned!" Will
said to his chum, in a whisper. "We knew before that he was playing a
rotten game on us, but we didn't know that, his plans included such
surreptitious visits to the mine."
After making sure that the detective was not within sight or sound,
Will and George tapped softly at the little door and were admitted by
the caretaker. Five minutes later they were joined by Tommy and
Sandy.
"Were you boys out there a few moments ago?" asked Canfield.
"Nix!" replied George. "That was Ventner. We saw him from the
weigh-house. He was trying to sneak his way into the mine!"
"But he has full permission to enter at any time he sees fit!" urged
the caretaker. "It doesn't seem as if he would attempt to steal his
way in during the night. You must be mistaken!"
"Yes, and perhaps we were mistaken about the sawing of the ladder,
too!" Tommy broke in.
"Yes, we may all be mistaken about that."
"Not so you could notice it!" declared Sandy.
"If you look at the thief's coat, you'll see that he didn't do all the
sawing on the rungs of the ladder. We've got him too dead to skin!"
Without any lights being shown on the surface, the boys were conducted
down the ladder to the first level. There they found a room very
cozily furnished, indeed. A lounge from the office, a couple of good
sized cupboards, and a large table had been brought down, together
with a serviceable rug and numerous chairs, and the apartment presented
an unexpectedly homelike appearance.
The current was on, and two electric lamps made the room as light as
day. The cooking was to be done over electric coils so that the
presence of the boys would not be disclosed by smoke. One of the
ventilating pipes which supplied the offices in the vicinity of the
shaft with fresh air passed through the room, so there was no lack of
ozone.
"Have we got plenty of eatings?" asked Tommy.
"Plenty!" was the reply. "I have arranged for fresh meat, milk and
vegetables to be brought in every evening."
"Talk about your bull-headed, obstinate men!" exclaimed Tommy, as the
caretaker finally took his departure. "That fellow takes the cake!
He knows very well that we caught Vintner in the act of sawing on the
ladder, and he knows, too, that we heard Wolf calls while we were in
the mine. Still he shakes his head and says that he don't know about
the boys being there, and don't know about that bum detective being
crooked. If you could get a saw and operate on his head, you'd find
it solid bone!"
"You'll feel better after you get supper!" Sandy declared.
"This isn't any grouch!" insisted Tommy. "This is the true story of
that man's life! If I had a dollar for every time he doesn't know
anything, I'd be the richest boy in the world!"
"Are you thinking of going down the mine tonight?" asked George, with
a wink at Will. "We might try another midnight excursion."
"If you kids go into the mine tonight," declared Will, "I'll send you
both back to Chicago on the first train!"
"Aw, how are you going to find these boys if you don't go into the
mine?" demanded Tommy. "I suppose you'll want us to wait till
daylight when the owners will be looking around to see if any damage
was done by the inundation. The best time is at night!"
"Look here," Will argued, "we've got to do more than lay hands on the
boys! We've got to find out why they are hiding in the mine."
"That's the correct word," agreed George. "Hiding is the word that
expresses the situation exactly!"
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