He
realized, of course, that every hour he remained here, now that
food and money were gone, lessened the chances of escape; but, on
the other hand, he reasoned, with equal force, that if he had
indeed stumbled upon the missing hoard salvation for all of them
was assured. The stake, it seemed to him, was worth the hazard.
Given tempered tools to work with, it would have been no great
undertaking to tear down that cemented wall of stones, but, armed
with nothing except his bare hands and that soft iron bar,
O'Reilly spent nearly the whole night at his task. Long before the
last rock had yielded, however, he beheld that which caused him to
turn a strained face upward to Rosa.
"There's a little door, as sure as you live," he told her.
The girl was beside herself with excitement. "Yes? What else? What
more do you see?"
"Nothing. It appears to be made of solid timbers, and has two huge
hand-wrought locks."
"Locks! Then we HAVE found it." Rosa closed her eyes; she swayed
momentarily. "Esteban was right. Locks, indeed! That means
something to hide. Oh, if I could only help you."
"God! If I only had something--ANYTHING to work with!" muttered
the American as he fell to with redoubled energy. He no longer
tried to conserve his strength, for the treasure-seeker's lust
beset him. Rosa looked on, wringing her hands and urging him to
greater haste.
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