Boys, it's a fortune fer us.'
'Remember Phil Doon's a shareholder, too; his father's got to be in it,'
said Dick.
'To be sure, lad, to be sure; all honest an' fair to the boy pioneers.'
Dick felt little enthusiasm about the Mount of Gold just then, for the
loss of the bag of stolen gold troubled him sorely. He feared that
Detective Downy regarded him as a liar and a cheat.
CHAPTER XX.
After coming up Downy examined the opening in the rock critically.
'Do you think a man might have made his way through that hole before you
broke the edges down?' he asked Harry.
'Well, yes, with some crowding I think he might've.'
'Yet the boy said he had to squeeze his way through. Did you notice if
the opening had been enlarged recently? Were there indications of recent
breakages?'
'Yes, the stone had been broken in places. I s'posed the boys did that.'
'Perhaps. Here, Dick.'
Dick was quite sure neither he nor any of his mates had increased the
opening. They kept it small because it was easier to hide; besides, he
said, it was more fun having to squeeze through.
'Which of your mates took that bag?' asked Downy sharply.
'None of 'em.'
'Why are you so positive?'
''Cause I know they wouldn't be game.'
'Afraid of the darkness or the mine?'
'No, afraid o' me.' Dick squared his shoulders manfully.
'Get out--why should they be afraid of you?'
'Wasn't I legal an' minin' manager an' chairman o' the directors? If one
did what I told him not to he'd get the sack an' a lickin', too.
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