"Good-by, Grant." I could not tell which one said it. And the other chuckled. I could feel them tying the mouth of the sack above my head. I lay stiff. Then I heard their steps. Then silence. I moved. I might have rolled, but I did not try it. I could raise my knees within the sack--double up like a folded pocket knife--but that was all. A long, dark silence. It seemed interminable. Was Gutierrez guarding me here in the corridor? I could not tell; I heard nothing save the vague hum of the electronite current. It had been 9 o'clock. Then I fancied that it must be 10. And then, perhaps, almost 11. I wondered what the weather outside was like. Soon we would be nearing the meeting place. Would Hanley be there? Would Jetta soon, very soon now, be able to do her part? I listened, horribly tense, with every interval between the thumps of my heart seeming so long a gap of waiting. * * * * * I heard a sound! A toneless, unidentifiable sound. Another like it; a little sequence of faint sounds. Growing louder. Approaching footsteps? Jetta's? I prayed so. Then a low voice. Two voices. Both the same in quality. But from the words I could identify them. "Hello, Gutierrez." "_Nina_, hello." Jetta! She had come! "The captive is safe? No trouble?" "No. He has not moved." "Careful of him, Gutierrez. He is worth a lot of money to us." "Well you say it. Senorita. In half an hour now, we will be away. Santa Maria, when this is over I shall breathe with more comfort!" "We'll have no trouble, Gutierrez. We're almost there. In ten minutes now, or a little more." "So soon? What time is it?" "Well, after half-past ten. When it's over, Gutierrez, we head for Cape Town. Clever of me, don't you think, to persuade Hendrick to take us to Cape Town? Just you three men to divide all this treasure. It would be foolish to let a hundred others have it." "True, _Nina_; true enough." "I insisted upon you and Hans--Gutierrez, what is that?" A silence. "I heard nothing." "A voice, was it?" "The Americano?" "No! No--the commander calling? Was it? Calling you, Gutierrez? Perhaps we have sighted Hanley's Wasp. Go! I'll stand here, and come quickly back." * * * * * Footsteps. Now! Our chance, come at last! I twisted over on my side, and lay motionless. Ah, if only those were Gutierrez' fading footfalls! And Jetta, here alone with me in the green darkness! Just for this one vital moment. Fingers were fumbling at the top of my sack, unfastening the cord. Hands and arms came swiftly in. Fingers ran down my back as I lay on my side to admit them quickly. Fingers went fumbling at the cords that lashed my crossed wrists behind me. A knee pressed against me. A hurried, panting, half sobbing breath close over me-- Just a hurried moment. The hands withdrew. The sack went back over my head. The knees, the slight weight against me, was gone. A few seconds only. Footsteps. The voices again.