"Ef they begin, why we'll give 'em the best we've got, in course. Come, then, le's travel." Descending the ridge, the three men ran hastily across the level valley, and soon gained the second hill. As the reader knows, this danger was not suspected by either Duplin or Wythe. "You and Tim see if you can roll over that big rock above there," muttered Upshur, kneeling down beside a bowlder. "I'll agree that they shall not disturb your work, if they hear you too soon. I can keep them back, I guess." At that moment, as he covered the entrance to the cave with a revolver in either hand, cocked and ready, Nathan Upshur ardently hoped that the two men he hated with such venomous animosity would appear. A good shot, he felt that the path before him would soon be cleared, and the stain of the midnight murder fairly fixed upon the innocent Burr Wythe. Exerting their strength to the utmost, the two men at length succeeded in toppling over the bowlder, that must have weighed many tons. Had it not been so nicely poised, their efforts would have been in vain. As the huge mass settled fairly over the hole, Nate Upshur laughed aloud in diabolical glee. He knew that mortal hands could not remove the rock, without the aid of strong tools. In the excitement of the moment, neither Chicot nor Dooley had thought of this, and they now felt a pang of regret. It seemed as though they had been committing a cowardly murder. "That's one job done--and well done, too, I call it," and Upshur chuckled. "Now for the other. We alone are the owners of this famous golden bed that Duplin raved about. Come--I am in haste to know the extent of our fortune. Don't look so grum--you should laugh instead, man." "I feel like a dog that's caught sheep-killin', or aig-suckin'," muttered Chicot. "We've mebbe rubbed out two settlers as is a durned sight better men than either o' us, in a cowardly way, too." "Bah! I suppose you'll be too conscientious to touch any of the gold they've dug, won't you?" sneered Upshur. "I don't know--if they _be_ gone, why I s'pose I might as well hev some o' what they left, as for _you_ to git it all." "I thought so! But come--the sooner we finish this job, the better. There _may_ be another outlet to the cave, and these fools may stumble upon it, and come back in time to make us trouble. But once let us get clutches on their pile, and I think we can hold it." With hasty steps, the three men recrossed the little valley, and from the other ridge, carefully reconnoitered the deserted camp. No one appeared to be near it, and their hearts thrilled wildly as they realized that they were now sole masters of the golden secret. Even Chicot forgot his scruples, in the dream of fabulous wealth that filled his mind. "It's ours--all ours, now!" muttered Upshur, as he darted down the rough hillside at reckless speed, slowly followed by his comrades.