Her voice died away as if from weakness, and he partially released his hold on her, which freed entirely her right arm. With a wrench, she stepped back, and aiming the automatic at him, she said, quietly, "Step toward me, and I'll fire!" With a profane exclamation, Pollock clapped his hand to his side pocket and fell back a pace or two. "You little vixen!" he cried. "Give me that! You'll harm yourself!" "Oh, no, I won't. But I'll harm you. Unless you give your driver orders to take me straight back home, I shall make this little weapon give good account of itself." From where Iris now stood, she covered the two men, and her manner showed no signs of fear, as she calmly informed them that a move on the part of either would be followed by a shot. "And," she said, "while I'm not an expert, I can manage to hit at this short range." "Come, come, now, let's arbitrate," said Pollock, who, evidently, knew when he was cornered. "Give me the pin and I'll go halves with you." "Halves of what?" "Of the treasure. Oh, don't pretend you don't know all about it! Didn't that old smarty-cat you've got on the job tell you what the pin means?" "If he did, _you_ don't know," said Iris, talking blindly, for she could make no guess why the pin was a factor in the case at all. "Don't I? I'm the only one who does know! Your Stone detective can never get a cent's worth of good out of that pin without my help. I'm the only one on earth who knows its secret, or who can turn it to use. So, now, miss, will you make terms? Wait! You needn't take my word for this. Will you agree that if you return safe home with your precious pin, and when your precious detective fails to utilize the pin's secret, you'll let me disclose it to you, and you'll give me half the value of the jewels?" "I most certainly will not!" "Then, listen. I swear to you that you will never find those hidden jewels. Only I can tell you what the pin means, and how it leads to your aunt's fortune. Refuse my offer, and neither you nor anyone else will ever see one tiniest gem of your aunt's hoard." There was something in the man's voice that carried conviction. Iris was a good reader of human nature, and a surety of his truthfulness came over her. But she was far from willing to accede to his terms. "I do not entirely disbelieve you," she said, "but I most certainly will not give you the pin----" "You said you didn't have it!" "You interrupted me! I was about to say I will not give it to you, even after my return home." "Then we'll take it now! Come on, Bob." Evading the pointed pistol by a quick jump, Pollock dashed it from Iris' hand, having really caught her off her guard as she grew interested in their conversation. The driver, Bob, sprang toward them both, and they seized Iris between them. A terrific scream from the girl rang through the silent woods and as the pistol struck the ground it went off with a fairly loud report.