Besides, had he been a party to the smuggling, by exposing it he would have put an end to the business in the future, as far as he was concerned. The Custom House authorities had held a theory that he had been one of the ring, from the fact that no one came to remove the opium. As an offset to this Mundon maintained that one or more of the Government employees must have been in with the smugglers and warned them. It was a block-puzzle, the pieces of which Ben placed in many different positions as the night wore on. How long that night seemed to him! His brain was too excited to permit sleep to trouble him, and his position harassed him. About two o’clock in the morning he saw a figure stealing along in the shadow of the building. The moon was shining and Ben could see that the man stopped and looked around, as if to make sure that he was not observed. “He’s going to climb up and drop through that hole in the roof!” Ben said to himself. “That’s the way he got in before. I’ve got the burglar at last!” The figure paused as if to listen, and then cautiously climbed up the rough side of the building and disappeared through the hole in the roof. Ben decided to go around the building and enter through the opening on the water side. He was obliged to climb the high bulkhead which ran out into the bay, and then he swiftly ran along the beach. Peering within, he saw the man stooping over the “jigger” and searching for its contents by the aid of a bull’s-eye lantern. He was of slight physique, and there was something about the figure that was strangely familiar. Just then the man raised his head in a listening attitude, and Ben recognized him. “Syd!” he exclaimed. “I always knew he was a mean sneak, but I never thought he’d be a thief!” Ben sprang toward him and grasped his arm. “That’s mine! You are stealing my gold!” he cried. The other tried to shake off his accuser. “Let go!” he screamed. But Ben did not relax his hold. “Not till you give me what you’ve stolen!” “I won’t! I’ve as much right to what I find as you have,” Syd doggedly replied; “and I’m goin’ to keep what I’ve got. Let go, I say!” For answer Ben flung himself upon him. They were about equally matched and both fought desperately. A misstep on the ground sent them sprawling among the broken bricks and rubbish. Ben was uppermost, and soon would have vanquished his adversary, when something flashed before his eyes and he felt the thrust of a knife in his breast. With his remaining strength he blew a blast on his police-whistle, and then a faintness overpowered him and he knew nothing more. CHAPTER XII IN THE SICKROOM The house in which Beth lived was a dreary structure perched on the northern slope of the steep hill above the Works. A dispute, common in the settlement of property boundaries in California, had arisen in regard to the land on which the house stood, and in consequence it had never been painted nor the ground around it inclosed by a fence.