The Winslow mail., 1924-04-04
ciapped over his nostriTs.

Ihen followed absolute unconscious
ness, broken by the distant sound OF a
revolver shot, and faint cry Of pain.
BON sounds passed through Winton's
mind as meaningless but suddenly he
relt hand upon his shoulder. shaking
him.
With supreme effort he sat up in
peg. The fumes were suffocating, but
ne managed to spring to his feet and
stagger toward the window, which had
oeen opened. Then he saw Sans aRi-
tated black face before him.
The man was speaking and irving
10 make him understand. Winton
could not gather the import of what
ne was saying. He shook himself free
impatiently and leaned out of the win
dow, breathing in the desert air. Grad
uaily his situation dawned upon him.
/ What is it, Sam?" he mumbled.
MIR. Garrett sir, come to the next
room! They've stolen the diamond
| was watching, though my job doesn't
begin till tomorrow. Come, sir!"
Winton stood up. The room had
ceased to revolve about him, but still
swung ~dizzlly before his eyes The
moon was still low; 1t could not have
been much past midnight Eons seemed
to have passed since Winton had gone
to bed at nine.
J He made his way toward the door,
supported by Sans arm. He passed
through the open doorway
The outer door was closed. Two
men lay upon the floor against it. One
was Kash, the Armenian, stone dead,
with a bullet through his forehead.
The other. was Ned Burns, breathing
noisily, but unconscious, and his head
covered with blood from a blow of the
butt Of the revolver which lay beside
him.
Sam caught at Winton's arm II
heard the shot" he cried. II was COM
! ing to watch the claim. 1 ran and
saw the two of them attacking Mr..
| Burns. He killed one; the other shot
him and dragged his body inside and
locked the door. l climbed through
your window and found you uncon-
scious from chloroform."
Winton began to take in the situa-
! tion. Sam must have alarmed the rob-
Der, who had taken fight without wait
ing to finish Ned Burns. Evidently
murder very dangerous game on
British territory, had formed no part
| of their plans, otherwise he would
have been killed in his sleep.
Sam was tugging at Winton's arm
again Look" he cried, pointing
across the room.
Then Winton perceived that the safe
] had been blown open. But there was
more than that: it had been displaced
from the position which it occupied
and beside and half under it was a
yawning hole in the ground.
That's the way they came" cried
Sam.
Winton ran to the safe The dia-
mond was, of course, gone. He stopped
and began hastily to search Ned's .pock-
cts for the keys. They were gone, too
The chlorofOrm stupor was fast leav
ing him. He ran toward the hole He
could just see the line of the tunnel
below.
He swung himself into the hole and
entered the tunnel, Sam following him.
1t was hardly wider than a mans body,
and not three feet in height, so that it
was necessary to scramble along it on
his hands and knees. Once Winton
/ fancied that he heard sounds ahead of
him and stopped, but then he could
hear nothing except the indefinite MUIR
murs that are audible underground.
He went on like mole, outdistanc-
ing the negro. Now and again he
bumped into stakes that had been driv-
en- into the hard clay to hold up the
roof. The robbers had laid their
plans with care, and they must have
been weeks about their execution.
At last faint ray of moonlight ap-
peared in the distance. 1t grew clear
er, and the tunnel began to widen, end
ing suddenly in a circular pit, Of the
kind that marks the beginning of ex-
cavations along the diamond fields.
Winton scrambled up the side and
stood under the stars.
He then saw with bewilderment that
he was standing in the compound of
the adjacent claim, just where he had
emerged on the prior occasion when
he entered a branch Of the tunnel be-
meath the Armenian'S store.
1t was clear that the diamond thieves
had utilized for their work the Hot
tentot's predilection, learned from the
Bushmen. for subterranean excava-
tions. The plan had been clever one,
and 1t appeared to have succeeded.
Nobody was stirring in the COM
pound, nobody was anywhere in sight.
Forgetting Sam, who had not yet
made his appearance, Winton ran
through the compound, clambered over
the gate, and made his way toward
Seaton's cottage, to call him to go to
Burns. But when he drew near it he
| saw with diSmaV that the door was